The attempted Byzantine alliance with the Sicilian Norman kingdom (1166–7)

The endeavours of Manuel I Comnenus (1143–1180) to obtain a papal coronation from Alexander III in the years 1167–1168, and to have himself recognised as Emperor in the West in place of the schismatic and simoniac Frederick Barbarossa, together with his offers in return to subject the Byzantine Church to the authority of the pope, make up one of the most curious episodes in twelfth-century diplomatic history. The story, as told by Cardinal Boso in his life of Alexander, is well known, and has been discussed by a number of historians. Boso relates that on two occasions Manuel sent an ambassador to the pope declaring his wish to unite the Greek Church (ecclesiam suam graecam) to that of Rome and proposing to do so, asking in return that the ‘crown of the Roman empire’ (Romani corona imperii) should be restored to him by the papacy, since Frederick (crowned in 1155) had so clearly shown himself to be unworthy of it. The first ambassador, identified as the sebastus Jordan, son of Robert of Capua, went to Alexander at Rome; on the second occasion the pope was at Benevento and the unnamed apocrisiarius conferred with him there. Manuel offered a great quantity of men and money, sufficient, his emissaries said, to reduce all Italy to the papal obedience, if his proposals were accepted; on both occasions, however, Alexander and his advisers, having considered the matter carefully, came to the conclusion that the emperor's plan was too doubtful and dangerous. Though cardinals were sent to Constantinople for further discussions, nothing came of it.