of Milan, who are kept true by the presbyter Aribert. But he can hardly maintain himself in his own city; and he appeals to Henry for a German army. He has against him the brother and the sons of Ardoin, the astute Marquess Manfred of Turin with his brother, Alric, Bishop of Asti, and, most dangerous of all, the mighty Count Hubert. These men are intriguing for the support of King Rodolph of Burgundy, and are even negotiating for reconciliation with the Emperor through their friends Heribert of Cologne and Henry of Würzburg. Not only, however, did Leo repel their attack on Vercelli, but, by a successful offensive, he recovered the whole territory of his diocese. Yet the siege of the castle of Orba, which was undertaken at the Emperor's command by Leo with other bishops and some lay magnates, including the young Marquess Boniface of Canossa, ended in an accommodation. At the suggestion of Manfred of Turin, who was anxious for peace, the rebel garrison was allowed to withdraw and the castle itself was burnt.
This agreement was the starting point of serious negotiations. On the one side, the Marquess Manfred and his brother sought the Emperor's favour, while Count Hubert sent his son to Germany as a hostage; on the other, Pilgrim, a Bavarian cleric lately made chancellor for Italy, was sent by Henry into Lombardy to bring about a complete pacification. Pilgrim's success was soon seen in the arrival of Italian envoys at Allstedt in January 1017 to offer greetings to the Emperor. On returning to Germany in the autumn of 1017 Pilgrim left Upper Italy at peace, and the release (January 1018) of the surviving captive Otbertine marked the Emperor's reconciliation with the Lombards.
Leo of Vercelli, indeed, was dissatisfied because no penalty was laid on Count Hubert, and although he secured a grant to his church of the lands of thirty unfortunate vavassors, the vindictive prelate was not appeased until, by a sentence of excommunication issued many months later, he had brought the Count and his family to ruin. Leo's personal victory indicated the political advantage that had been gained by his order over the secular magnates. For the Emperor was bent on forcing the lay nobles into the background by an alliance with the bishops. Hence the great office of Count Palatine, the chief judicial authority of the realm, hitherto always held by a layman, now practically ceased to exist. The granting of palatine rights to bishops, already begun by the Ottos, was continued; similar rights were conferred upon missi; while the presidency of the Palatine Court itself was annexed to the royal chancery, and thus invariably fell to a cleric.
In Italy not only did Leo of Vercelli regain his lost influence, but the bishops generally won a new predominance. Yet this predominance was bound up with control from Germany, whence the Emperor directed affairs in Church and State, thus working against Italian independence. The imperial crown enhanced Henry's position in Europe but it added little to his power in Germany; for seven years after his return from
