expression as implying a feudal relation between Pope and Emperor, the
papal representative, the Chancellor Roland, boldly asked, "From whom,
then, does the emperor hold the empire if not from the Pope?"
Frederick's authority alone saved the envoys from violence, and
Hadrian found himself obliged to explain away the objectionable
expressions.

[Sidenote: The breach.]

But the papal position had been formulated, and that before a German
assembly. The Pope was no longer a suppliant: he claimed to be more
than an equal. He had thrown down a challenge. Frederick proceeded to
pick it up. In fact, it was this second expedition of Frederick to
Italy which opened the long contest between Ghibelline and Guelf, a
contest only to be ended by the practical destruction of one or other
of the parties. It was the complaints of the other cities against the
oppression of Milan, which were the immediate cause of Frederick's
appearance in Italy in 1158; and the reduction of the Milanese was
followed by the holding of an assembly on the plain of Roncaglia, to
which Frederick summoned the most famous lawyers of Italy. By their
decision rights and powers were given to him, which placed all the
communes at his mercy. Moreover, these were not compatible with the
rights asserted since the time of Gregory VII by the papal supporters:
the regalia were given to the Emperor at the expense of ecclesiastical
as well as lay landowners and corporations. If the papal investiture
of Apulia infringed the imperial rights, the investiture of
Frederick's uncle, Welf VI of Bavaria, with the inheritance of the
Countess Matilda openly ignored the oft-repeated claim of the Papacy.
Neither side seemed to take especial pains to avoid a breach. The
acrimonious correspondence which ensued centred round the relations of