which Frederick designed to recover included the power of appointing
local officers whether consuls or bishops. Alone, neither Pope nor
Lombard cities could look for success. In 1162, when all the cities
fell before Frederick, Alexander remained practically untouched. But
although his position was immensely strengthened since then,
experience had shown that the Pope could not hold his own in Italy or
Rome without the help of some secular power. At the same time, in
Europe at large he had proved a most potent force, since he wielded
weapons which were independent of time and place for their action, and
such as the most powerful secular prince had found it impossible to
ignore. It was under direct encouragement from Alexander that the
cities concluded their League in 1167. Before the next imperial
expedition it had become all-powerful in Northern Italy; not only the
chief Ghibelline cities, including Pavia itself, had joined, but even
the remaining feudal nobles had found it impossible to stand outside.

[Sidenote: Submission of Henry II.]

Nor was this Alexander's only triumph. So long as Archbishop Thomas
Becket remained unreconciled to Henry II, the English King had done
all in his power to influence Alexander. A marriage alliance was
carried out between the royal families of England and Sicily, solely
with the object on Henry's side of neutralising one of the chief papal
supporters, and Henry scattered his bribes among the Lombard cities
with the same intent. But the reconciliation to which the attitude of
his own people forced Henry in 1170 robbed him of all excuse for
harassing the Pope, and the murder of the Archbishop by four of the
King's knights in Canterbury Cathedral isolated Henry and forced him
to a humiliating treaty with Alexander.