The news of this anathema excited the minds of the common people to such a degree that they saw all sorts of signs of Heaven’s disapproval of the crowned Judas; such as bloody crosses, on which the Saviour was dying afresh, “as if laying a complaint before each and every Christian.” Frederick made a quick retort to the papal fulmination, in which he advised all temporal princes to beware of the unscrupulous domination of the Roman hierarchy. He closed a letter to the princes of Europe with these words of an old couplet:
“Give heed when neighboring houses burn,
For next, perhaps, may be your turn.”
The Pope, having generated a fresh supply of gall, discharged it in an interdict by which all subjects of Frederick should be deprived of the ministrations of religion.
The emperor, in order to prove the injustice of the Pope’s assault upon him and the falsity of the accusation that he had feigned sickness, prepared to resume the crusade, taking, however, his own time and way. His armaments were repaired. He summoned all the dignitaries of his kingdom to meet him at Baroli (April, 1228). There, in the presence of a vast multitude, he declared his will regarding the succession in the event of his not returning alive, and exhorted his people to live in peace during his absence. The Pope now became not less violent in denouncing the crusade than he had been previously in urging it, on the ground that its leader was excommunicate. He refused to recognize it as a holy war, and stigmatized it as an expedition of piracy.
With a small army of six hundred knights Frederick sailed for Acre (September, 1228). Two Franciscan monks in a swift bark outsped him, and aroused Palestine against the coming of such a champion. The partisans of John of Brienne refused to recognize the kingship of his son-in-law. Templars and Hospitallers were jealous of the new hand in affairs, and refused to serve under him.
Frederick then pursued his old friendship with Malek-Kamel. Speaking Arabic, he discussed with the emirs philosophy and astrology, and sent difficult questions to the sultan, reminding the chroniclers of the converse of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The ladies of the Christian and Moslem courts mingled, say the papal apologists, to the mutual disadvantage of the morals of both. The emperor desired to make a pious pilgrimage to the Jordan. The Templars sent a letter to the sultan, suggesting his capture. The sultan delivered the missive into the hands of Frederick.
Such exchange of courtesies was only preliminary to a treaty by which the astuteness of the emperor won the kingdom of Jerusalem without drawing his sword. It was stipulated that Bethlehem, Nazareth, and the Holy City, with the exception of the Temple Mount, which was occupied by the mosque of Omar, should be given to the Christians for ten years. In a letter to the King of England Frederick wrote how, “in a few days, by a miracle rather than by strength, that business hath been brought to a conclusion which for a length of time past many chiefs and rulers of the world, among the multitude of nations, have never been able till now to accomplish by force, however great, nor by fear.”
The fury of the papal party knew no bounds. That the Infidel should retain a spot for worship was in their eyes a sacrilege; that a man under papal displeasure should be recognized as king in Jerusalem was an impiety which Heaven should punish. The city of Jerusalem was put under the ban. Pilgrims were forbidden by the Holy Father to pray at the sepulchre of our Lord, for which purpose, with the Pope’s encouragement, they had left their homes, and in many cases sacrificed their earthly all.
Frederick repaired in great state to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for his coronation (March 18, 1229). No priest ventured to celebrate the mass or pronounce a blessing upon the accursed of the church; the silence was unbroken except by the clang of armor; the images of the apostles were veiled that they might not look upon the reprobate. Frederick took the crown from the altar with his own hands and placed it upon his head; then was read in his name a formal exculpation of the Pope for his persecution, on the ground of the Holy Father’s ignorance of his motives and conduct; he also announced his humiliation before God and His vicar for his crown. With more catholicity he visited the same day the mosque of Omar. A muezzin, whose station was near the emperor’s house, by order of the kadi omitted the usual call to prayer, lest it should give offence to his Christian Majesty. Frederick gently rebuked the Moslem official: “You are wrong to neglect, on my account, your duty, your law, and your religion. If you should visit my realm, you would find no such respectful deference.” A priest had brought into the mosque a copy of the Gospels. Frederick rebuked this as an insult to his allies, saying, “Here we are all the servants of the sultan; it is he that has restored to us our churches.” The emperor then retired to Acre. The papal interdict upon all people among whom he should find abode followed him. The churches of Acre were unopened; the sick were refused consolation in their homes, and the dead were buried, without funeral service, in the fields.