THE ORIGINS OF THE SICILIAN KINGDOMthey were cut off from easy contact with the Islamic world
and yet could provide the emperor with soldiers and with
artisans skilled in weapon manufacture.^25 The Genoese in
Sicily and Malta were also successfully disciplined. Frederick
was later harshly berated by the papacy for stripping the
Church of lands acquired during his childhood; while he
did not generally exempt the Church from his attempt to
restore royal rights, he also took care to protect those of its
interests which were demonstrably sound in law.^21 ; He was no
worse than his contemporaries in making use of the revenues
of empty sees; he was a patron of the south Italian Cister-
cians and had close links to the eminent Franciscan Elias of
Cortona. Another way forward was the proclamation of royal
rights as enshrined in the Roman law codes: the Justinianic
concept of the king as God's representative on earth, who
is appointed to judge and to correct the evil actions of men,
themselves the result of man's first sin in the Garden of
Eden, was enunciated resoundingly in Frederick's legislation
for the Kingdom of Sicily in 1231. The Constitutions of Melfi
which embody that legislation have perhaps to be seen as
an idealised statement of royal rights, and many of their
concerns, such as control of usury, reflect current preoccu-
pations of the papal curia; but they provided a basis for
further legislation by Frederick and the Angevins.^27
In economic affairs Frederick built on the basis of Norman
practice to extend royal rights over certain commodities,
notably salt and silk production. Interest was shown in the
improvement of port facilities in the Regno, with an eye on the
financial proceeds; occasionally the crown stepped in to take
advantage of grain shortages in Mrica, banning private sales
of grain to Tunis and enjoying vast profits (at least in 1239)
from the export of Sicily's prime commodity. Attention was
paid to the quality of the Regno's coinage, with improvements
- David Abulafia, 'Ethnic variety and its implications: Frederick II's rela-
tions with Jews and Muslims', in W. Tronzo, ed., Intellectual life at the
court of Frederick II Hohenstaufen (Washington, DC, 1994), pp. 213-24. - HJ. Pybus, 'The Emperor Frederick II and the Sicilian Church', Cam-
lnidgeHistorical]ournal, 3 (1929/30), pp. 134-63; see alsoJ.M. Powell,
'Frederick II and the Church in the Kingdom of Sicily, 1220-40',
Church History, 30 ( 1961), pp. 28-34 and 'Frederick II and the Church.
A revisionist view', Catholic Historical Review, 44 (1962/3), pp. 487-97. - Abulafia, Frederick /1, pp. 202-14.