THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN KINGDOl\IS 1200-1">00still stood strong; his bastard brother Enzo, titular King of
Sardinia, was actually held prisoner in Bologna. The papacy
did not, however, lack a solution to the problem who should
rule in southern Italy: within two years of Frederick's death
the search was under way for a papal champion who could
be installed on the Sicilian throne as a loyal vassal of the
Holy See. The difficulty lay not in the idea; after all, the pope
was overlord of southern Italy and could argue very well
that it was for him to dispose of its crown. The real difficulty
lay, rather, in finding a candidate both suitable and willing
to replace the Hohenstaufen: a good soldier with handsome
resources and a strong sense of duty to papal interests.
The papal search reached as far as England, where (for
want of more prestigious candidates) King Henry III's little
son Edmund was recruited to lead a papal expedition. Con-
rad IV died young, and for a few months in 1254 the papacy
was actually able to send its own 'vicar', or representative
into southern Italy, in the person of none other than Manfred
of Hohenstaufen. Iii Innocent IV realised that Manfred was
keen to exercise authority in the south and thought that he
could utilise Manfred's enthusiasm on his own behalf. He
did not wish to confer a crown on Manfred; indeed Conrad
IV's infant son Conradin had a claim to Sicily which needed
to be considered. Innocent actually confirmed Manfred's
title as vicar and as Prince of Taranto, and came down to
Naples to supervise the reorganisation of the kingdom: the
creation at long last of free communes in Naples and other
towns was to be one of the first acts in a revision of the
Norman-Hohenstaufen system of central government. Within
a few days Manfred summarily sundered his ties with Inno-
cent, withdrawing to the Muslim stronghold of Lucera and
defYing papal anger and a papal army (December, 1254).
His enthusiasm had indeed brought him hopes of a crown
and of recovering his father's authority. The strength of papal
resistance was sapped still further by the death of Innocent
IV at the end of 1254 and the decision of his successor,
Alexander IV, to concentrate on the alternative solution to
the problem of Sicily: a return to the search for a papal
champion. But the same year saw an agreement among
the barons of Sicily and southern Italy to recognise as king
- E. Pispisa. Il regno di Manfredi. ProjJOste di interprelazione (Messina, 1991).