ABSTRACT

Relations between Alexander III and the Byzantine Empire have generally been presented as something of a sideline in his long and eventful pontificate. In Boso's view, therefore, although Alexander had obtained recognition from the Byzantine emperor, he made no concessions in return. Another Byzantine embassy visited Alexander at Benevento in about 1168 and made similar proposals. This time the envoys were given a firm rejection since the decrees of the holy Fathers forbid such requests on account of their inherent difficulties. Turning first to the final point, Alexander III's pontificate coincided with the latter years of one of the most remarkable rulers of Medieval Byzantium, Manuel I Komnenos. Manuel's motives here were presumably partly those which dictated his generous financial support to the Lombard League: the wish to undermine his main enemy in Italy, Frederick Barbarossa. The final element in Manuel's negotiations with Alexander III was the issue of Church union.