“I, myself, was near to the High King when first His Majesty read his own copy and I can here state that his comments were of a most colorful nature, nor calculated to endear him to Their Holinesses of Rome, Constantinople and New Alexandria. Nor did what lately followed from Rome especially endear the Church to His Majesty of Tara.
“Which last, mein Herr Markgraf von Velegrad, gentlemen, is what has precipitated the dispatch of me, my officers and squadron to England; hopefully, if current negotiations betwixt Tara and King Arthur proceed as my monarch desires, my horsemen will constitute only the vanguard of Irish troops serving here in support of the just cause of England.”
Foster hoped that his face did not mirror his inner dismay and confusion at the Irish nobleman’s words, for King Arthur’s correspondences had hinted at nothing concerning any alliance with the High King. Though, if such did come to pass, this little affray—which had begun as a purely English dynastic dispute and would have been speedily resolved, had the Church not seen fit to poke her long, greedy, meddlesome fingers into it—could bid fair to shake wide expanses of the world and singe the Church and her interests severely.
Feigning application to his jack of wine, Foster made the time to marshal his thoughts before saying, “Please elucidate, my lord Baron, what are the Roman busybodies up to now? How did they manage to alienate your sovereign?”
De Burgh again showed every strong, yellow tooth in another wolfish grin. “As mein Herr doubtless knows, His present Holiness of Rome is of Tunisian antecedents, as so too is Archbishop Mustapha, and they tw« have been close friends for many years, so that His Holiness took his Legate’s humiliation at the hands of Eamonn as H were his own. Immediately after the esteemed archbishop arrived in Rome and had audience with His Holiness, a deputation was dispatched toTanu
The gist of their demand was that the High King should cease any other military activities, throw all his force against Lagan, turn the conquered lands over to the Church agents in Dublin, and forward King Eamonn, himself—or his head—to Rome.
“Obviously, neither His Holiness nor the deputation took overmuch trouble in studying the High King, his attitudes and reputation, for they took the worst possible tack in dealing with him—attempting to dictate his actions.
“His Majesty’s reply was, however, the very soul of diplomacy. He pointed out that his own law court had found for the Church hi the dispute with King Eamonn and that he had even loaned Archbishop Mustapha a few royal troops in that worthy’s first attempt on Lagan, their expenses coining out of his own, royal purse, slim as it was. He added that his personal sympathies certainly lay with His Holiness and the cruelly humiliated archbishop, but that to withdraw his armies at this critical juncture from Munster would be to sacrifice all that his arms had earlier gained in the protracted struggle.
‘That deputation departed, but in a bare month, another had arrived, bearing an awesome document from His Holiness’s own hand. Mein Herr, His Holiness must be a very stupid man—or ruinously stubborn—because his folly here, in England, has taught him nothing, it would seem. The ultimatum of His Holiness stated this: Either the High King did all he had been bid by the first deputation or all Ireland would be placed under interdict and all Irish royalty and nobility excommunicated until said work was accomplished to the satisfaction of His Holiness! Also, the strong possibility of a Crusade against Ireland was implied toward the end of that horrendous letter.”
“God’s death!” swore Earl Howell ap Owain, overall commander of the North Welsh horse. ‘The Holy Ass must be mad. His unwarranted and officious intrusions in the strictly internal affairs of this realm, alone, have already cost Rome Christ knows how much gold, a thousand pipes or more of blood, and a loss of prestige that may be irretrievable. At this very minute are the royal churchmen of England and Wales loyal to King Arthur—God keep him, that is—seriously exploring the institution of a purely insular Church, possibly
along the lines of that Celtic Church displaced by Rome, long ago, and the Scotch clergy are corresponding with them in a most civil manner, as too are certain bishops of the Empire, I understand.”