Legatine missions in Italy and Hungary In January 1232, James was named
papal legate in northern Italy alongside
Otto of Tonengo with the purpose of negotiating a reconciliation between
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, and the cities of the
Lombard League. After Hungary, James worked at the
Roman curia for a short period. Around this time, he founded a Cistercian nunnery at
Paliano in the diocese of Palestrina. In 1234, he and Cardinal
Raniero Capocci were asked by the general chapter of the Cistercian order to curb the luxurious living of certain Cistercians who had become bishops in Italy. In the general chapters of 1238 and 1239, it was ordered that James and Raniero be remembered annually in the order's prayers as a reward for their service. In 1235, James was sent as a legate to
Tuscany, where he arranged a peaceful settlement between the warring cities of
Florence,
Orvieto and
Siena. In June 1236, he was sent for a second time as legate in Lombardy.
Mission to France In May 1238, the pope suspended the
Inquisition in the lands of Count
Raymond VII of Toulouse and nominated James as his legate to lift the latter's excommunication and secure his participation in the planned
crusade against Frederick II. Because of the political situation in Italy, James did not immediately leave Rome. In 1239, James was exercising the office of
vicarius urbis (papal vicar in Rome). In November, he left on his mission to
France to obtain the support of Count Raymond VII and King
Louis IX for the crusade against Frederick II. The emperor tried to prevent him from reaching France, but he travelled by sea disguised as a pilgrim. Despite several face-to-face meetings, James was unable to persuade Louis to turn against Frederick. Without leaving France, he began working the papal alliance with
Aragon. In September 1239, he interceded to maintain the alliance between Aragon and Genoa. In October 1239 or 1240, he wrote from
Nice to Archbishop detailing Frederick's crimes. He interfered in other Aragonese and
Navarrese affairs as well, dealing with an accusation of pluralism against the archdeacon of and procuring a
benefice in Navarre for the brother of the archdeacon of
Beauvais. He was still in France in early 1241, when Gregory IX called for a council to meet in Rome at Easter to pass judgement on the emperor. In response, James convoked a council at
Meaux, at which he urged the French bishops to accompany him to Rome. Joined by Otto of Tonengo, James and the bishops sailed from Genoa on 25 April in order to avoid Frederick's troops in central Italy.
Imprisonment and final years The Genoese fleet was intercepted by the pro-imperial fleet of
Pisa and defeated in
a battle of Giglio on 3 May 1241. Otto and James were captured and initially imprisoned in Pisa under King
Enzo of Sardinia. Frederick hoped to convince the cardinals to intercede with the pope to have his excommunication lifted. After the French bishops were freed, the cardinals were brought to
Salerno in the
Kingdom of Sicily. Otto reportedly received better treatment than James, perhaps because he was seen as more valuable in negotiations, but probably because Frederick harboured ill-will against him from his two previous legations in Lombardy. After the death of Gregory IX on 22 August 1241, the cardinals were moved to
Tivoli. Early in March 1242, they were transferred to
Capua in the Kingdom of Sicily. After the death of Gregory's successor,
Celestine IV, in April 1242, they were moved back to Tivoli. Owing to his confinement, James did not take part in the
1241 papal election, which elected
Celestine IV. Frederick offered to release both captive cardinals if Otto were elected pope, but the free cardinals refused. Otto was released in the summer of 1242, but James remained a prisoner. His head and a finger, however, were inurned in the
cathedral of Piacenza. ==References==