Nativity of our Lord, held his court at Oxfprd, where the bishop of Bordeaux came to him, having been sent by the nobles of Gaecony, Aquitaine, and Poitou. There also came to him formal messengers from Normandy, who all united in the common suggestion that the lord the king should come without fear to those lands beyond the sea, as he might be assured that the nobles of these provinces would stand by him unchangeably, for hie recovery of all his rights which he had lost there. But when Hubert, the justiciary, heard this, he postponed the matter to a future time, till a more favourable opportunity should arise. And the messengers receiving no other reply, returned to their own country like men deceived. About the same time, pope Gregory, being indignant that the emperor Frederic, as if to ahow that he was in no fear of his sentence, undertook the direction of the affairs of the church in the Holy Land, and having no hope that he would return to the unity of the church, determined to depose him, and to appoint some one else to the imperial dignity in his stead. Accordingly he did appoint John de Bresne, the general of the papal army, and bestowed on him abundantly all the assistance that tie Roman church could bestow in the way of treasures and arms, and indulgences from sins, and admonitions to prelates. And when the emperor was informed of this, he quickly and prudently made peace with the soldan, that that bad news might not reach his ears first, and made a lasting truce and peace with him, to the honour and advantage of the church ; and having accepted the crown of the kingdom of Jerusalem, he prepared ships to return to his own country ; and bidding farewell to the Holy Land, he went, for the sake of offering up his prayers with all humility, unarmed, and with a small retinue, to the fords of Jordan, where, through the good offices of the soldan of Babylon, he escaped from Borne snares prepared against him by some of his household, whom he thought his friends, on which account he always afterwards hated the Templars as suspected persons, and considered the soldan as his best friend, acknowledging fidelity in the infidels, and detesting the unfaithfulness of the faithful ; and so he embarked on board ship, and after a fair voyage landed in his own country, where he was received with joy, and in a short time by his imperial authority he boldly restored to his faithful adherents all the territories which had been taken from them, wreaking condign vengeance on the invaders.