Innocent IV. made at least as large demands on England as Gregory had done, and treated her with more cynical insolence. His envoy, Martin, was like him, and at last goaded the long-suffering nation to violence. Fulk Fitz-Warin came to him with the short message, "Leave England, and begone forthwith." "Who bids me? Did any one send you?" asked the legate. Fulk told him that he was sent by the baronage assembled in arms at a tournament, and warned him that if he delayed to depart till the third day he and all his "would be cut to pieces." The trembling legate complained to the king. Henry, however, told him that he could not restrain his barons. "For the love of God and the reverence of my lord the Pope, give me a safe-conduct!" the legate prayed. "The devil give you a safe-conduct to hell, and all through it!" was the answer of the perplexed and petulant king. A strong remonstrance, in the form of a letter from the people of England, was read by the English representatives at the Council of Lyons, in which it was stated that Italian ecclesiastics drew over 60,000 marks a year from the country. For a while Henry, who was thoroughly alarmed at the state of affairs, wished to check the drain of money to Rome, and wrote to Grosseteste complaining that the bishops had undertaken to collect a tallage which the Pope had laid on the clergy. Grosseteste replied that they were bound to obey their spiritual father and mother (the Pope and the Church) then in exile and suffering persecution, for the papal court was still in exile at Lyons. This view was taken by many noble-minded churchmen, and especially by the friars, who, though they proved themselves the friends of constitutional freedom, strongly maintained the duty of supporting the Popes in their struggle with the Empire.
[Sidenote: Robert Grosseteste's letter to Innocent IV., 1253.]
Henry soon returned to his old relations with the Pope, and matters went from bad to worse. A grant of the tenths of spiritualities was made him by Innocent in 1252. His proctors appeared before an assembly of bishops, and without asking them to allow the tax, proposed its immediate collection. The bishop of Lincoln rose in anger. "What is this, by our Lady?" he said. "You are taking matters for granted. Do you suppose that we will consent to this cursed tax? Let us never bow the knee to Baal." The king tried in vain to frighten some of the bishops by threatening them separately. The next year he obtained a grant, and in return confirmed the Great Charter and the Forest Charter. Special solemnity was given to this act by the bishops. Excommunication was pronounced against all who broke the charters, and when it had been read they dashed the candles which they carried to the ground, saying, "So let those who incur this sentence be quenched and stink in hell;" while the king swore to observe the charters "as a man, a Christian, a knight, a king crowned and anointed." Robert Grosseteste died soon after this ceremony, lamenting with his latest breath the oppressions of the Church, and declaring that her deliverance would only be effected by the sword. Shortly before his death he showed how greatly his feelings had been changed towards the papacy by the troubles that it had brought upon England. Innocent ordered him to induct one of his nephews into a prebendal stall at Lincoln, adding a clause by which the Popes used to override all law--_Non obstante_, any privilege of the church notwithstanding. He refused in a letter in which he speaks plainly of the Pope's conduct, saying that it was not apostolic, and reminding him that there was no sin so hateful to the Lord Jesus Christ as that men should take the milk and the wool of Christ's sheep and betray the flock. When Innocent heard this letter read, he declared that the bishop was a "deaf old dotard," and that his "vassal," the king, ought to imprison him. Here, however, the cardinals interfered, and told the Pope that that might not be, for the bishop was better and holier than any of them, a great philosopher and scholar.