The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

330 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
in Germany or France, and renewed attempts made to attract
the Protestants to it.^
Under these circumstances, Pius IV. was forced to enter
into still closer relations with the only Catholic power which
would not listen to any talk of yielding to the religious in-
novators ;
and the greater the tension in France, the more the Pope
had to rely on Philip II. ^ In order to obtain effective assistance
from him, the Pope at last came to the momentous
the more hesitating the attitude of the Emperor,
resolve, not only of giving way with regard to the exclusive
right of proposition by the legates, but also of deciding the
dispute about precedence between the Spanish and French
envoys at Trent, in the manner desired in Madrid. An
agreement was reached in the first week of May, and two
documents, mutually binding, were exchanged. In that of
May 6th, Avila and Vargas, as the representatives of Philip
II., gave a solemn promise that their sovereign would defend
the authority of the Pope with all his power. Pius IV,
thereupon wrote on May 8th to the legates at Trent that
they were to explain to the fathers that the liberty of the
Council was not to be affected by the words proponentibus
le'^atis, which had been entered in the decree without his
previous knowledge.^ On the same day the Pope, without
wishing definitely to decide the dispute as to precedence
in the matter of the place to be assigned to the representatives
of Spain at the sessions and congregations, gave way to
the wishes of Philip II., who had based his threat, made on
March 5th, of breaking off diplomatic relations, on the lukewarm
attitude taken up in Rome on this question.^
'^ See Steinherz, III., 265; Maurenbrecher, Archivalische
Beitrage, 5; Baguenault de Puchesse, 250. Cf. Vol. XVI.
of this work.
2 See SiCKEL, Konzil, 514; Beitrage, II., 58.
^ See Pallavicini, 21, 5, 7; Maurenbrecher, loc. cit., 20;
Venetian Despatches, III., 226 ;
Sickel, Beitrage, II., 58, 134 seq.
* See Pallavicini, 21, i, 6-7; Sickel, Beitrage, II., 58 seq.,
133 seq. Sickel riglitly brings out how well Pallavicini has
described the effect produced at Trent by the new instructions.