Editing Council of Florence (section)

==Eugene IV's eastern strategy==
[[File:Benozzo Gozzoli - Procession of the Middle King (detail) - WGA10260.jpg|thumb|A figure in [[Benozzo Gozzoli]]'s 1459 ''Journey of the Magi'' is assumed to portray John VIII Palaiologos.]]
Eugene IV, however much he may have wished to keep on good terms with the fathers of Basel, found himself neither able nor willing to accept or observe all their decrees. The question of the union with the Byzantine church, especially, gave rise to a misunderstanding between them which soon led to a rupture. The [[Byzantine emperor]] [[John VIII Palaiologos]], pressed hard by the [[Ottoman Turks]], was keen to ally himself with the Catholics. He consented to come with the principal representatives of the Byzantine Church to some place in the West where the union could be concluded in the presence of the pope and of the Latin council. There arose a double negotiation between him and Eugene IV on the one hand and the fathers of Basel on the other. The council wished to fix the meeting-place at a place remote from the influence of the pope, and they persisted in suggesting Basel, [[Avignon]] or [[Duchy of Savoy|Savoy]].{{sfn|Valois|1911|p=464}} On the other hand, the Byzantines wanted a coastal location in Italy for their ease of access by ship.