Editing Pope Honorius II (section)

===Conflict with Roger II of Sicily===
[[File:Roger II Sicily.jpg|thumb|[[Roger II of Sicily]] who forced Pope Honorius II to grant him the Duchy of Apulia]]
Matters to the south of Monte Cassino soon occupied Honorius's attention. In July 1127, [[William II, Duke of Apulia]], died childless, and almost immediately his cousin King [[Roger II of Sicily]] sailed to the mainland to occupy the duchies of Apulia and Calabria.<ref name="Levillain, pg. 732" /> Roger claimed that William had nominated him his heir,<ref name="Mann, pg. 252"/> while Honorius stated that William had left his territory to the [[Holy See]].<ref name="Mann, pg. 253">Mann, pg. 253</ref> Honorius had just suffered a defeat at the hands of a local baron at [[Arpino]] in 1127 when Honorius received word that Roger had landed in Italy.<ref name="Mann, pg. 253" /> He rushed to [[Benevento]] to prevent the local Normans from reaching an agreement with Roger.<ref name="Mann, pg. 253" /> Roger in the meantime had rapidly overrun the duchy of Apulia and had sent Honorius lavish gifts, asking the Pope to recognise him as the new duke and promising to hand over [[Troia, Apulia|Troia]] and [[Montefusco]] in exchange.<ref name="Mann, pg. 253" /> Honorius, fearing the expansion of Norman power to the south under one dominating ruler, threatened to excommunicate Roger if he persisted.<ref name="Mann, pg. 253" /> In the meantime, many of the local Norman nobles, fearful of Roger's power, allied themselves with Honorius, as Honorius formally excommunicated Roger in November 1127.<ref name="Mann, pg. 254">Mann, pg. 254</ref> Roger left his armies threatening Benevento, while he returned to [[Sicily]] for reinforcements. Honorius in the meantime entered into an alliance with the new [[Prince of Capua]], [[Robert II of Capua|Robert II]]. On 30 December 1127, Honorius preached a [[crusade]] against Roger II after having anointed Robert as Prince of Capua.<ref name="Mann, pg. 254" />

Roger returned in May 1128 and continued to harass papal strongholds while avoiding any direct confrontation with Honorius's forces. In July 1128, the two armies came in contact with each other on the banks of the [[Bradano]], but Roger refused to engage, believing that the papal armies would soon fall apart, and soon enough some of the Pope's allies began deserting to Roger.<ref name="Mann, pg. 255">Mann, pg. 255</ref> Trying to salvage something of the situation, Honorius sent his trusted advisor Cardinal Aymeric together with [[Cencio II Frangipane]] to negotiate with Roger secretly.<ref name="Levillain, pg. 732" /> Honorius agreed to invest Roger with the duchy of Apulia in exchange for an oath of faith and homage by Roger.<ref name="Levillain, pg. 732" />

Honorius travelled to Benevento, and after safeguarding the interests of Robert of Capua,<ref name="Mann, pg. 255" /> he met Roger on the Pons Major, the bridge which crosses the Sabbato river near Benevento, on 22 August 1128. There, he formally invested Roger with the duchy of Apulia and both agreed to a peace between the Kingdom of Sicily and the [[Papal States]].<ref name="Levillain, pg. 732" /> Unfortunately, Honorius had just returned to Rome when he was informed that the nobles of Benevento had overthrown and killed the [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] (or papal governor) of the city and established a Commune.<ref name="Mann, pg. 256">Mann, pg. 256</ref> Furious, he declared he would wreak a terrible vengeance on the city, whereupon the residents asked Honorius for forgiveness and to send another governor.<ref name="Mann, pg. 256" /> Honorius sent Cardinal [[Pope Lucius II|Gherardo]] as the new rector, and in 1129 visited the city again, asking that the city allow the return of those they had banished during the formation of the Commune. They refused, and Honorius asked Roger II of Sicily to punish the city in May 1130, but Honorius died before action was taken.<ref name="Mann, pg. 256" />