Cum enim sit ecclesie Romane vassallus: some observations on a letter of Pope Honorius III about James I of Aragon

Abstract

The aim of this work is to analyse the relationship between the Apostolic See and the Crown of Aragon during the papacy of Honorius III. While the idea of a feudal link between Aragon and the papacy has already been questioned by Johannes Fried, a letter sent from Honorius's chancery in 1222 seems to show how the pope might have reframed this relation at some point during his papacy, explicitly highlighting the idea of King James I as a vassallus of the Roman Church. Tackling this document from an ecclesiological perspective and reading it in light of the context in which it was produced, this article considers the reasons for the change of interpretation by Honorius and the consequences for Aragon and for the papacy.