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Rh lations with Pope John who was heartily weary of his new subordination. Meantime Otto was secure in the north, his partisans were placed in power, Liudprand was Bishop of Cremona, Adalbert-Atto Count of Modena and Reggio, Otto's nephew Henry of Bavaria in firm possession of the march of Verona. So the news of the Pope's dubious loyalty only urged the Emperor to finish with Berengar by blockading him in S. Leo in May 963, while he still negotiated with John. The Pope on his side had grounds of complaint, for the Exarchate had not been restored to the Apostolic See on the ground that Berengar must first be conquered. On the other hand Otto had documentary proof that John was trying to rouse the Hungarians against him, and when he heard that Adalbert had been welcomed by John at Civitavecchia he seems to have decided to take the extreme measure of deposing his quondam ally. It was a hazardous course, for in the general belief the Pope could be brought to no man's judgment, and the Romans, even those not of Alberic's faction, resented any diminution of their autonomy. But Otto knew that John XII's scandalous life and government had made men inclined to admit even a Pope's deposition, and were driving his Roman opponents even to alliance with the foreign Emperor. Accordingly in October Otto left a blockading force at S. Leo and marched on Rome, where his partisans rose. John XII and Adalbert fled to Tivoli laden with much church-treasure, and the Romans surrendered. They gave hostages and swore never to elect a Pope save by the choice of Otto and his son. The engagement was novel, going far beyond the Carolingian right to confirm an election and receive the Pope's fealty, but Alberic had already exercised the same power and Otto's imperial crown was unsafe without it. Canonical form was as nearly as possible observed in John's deposition. A synod, in which the Pope's central Italian suffragans predominated, was presided over by the Emperor and attended by the Roman clergy and nobles; John was accused of gross misconduct and was summoned by Emperor and synod to clear himself in person. A brief letter in reply merely threatened with excommunication and suspension any bishops who should elect a new Pope. The synod sent a second summons retorting the threat and criticizing the illiteracy of John whose Latin smacked of the vernacular, but John was not to be found by the messengers. It was clear that the three canonical summonses could not be delivered to the culprit, and Otto now came forward in his own person and denounced John for his breach of fealty to himself. Thereupon on 4 December Emperor and synod declared John deposed and elected the protoscriniarius, a layman, Pope as Leo VIII.

Otto was in the full tide of success. Just after Christmas S. Leo at last surrendered and Berengar II and his wife were sent captive to Bamberg where they both died in 966. So Otto confidently dismissed much of his army. But John XII was stronger than he seemed, for his uncanonical deposition and a layman's uncanonical election had roused