the right to transfer the prelate from a diocese to another one. The dispute over the fill the position of Archbishop of Esztergom became a precedential event in the legal history of the Church, as the case and the following papal decretal ("Bone Memorie") appears among the glosses in English canonist Lawrence Somercotes' Tractatus. The cathedral chapter refused to invite the bishops of the suffragan dioceses of the Archbishopric of Esztergom to participate in the election process, referring to the canon law. According to the chapter's narration, the bishops were invited by the provost to ensure uniform approval, but they refused to attend and write an approval letter to Pope Innocent. Thus the canons did not recognize the bishops' right to vote, but their subsequent approval rights. In response, four suffragan bishops – Kalán of Pécs, Boleslaus of Vác, Kalanda of Veszprém and John of Nyitra (Nitra) – wrote a letter to the pope, where they claimed the archbishops were elected jointly by the chapter and the bishops in accordance with the spirit of customary law since King St. Stephen (the Archdiocese of Esztergom had six suffragan dioceses during that time; Katapán, Bishop of Eger kept himself away from the conflict, while the Diocese of Győr was in the status of sede vacante since early 1204). The four bishops, in addition of his origin outside the ecclesiastical province of Esztergom, also recalled John's activity as Archbishop of Kalocsa, when he had repeatedly attacked the privileges and acquired rights of Esztergom, causing unrest and destabilization. They argued John was inadequate to protect these prerogatives and they were afraid of possible revenge for previous grievances. In the same time, the canons sent their delegation to Rome to request the confirmation of John's nomination (as the canon law has forbidden the translation of bishops). The delegation consisted of the provost of Pressburg, the treasurer of Esztergom and two royal envoys – the abbot of Bakonybél and magister Peter (possibly identical with chronicler Anonymus), to strengthen John's position and emphasize the friendly relationship between him and Emeric. However the political situation changed when Emeric died on 30 November 1204. Duke Andrew, who governed the kingdom as his nephew's regent, had a tense relationship with Innocent, who has always been opposed to his rebellions against his brother. Andrew immediately sent a letter with discourteous tone to the pope to inform him about developments and to