That was precisely the problem: Constans was no longer in Constantinople; he had moved his seat of power to Syracuse on the island of Sicily, much closer to Gaul.
Constans II (630 - 668) was not particularly well-liked. He was crowned co-emperor at the age of 10 in 641 and became sole ruler after his brother Heraclonas was deposed on suspicion that he had poisoned their father to gain the throne. During his time, Byzantine's abandoned Egypt in the face of Mulsim approaches. He also refused to take sides in a ferocious religious debate over the nature of Jesus. He even decreed in 648 that there should be no discussion on the matter, which did not defuse the situation as he had hoped; nor did it endear him to either side.
The Rashidun Caliphate was moving across the eastern Mediterranean: Armenia, Cappadocia, Crete, Rhodes. Constans fought back, leading a fleet in the Battle of the Masts, in which 500 Byzantine ships were destroyed and Constans almost died. He traded clothes with a sailor to disguise himself and escape.
Besides Muslims, he was fearful of his younger brother Theodosius, whom he suspected of wanting to take over the throne. He pushed Theodosius into taking Holy Orders, but then had him killed in 660.
He also decided to get involved in religious matters after all, because Pope Martin I had condemned Constans publicly for halting the debate. Constans actually had Martin arrested by the Exarch of Ravenna (a Byzantine representative) and brought to Constantinople where he was condemned and exiled to a Greek town on the Crimean peninsula.
After having inspired his subjects to hatred of his poor leadership, he decided to abandon Constantinople for Sicily, taking the military and attacking the Lombards who were threatening Rome from the north. Despite his treatment of Pope Martin, current Pope Vitalian was friendly with him. (After all, there was no emperor in Rome, so they had to look to Constantinople for the highest secular authority, and Vitalian knew what had happened to Martin.)
So, as far as Ebroin in Gaul was concerned, Constans' military aspirations and his proximity might have been a threat. To be fair, however, would a Benedictine like Adrian be the likeliest person sent by Constans to be a disruptive element? There was another aspect of Byzantine culture that Ebroin might have feared a Benedictine could be part of: the nature of Jesus that was such a hot topic between the East and West. Tomorrow I'll discuss the hot topic of Monothelitism.
