In April 1076, not long after Eleanor had given birth, news arrived from the East: Eric's father, Giscard, had been excommunicated again. Shortly after Eric's departure from Rome, the Holy See had ordered Giscard to halt his offensive against the Byzantine Empire. Giscard, however, refused to comply. He concocted a new excuse, claiming to have learned through his contacts in Sicily that the Greek Empire had become a lackey to the infidel Turkic People. As a loyal vassal of the Roman Curia, he declared, he had no choice but to strike them a heavy blow.
He even proposed that the Crusades should begin from within the Catholic World itself.
Thanks to Eric's success in resolving the matter with Emperor Henry, Giscard was able to attack the Byzantine region of Epirus without reservation, achieving considerable success. He occupied a large portion of Byzantine Epirus.
