In January 1159 the imperial envoy Rainald entered the city of Milan, which had been peacefully conquered in 1158, however, he was expelled and almost murdered by the inhabitants. While still staying in an Imperial army camp, he was appointed Archbishop of Cologne and Archchancellor of Italy in absence, as successor of the late Frederick II of Berg. When Pope Adrian died in 1159, the double election of Pope Alexander III and Victor IV led to a schism, during which Rainald aimed at strengthening the Imperial antipope Victor. At the 1160 Council of Pavia, he served as the emperor's ambassador and was employed in diplomatic negotiations with Genoa, Pisa, as well as the courts of King Louis VII of France and King Henry II of England, whom he endeavoured to win to the side of the antipope but did not succeed.