 When Barisone died in 1202 or 1203, he left Elena and the "giudicato" under the protection of Pope Innocent III, who wrote a letter to Biagio, Archbishop of Torres, charging him with assuring a smooth succession in Gallura, which meant arranging a marriage for the young Elena.The prospect of interference from William I of Cagliari, Comita III of Logudoro, and Hugh I and Peter I of Arborea was great enough to incite a second letter to those judges, in which the pope told them to respect Biagio's authority in the matter.On 15 September 1203, Innocent admonished William to restrain a relative of his (the margrave William Malaspina) who was seeking Elena's hand and to get him out of Gallura.