Pope Gregory VII

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Christian leader Pope Gregory VII (Template:Langx; Template:C. 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (Template:Langx), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.

One of the great reforming popes, he initiated the Gregorian Reform, and is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Emperor Henry IV to establish the primacy of papal authority and the new canon law governing the election of the pope by the College of Cardinals. He was also at the forefront of developments in the relationship between the emperor and the papacy during the years before he became pope. He was the first pope to introduce a policy of obligatory celibacy for the clergy, which had until then commonly married,<ref>[Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, Template:ISBN]</ref><ref>New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol 3, Catholic University of America: Washington, D.C. 1967, p. 323</ref><ref>New Catholic Encyclopedia 1967, p. 366</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and also attacked the practice of simony.

During the power struggles between the papacy and the Empire, Gregory excommunicated Henry IV three times, and Henry appointed Antipope Clement III to oppose him. Though Gregory was hailed as one of the greatest of the Roman pontiffs after his reforms proved successful, during his own reign he was denounced by some for his autocratic use of papal powers.<ref>Beno, Cardinal Priest of Santi Martino e Silvestro. Gesta Romanae ecclesiae contra Hildebrandum. c. 1084. In K. Francke, MGH Libelli de Lite II (Hannover, 1892), pp. 369–373.</ref>

In later times, Gregory VII became an exemplar of papal supremacy to both supporters and opponents of the papacy. Beno of Santi Martino e Silvestro, who opposed Gregory VII in the Investiture Controversy, accused him of necromancy, cruelty, tyranny, and blasphemy. This was eagerly repeated by later opponents of the Catholic Church, such as the English Protestant John Foxe.<ref>"The acts and monuments of John Fox", Volume 2</ref> In contrast, the modern historian and Anglican priest H. E. J. Cowdrey writes, "[Gregory VII] was surprisingly flexible, feeling his way and therefore perplexing both rigorous collaborators ... and cautious and steady-minded ones ... His zeal, moral force, and religious conviction, however, ensured that he should retain to a remarkable degree the loyalty and service of a wide variety of men and women."Template:Sfn

Early life

Gregory was born Hildebrand (Template:Langx) in the town of Sovana, in the County of Grosseto, now southern Tuscany, the son of a blacksmith.<ref>Johann Georg Estor, Probe einer verbesserten Heraldic (Giessen 1728), "vorrede": Das Pabst Hildebrand ein Zimmermanns Sohn gewesen, we noch der Pater Daniel in der netten Historie von Franckreich geglaubet, rechnete der Pater Maimburg und Pater Pagi nicht unbillig zu eben dieser Ordnung. Francesco Pagi, Breviarium historico-chronologico criticum Tomus II (Antwerp 1717), p. 417, attributed to Cardinal Baronius the notion that the father was a faber, but that Papebroch considered him to be of noble stock.</ref> As a youth he was sent to study in Rome at the monastery of St. Mary on the Aventine, where his uncle was reportedly abbot of a monastery on the Aventine Hill.<ref name="SHMI">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Among his masters were the erudite Lawrence, archbishop of Amalfi, and Johannes Gratianus, the future Pope Gregory VI.Template:Sfn When the latter was deposed at the Council of Sutri in December of 1046, with approval of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III and exiled to Germany, Hildebrand followed him to Cologne.Template:Citation needed According to some chroniclers, Hildebrand moved to Cluny after Gregory VI's death in 1048; though his declaration to have become a monk at Cluny is disputed.<ref name=":0" />

He then accompanied Cluny's Abbot Bruno of Toul to Rome; there, Bruno was elected pope, choosing the name Leo IX, and named Hildebrand as deacon and papal administrator. In 1054 Leo sent Hildebrand as his legate to Tours in France in the wake of the controversy created by Berengar of Tours.<ref>Radding, Charles and Newton, Francis. Theology, Rhetoric, and Politics in the Eucharistic Controversy, 1078-1079, Columbia University Press, 2003, p. 6 Template:ISBN</ref> At Leo's death, the new pope, Victor II, confirmed him as legate, while Victor's successor Stephen IX sent him and Anselm of Lucca to Germany to obtain recognition from Empress Agnes.Template:Citation needed Hildebrand succeeded in his plea to Agnes, but Stephen died before being able to return to Rome, and Hildebrand was soon embroiled the crisis caused by the Roman aristocracy's election of an antipope, Benedict X.<ref>According to the sources, feeling he was nearing his end, Stephen had his cardinals swear that they would wait for Hildebrand's return to Rome before electing his successor.Template:Cite journal</ref> With Agnes's continued support, Benedict was formally replaced by Nicholas II,<ref name=Weber>Weber, Nicholas. "Pope Nicholas II." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton 1911 Template:PD-notice</ref> and with the help of 300 Norman knights sent by Richard of Aversa, Hildebrand personally led the conquest of the castle of Galeria Antica where Benedict had taken refuge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Between 1058 and 1059, he was made archdeacon of the Roman church, becoming the most important figure in the papal administration.<ref>G. B. Borino, "L' arcidiaconato di Ildebrando," Studi Gregoriani 3 (1948), 463–516.</ref>

He was again the most powerful figure behind the election of Anselm of Lucca the Elder as Pope Alexander II in the papal election of October 1061.<ref name=":0"/> The new pope put forward the reform program devised by Hildebrand and his followers.<ref name="EB1911">{{#if: |

   |{{#ifeq: Alexander (popes) |
                |{{#ifeq: |
                             |
                             |
                           }}
                |
               }}
  }}{{#ifeq:  |
   |{{#ifeq: 1 |
                                    |This article
                                    |One or more of the preceding sentences
                                   }} incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 
  }}{{#invoke:template wrapper|{{#if:|list|wrap}}|_template=cite EB1911
   |_exclude=footnote, inline, noicon, no-icon, noprescript, no-prescript, _debug

   | noicon=1
  }}{{#ifeq:  ||}}</ref> In his years as papal advisor, Hildebrand had an important role in the reconciliation with the Norman kingdom of southern Italy, in the anti-German alliance with the Pataria movement in northern Italy, and above all, in the new ecclesiastic law giving the cardinals exclusive rights to elect a new pope.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Election to the papacy

Pope Gregory VII was one of the few popes elected by acclamation. As funeral obsequies were being performed for Alexander II on 21 April 1073 in the Lateran Basilica, there arose an outcry from the clergy and people: "Let Hildebrand be pope!", "Blessed Peter has chosen Hildebrand the Archdeacon!" Hildebrand immediately fled and hid himself to make it clear that he refused this uncanonical election.<ref>The Annales of Berthold, the follower of Hermannus Augiensis, in Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptorum Volume 5 (Hannover 1844), p. 276: Quo audito sese imparem tanto honori immo oneri reputans, inducias respondendi vix imploravit; et sic fuga elapsus aliquot dies ad Vincula sancti Petri occultatus latuit. Tandem vix inventus et ad apostolicam sedem vi perductus....</ref> He was finally found at the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli, to which a famous monastery was attached, and elected pope by the assembled cardinals, with the due consent of the Roman clergy, amid the repeated acclamations of the people.<ref>Philippus Jaffé (editor), Regesta pontificum Romanorum editio secunda Tomus I (Leipzig 1885), p. 198. Sede Vacante 1073 (Dr. J. P. Adams).</ref><ref name="CE"/>

It was debated, at the time and since, whether this extraordinary outburst in favour of Hildebrand by clergy and people was wholly spontaneous or premeditated.<ref name="CE"/> According to Benizo, Bishop of Sutri, a supporter of Hildebrand, the outcry was begun by Cardinal Ugo Candidus, Cardinal Priest of S. Clemente, who rushed into a pulpit and began to declaim to the people.<ref>Bonizo of Sutri, in Monumenta Germaniae Historica, 6, Libelli 1, Libelli de Lite I (Hannover, 1891), p. 601 (ed. E. Dummler). Carl Mirbt, Die Publizistik im Zeitalter Gregors VII (Leipzig 1894), pp. 42–43.</ref> Certainly, the mode of his election was highly criticized by his opponents. Many of the accusations against his election may have been expressions of personal dislike, as they were not raised until several years later. But it is clear from Gregory's own account of the circumstances<ref>J. P. Migne (editor), Patrologia Latina Volume 148, columns 235–237.</ref> in his Epistles 1 and 2 that it was conducted contrary to the Constitution of the Pope of 607, which forbade a papal election until the third day after a pope's burial.<ref>Liber Pontificalis, in Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores, Volume 5 (Hannover 1844), p. 164 (ed. Mommsen), p. 164: Hic fecit constitutum in ecclesia beati Petri, in quo sederunt episcopi LXXII, presbiteri Romani XXXIII, diaconi et clerus omnis, sub anathemate, ut nullus pontificem viventem aut episcopum civitatis suae praesumat loqui aut partes sibi facere nisi tertio die depositionis eius adunato clero et filiis ecclesiae, tunc electio fiat, et quis quem voluerit habebit licentiam eligendi sibi sacerdotem.</ref> Cardinal Ugo's intervention was contrary to the Constitution of Nicholas II, which allowed only Cardinal Bishops to nominate candidates; and finally, it ignored the Constitution's requirement that the Holy Roman Emperor be consulted.<ref>The Annales of Lambertus of Hersfeld, in Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptorum 5 (1844), p. 194, states that Gregory did wait for a reply from the Emperor: cogi tamen nullo modo potuisse, ut ordinari se permitteret, donec in electionem suam tam regem quam principes Teutonici regni consensisse certa legatione cognosceret. Whether he got it, or whether the response was positive, is another matter.</ref> However, Gregory was then confirmed by a second election at S. Pietro in Vincoli.

Gregory VII's earliest pontifical letters clearly acknowledged these events, and thus helped defuse doubts about his election and popularity. On 22 May 1073, the Feast of Pentecost, he received ordination as a priest, and he was consecrated a bishop and enthroned as pope on 29 June, the Feast of St. Peter's Chair.<ref name="EB">{{#if: |

   |{{#ifeq: Gregory (Popes)/Gregory VII |
                |{{#ifeq: |
                             |
                             |
                           }}
                |
               }}
  }}{{#ifeq:  |
   |{{#ifeq: 1 |
                                    |This article
                                    |One or more of the preceding sentences
                                   }} incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 
  }}{{#invoke:template wrapper|{{#if:|list|wrap}}|_template=cite EB1911
   |_exclude=footnote, inline, noicon, no-icon, noprescript, no-prescript, _debug

   | noicon=1
  }}{{#ifeq:  ||}}</ref>

In the decree of election, his electors proclaimed Gregory VII:

"a devout man, a man mighty in human and divine knowledge, a distinguished lover of equity and justice, a man firm in adversity and temperate in prosperity, a man, according to the saying of the Apostle, of good behavior, blameless, modest, sober, chaste, given to hospitality, and one that ruleth well his own house; a man from his childhood generously brought up in the bosom of this Mother Church, and for the merit of his life already raised to the archidiaconal dignity. [...] We choose then our Archdeacon Hildebrand to be pope and successor to the Apostle, and to bear henceforward and forever the name of Gregory" (22 April 1073).<ref name="CE" />

Gregory VII's first attempts in foreign policy were towards a reconciliation with the Normans of Robert Guiscard; in the end the two parties did not meet. After a failed call for a crusade to the princes of northern Europe,<ref name="Paravicini Bagliani 76">Template:Cite journal</ref> and after obtaining the support of other Norman princes such as Landulf VI of Benevento and Richard I of Capua, Gregory VII was able to excommunicate Robert in 1074.

In the same year Gregory VII summoned a council in the Lateran palace, which condemned simony and confirmed celibacy for the Church's clergy. These decrees were further stressed, under threat of excommunication, the next year (24–28 February).<ref name="Paravicini Bagliani 76" /> In particular, Gregory decreed that only the Pope could appoint or depose bishops or move them from see to see, an act which was later to cause the Investiture Controversy.Template:Citation needed

Start of conflict with the Emperor

Template:See also Gregory VII's main political project was his relationship with the Holy Roman Empire. After the death of Holy Roman Emperor Henry III, his untried son Henry IV had to contend with turbulent internal opposition to the German monarchy, presenting an opportunity for Gregory to strengthen the Church.<ref name="EB"/>

In the two years following Gregory's election, the Saxon rebellion fully occupied Henry and forced him to appease the pope at any cost. In May 1074 Henry did penance at Nuremberg—in the presence of the papal legates—to atone for his continued friendship with his councillors who had been banned by Gregory; he took an oath of obedience, and promised the pope his support in reforming the Church.<ref>Barber, Malcolm. The Two Cities: Medieval Europe 1050–1320. (2004) University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 7-88</ref> However, as soon as Henry defeated the Saxons at the First Battle of Langensalza on 9 June 1075 (Battle of Homburg or Hohenburg), the young emperor tried to reassert his sovereign rights in northern Italy. Henry sent Count Eberhard to Lombardy to combat the Patarenes; nominated the cleric Tedald to the archbishopric of Milan, settling a prolonged and contentious question; and made overtures to the Norman duke Robert Guiscard.<ref name="EB"/>

Gregory VII replied with a harsh letter of 8 December 1075, accusing Henry of breaching his word and of continuing to support excommunicated councillors. The pope also sent a verbal message threatening to excommunicate and even depose the emperor. At the same time, Gregory was menaced by Cencio I Frangipane, who on Christmas night surprised him in church and kidnapped him, though he was released the following day.<ref name="EB"/>

Pope and emperor depose each other

The high-handed demands and threats of the pope infuriated Henry and his court, and their answer was the hastily convened national synod of Worms on 24 January 1076. Gregory had many enemies among the German prelates, and the Roman cardinal Hugo Candidus, once on intimate terms with Gregory but now his opponent, hurried to Germany for the occasion. Candidus declaimed a list of accusations against the pope before the assembly, which resolved that Gregory had forfeited the papacy. In one document full of accusations, the bishops renounced their allegiance to Gregory. In another, Henry pronounced him deposed, and required the Romans to choose a new pope.<ref name="EB"/><ref>Letter to Gregory VII (24 January 1076)</ref>

The council sent two bishops to Italy, who then procured a similar act of deposition from the Lombard bishops at the synod of Piacenza. Roland of Parma faced the pope with these decisions before the synod which had just assembled in the Lateran Basilica. Rejecting the threat, there soon arose such a storm of indignation that only the calming words of Gregory saved the envoy's life.<ref name="EB"/>

On the following day, 22 February 1076, Gregory solemnly pronounced a sentence of excommunication against Henry IV, divested him of his royal dignity, and absolved his subjects of their sworn allegiance. The effectiveness of this sentence depended entirely on Henry's subjects, above all on the German princes. Contemporary evidence suggests that the excommunication of Henry made a profound impression both in Germany and Italy.<ref name="EB"/>

Thirty years before, Henry III had deposed three unworthy claimants to the papacy, a service acknowledged by the Church and public opinion. When Henry IV again attempted this procedure he lacked support. In Germany there was a rapid and general feeling in favor of Gregory, strengthening the princes against their feudal lord Henry. When at Whitsun the emperor summoned a council of nobles to oppose the pope, only a few responded. Meanwhile, the Saxons seized the opportunity for a new rebellion, and the anti-royalist party grew in strength from month to month.<ref name="EB"/>

Walk to Canossa

Henry now faced ruin. As a result of the agitation, which was zealously fostered by the papal legate Bishop Altmann of Passau, the princes met in October at Trebur to elect a new German emperor. Henry, who was stationed at Oppenheim on the left bank of the Rhine, was only saved from the loss of his throne by the failure of the assembled princes to agree on his successor.<ref name="EB"/> Nevertheless, they declared that Henry must make reparation and obeisance to Gregory, and if he were still under the ban on the anniversary of his excommunication, his throne should be considered vacant. At the same time they invited Gregory to Augsburg to decide the conflict.<ref name="EB" />

Unable to oppose his princes and the pope together, Henry saw that he must secure absolution from Gregory. At first he attempted this through an embassy, but when Gregory rejected his overtures he went to Italy in person.<ref name="EB" /> The pope had already left Rome and had informed the German princes that he would expect their escort on 8 January 1077 to Mantua. This escort had not appeared when he received the news of Henry's arrival at Canossa, where Gregory had taken refuge under the protection of his close ally, Matilda of Tuscany. Henry travelled through Burgundy ordering his troops to maintain civility, and was greeted with enthusiasm by the Lombards. In an astonishing turn, the emperor mortified his pride and knelt barefoot in the snow to beg the pope's forgiveness. This penance immediately reversed the moral situation, forcing Gregory to grant Henry absolution. The Walk to Canossa soon became legendary.<ref name="EB" />

The reconciliation was only effected after prolonged negotiations and definite pledges on the part of Henry, and it was with reluctance that Gregory VII at length gave way, considering the political implications.<ref>A. Creber, ‘Women at Canossa. The Role of Elite Women in the Reconciliation between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV of Germany (January 1077),’ Storicamente 13 (2017), article no. 13, pp. 1–44.</ref> If the pope granted absolution, the diet of princes in Augsburg, which had called on him as arbitrator, would be rendered impotent. It was impossible, however, to deny the penitent re-entrance into the Church, and Gregory VII's Christian duty overrode his political interests.<ref name="EB" />

The removal of the ban did not imply a genuine settlement, as there was no mention of the main question between pope and emperor: that of investiture. A new conflict was inevitable.<ref name="EB" />

Later excommunications of Henry IV

The rebellion of the German nobles did not end with the emperor's absolution from excommunication. To the contrary, at Forchheim in March 1077 they elected a rival ruler in the person of Duke Rudolf of Swabia, with the papal legates declaring their neutrality. Pope Gregory sought to maintain this neutrality during the following years, balancing the two parties of fairly equal strength, each trying to gain the upper hand by getting the pope on their side. His non-commitment exasperated both parties, but after Rudolf's victory at the Battle of Flarchheim on 27 January 1080, Gregory abandoned his waiting policy and again pronounced the excommunication and deposition of Henry on 7 March 1080.<ref name="EB"/><ref>Emerton, pp. 149–154.</ref> However, the pope, under pressure from the Saxons, was misinformed as to the significance of this battle.

The papal censure now got a very different reception from the one four years before. It was widely felt to be unjustly pronounced on frivolous grounds, and its authority came in question. The emperor, now more experienced, vigorously denounced the ban as illegal.<ref name="EB"/> He summoned a council at Brixen, and on 25 June 1080 thirty bishops present pronounced Gregory deposed, electing archbishop Guibert (Wibert) of Ravenna as his successor.<ref>Philippus Jaffe, Regesta pontificum Romanorum I, editio altera (Leipzig 1885), p. 649. Guibert continued to maintain his pretensions as pope until his death in September 1100. Otto Köhncke, Wibert von Ravenna (Papst Clemens III) (Leipzig 1888).</ref> Gregory countered on 15 October, ordering the clergy and laity to elect a new archbishop in place of the "mad" and "tyrannical" schismatic Wibert.<ref>Philippus Jaffé (editor) Bibliotheca rerum Germanicarum Tomus II: Monumenta Gregoriana (Berolini 1865), pp. 443–444 (Regestum, Book VIII, 13).</ref> In 1081, Henry opened the conflict against Gregory in Italy.<ref name="EB"/> The emperor was now in the stronger position,<ref>He complained in a letter to King Alfonso of Leon and Castile in 1081 that he had a large number of detractors, whose complaints were widely spread, and whom he names as "liars": Jaffe Bibliotheca, pp. 470–473.</ref> as thirteen cardinals had deserted the pope, and the rival emperor Rudolf of Swabia died on 16 October. A new imperial claimant, Hermann of Luxembourg, was put forward in August 1081, but he was unable to rally the papal party in Germany, and the power of Henry IV rose to its peak.<ref name="EB"/>

The pope's chief military supporter, Matilda of Tuscany,<ref>Robinson (1978), p. 100.</ref> blocked Henry's armies from the western passages over the Apennines, so he had to approach Rome from Ravenna. Rome surrendered to the German king in 1084, and Gregory thereupon retired into the exile of the Castel Sant'Angelo.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Gregory refused to entertain Henry's overtures, although the latter promised to hand over the anti-pope Guibert as a prisoner, if the sovereign pontiff would consent to crown Henry emperor. Gregory, however, insisted that Henry appear before a council and do penance. The emperor, while pretending to submit to these terms, tried hard to prevent the meeting of the council. A small number of bishops assembled nonetheless, and Gregory again excommunicated Henry.<ref name="CE"/>

Henry, upon receipt of this news, again entered Rome on 21 March to see that his supporter, Archbishop Guibert of Ravenna, was enthroned as Pope Clement III on 24 March 1084, who in turn crowned Henry as emperor. In the meantime Gregory had formed an alliance with Robert Guiscard, who marched on the city<ref name="CE"/> and compelled Henry to flee towards Civita Castellana.

Exile from Rome

The pope was liberated, but after the Roman people became incensed by the excesses of his Norman allies, he again withdrew to Monte Cassino,<ref>Ferdinand Gregorovius, History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages (tr. A. Hamilton) Volume IV (London 1896), pp. 245–255. Horace K. Mann, The Lives of the Popes in the Middle Ages Volume VII (London 1910), pp. 162–165.</ref> and later to the castle of Salerno by the sea, where he died on 25 May 1085,Template:Sfn probably as a prisoner of the Normans. Three days before his death, he withdrew all the censures of excommunication that he had pronounced, except those against the two chief offenders—Henry and Guibert.<ref name="CE"/>

Papal policy to the rest of Europe

England

A map of Gregory VII's papal correspondence

In 1076, Gregory appointed Dol Euen, a monk of Saint-Melaine of Rennes, as bishop of Dol, rejecting both the incumbent, Iuthael, who had the support of William the Conqueror, who had recently been conducting military operations in north-eastern Brittany, and Gilduin, the candidate of the nobles in Dol opposing William. Gregory rejected Iuthael because he was notorious for simony and Guilden as too young.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Gregory also bestowed on Dol Euen the pallium of a metropolitan archbishop, on the condition that he would submit to the judgment of the Holy See when the long-standing case of the right of Dol to be a metropolitan and use the pallium was finally decided.<ref>Philippus Jaffe (editor) Bibliotheca rerum Germanicarum Tomus II: Monumenta Gregoriana (Berolini 1865), pp. 247–249 (Registrum IV.4 and 5, 27 September 1076). B. Hauréau (editor), Gallia christiana XIV (Paris 1856), 1046–1047.</ref>

King William felt himself so safe that he interfered autocratically with the management of the church, forbade the bishops to visit Rome, made appointments to bishoprics and abbeys, and showed little anxiety when the pope lectured him on the different principles which he had as to the relationship of spiritual and temporal powers, or when he prohibited him from commerce or commanded him to acknowledge himself a vassal of the apostolic chair.<ref name="EB"/> William was particularly annoyed at Gregory's insistence on dividing ecclesiastical England into two provinces, in opposition to William's need to emphasize the unity of his newly acquired kingdom. Gregory's increasing insistence on church independence from secular authority in the matter of clerical appointments became a more and more contentious issue.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He sought as well to compel the episcopacy to look to Rome for validation and direction, demanding the regular attendance of prelates in Rome.<ref>Philippus Jaffe (editor) Bibliotheca rerum Germanicarum Tomus II: Monumenta Gregoriana (Berolini 1865), pp. 318–320; and Gregory's complaint to William, Archbishop of Rouen in 1080, who paid no attention to demands that he come to Rome: pp. 469–470. Likewise, in Regestum IV. 9, Gregory informed the Archbishop of Sens that he would excommunicate the Bishop of Orleans unless he turned up in Rome: pp. 253–254 (2 November 1076)</ref> Gregory had no power to compel the English king to an alteration in his ecclesiastical policy, so he was compelled to ignore what he could not approve, and even considered it advisable to assure King William of his particular affection.<ref name="EB"/> On the whole, William's policy was of great benefit to the Church.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Emerton, pp. 154–156 (24 April 1080). Migne, Patrologia Latina Vol. 148, pp. 565–567.</ref>

Normans in the Kingdom of Sicily

The relationship of Gregory VII to other European states was strongly influenced by his German policy, since the Holy Roman Empire, by taking up most of his energies, often forced him to show to other rulers the very moderation which he withheld from the German king. The attitude of the Normans brought him a rude awakening. The great concessions made to them under Nicholas II were not only powerless to stem their advance into central Italy, but failed to secure even the expected protection for the papacy. When Gregory VII was hard pressed by Henry IV, Robert Guiscard left him to his fate, and only intervened when he himself was threatened with German arms. Then, on the capture of Rome, he abandoned the city to his troops, and the popular indignation evoked by his act brought about Gregory's exile.<ref name="EB"/>

Claims of Papal sovereignty

In the case of several countries, Gregory VII tried to establish a claim of sovereignty on the part of the Papacy, and to secure the recognition of its self-asserted rights of possession. On the ground of "immemorial usage", Corsica and Sardinia were assumed to belong to the Roman Church. Spain, Hungary and Croatia were also claimed as her property, and an attempt was made to induce the king of Denmark to hold his realm as a fief from the pope.<ref name="EB"/>

In his treatment of ecclesiastical policy and ecclesiastical reform, Gregory did not stand alone, but found powerful support: in England Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury stood closest to him; in France his champion was Bishop Hugh de Dié, who afterwards became Archbishop of Lyon.<ref name="EB"/><ref>Benedictines of S. Maur (editors), Gallia christiana IV (Paris 1728), pp. 97–109.</ref>

France

Philip I of France, by his practice of simony and the violence of his proceedings against the Church, provoked a threat of summary measures. Excommunication, deposition and the interdict appeared to be imminent in 1074. Gregory, however, refrained from translating his threats into actions, although the attitude of the king showed no change, for he wished to avoid a dispersion of his strength in the conflict soon to break out in Germany.<ref name="EB"/>

Pope Gregory attempted to organize a crusade into Al-Andalus, led by Count Ebles II of Roucy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Distant Christian countries

Gregory, in fact, established some sort of relations with every country in Christendom; though these relations did not invariably realize the ecclesiastico-political hopes connected with them. His correspondence extended to Poland, Kievan Rus' and Bohemia. He unsuccessfully tried to bring Armenia into closer contact with Rome.<ref name="EB"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Byzantine Empire

Gregory was particularly concerned with the East. The schism between Rome and the Byzantine Empire was a severe blow to him, and he worked hard to restore the former amicable relationship. Gregory successfully tried to get in touch with the emperor Michael VII. When the news of the Muslim attacks on the Christians in the East filtered through to Rome, and the political embarrassments of the Byzantine emperor increased, he conceived the project of a great military expedition and exhorted the faithful to participate in recovering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre<ref name="EB"/>—foreshadowing the First Crusade.Template:Sfn In his efforts to recruit for the expedition, he emphasized the suffering of eastern Christians, arguing western Christians had a moral obligation to go to their aid.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Internal policy and reforms

Template:Main Template:Infobox saint His lifework was based on his conviction that the Church was founded by God and entrusted with the task of embracing all mankind in a single society in which divine will is the basis of all law; that, in its capacity as a divine institution, it is supreme over all human structures, especially the secular state; and that the pope, in his role as head of the Church, is the vice-regent of God on earth, so that disobedience to him implies disobedience to God and a defection from Christianity. However, a political realization of this ideal would have required the abolition of all secular monarchs and authorities.<ref name="EB"/>

Thus Gregory VII, as a practical politician, acknowledged the existence of the state as a dispensation of providence, admitted the coexistence of church and state as a divine ordinance, and emphasized the necessity of union between the sacerdotium and the imperium. But he absolutely refused to put the two powers on an equal footing; the superiority of church to state admitted of no doubt or discussion.<ref name="EB"/> He wished to see all important matters of dispute referred to Rome, ultimately to the pope himself, with a corresponding curtailment of the powers of bishops. Since these clung to their traditional episcopal independence, his papacy is full of struggles against the higher clergy.<ref name="EB" />

This battle for the foundation of papal supremacy is connected with his championship of compulsory celibacy among the clergy and his attack on simony. Gregory VII did not introduce the celibacy of the priesthood into the Church, but he took up the struggle with greater energy than his predecessors. In 1074, he published an encyclical, absolving the people from their obedience to bishops who allowed married priests. The next year he enjoined them to take action against married priests, and deprived these clerics of their revenues. Both the campaign against priestly marriage and that against simony provoked widespread resistance.<ref name="EB" />

Wax funeral effigy of Gregory VII under glass in the Salerno cathedral.

His writings treat mainly of the principles and practice of Church government.<ref name="CE"/> They may be found in Mansi's collection under the title "Gregorii VII registri sive epistolarum libri".<ref>Mansi, "Gregorii VII registri sive epistolarum libri." Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio. Florence, 1759</ref> Most of his surviving letters are preserved in his Register, which is now stored in the Vatican Archives.

Gregory VII's reforms to curb lay control of the Catholic Church have been characterized as a key factor in the rise of urban self-government in Europe.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Gregory VII was critical in the birth of modern universities, as his 1079 decree ordered the regulated establishment of the cathedral schools which transformed into the first European universities.Template:Citation needed

Doctrine of the Eucharist

Gregory VII was seen by Pope Paul VI as instrumental in affirming the dogma of Christ's real presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Gregory's confession of this belief, imposed on Berengarius,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> was quoted in Pope Paul VI's 1965 encyclical Mysterium fidei:<ref name= Hardon4 >Template:Cite book</ref>

This profession of faith began a "Eucharistic Renaissance" in the churches of Europe beginning in the 12th century.<ref name= Hardon4/>

Death

Pope Gregory VII died in exile in Salerno; the epitaph on his sarcophagus in the city's Cathedral says: "I have loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore, I die in exile."<ref name="SHMI"/><ref>Latin epitaph: Dilexi iustitiam et odivi iniquitatem propterea morior in exilio. This is a reworking of the well-known Ps. 44.8 Dilexísti justítiam, et odísti iniquitátem : proptérea unxit te Deus, Deus tuus, óleo lætítiæ præ consórtibus tuis. Together with Ps 44. 2, Eructávit cor meum verbum bonum : dico ego ópers mea Regi, it forms the Introit of the former of the two Masses of the Common of a virgin not a martyr. The grammatical variation on 'Thou didst love justice and hate iniquity', the original of which was said in apostrophe to the canonised virgin not a martyr, whose feast is being celebrated. Gregory (or his eulogizers), therefore, was likely quoting from a familiar liturgical text. See also: Template:Cite book</ref>

Legacy

Gregory VII was beatified by Pope Gregory XIII in 1584 and canonized on 24 May 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII.<ref name="CE">Template:Catholic</ref>

See also

• Concordat of Worms
• Dictatus papae (1075–87)
• First Council of the Lateran
• Libertas ecclesiae
• List of popes

Further reading

• Template:Cite book
• Bonizo of Sutri, "Liber ad amicum", in Philippus Jaffé (editor) Bibliotheca rerum Germanicarum Tomus II: Monumenta Gregoriana (Berolini 1865), pp. 577–689.
• Paul von Bernried, Canon of Regensburg, "S. Gregorii VII Vita," J. P. Migne (ed.), Patrologiae Cursus Completus Series Latina Tomus CXLVIII: Sancti Gregorii VII Epistolae et Diplomata Pontificia (Paris 1878), 39–104.
• Template:Cite EB9
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Kuttner, S. (1947). 'Liber Canonicus: a note on the Dictatus Papae', Studi Gregoriani 2 (1947), 387–401.
• Capitani, O. "Esiste un' «età gregoriana» ? Considerazioni sulle tendenze di una storiografia medievistica," Rivista di storia e letteratura religiosa 1 (1965), pp. 454–481.
• Capitani, O. (1966). Immunità vescovili ed ecclesiologia in età "pregregoriana" e "gregoriana". L'avvio alla "Restaurazione, Spoleto.
• Gatto, L. (1968). Bonizo di Sutri ed il suo Liber ad Amicum Pescara.
• Knox, Ronald (1972). "Finding the Law: Developments in Canon Law during the Gregorian Reform," Studi Gregoriani 9 (1972) 419–466.
• Gilchrist, J. T. (1972). "The Reception of Pope Gregory VII into the Canon Law (1073–1141)." Zeitschrift für Rechtsgeschichte: Kanonistische Abteilung, 59 (1973), 35–82.
• Template:Cite book
• Capitani, O. (1984). L'Italia medievale nei secoli di trapasso: la riforma della Chiesa (1012–1122). Bologna.
• Fuhrmann, H. (1989). "Papst Gregor VII. und das Kirchenrecht. Zum Problem des Dictatus papae," Studi Gregoriani XIII, pp. 123–149, 281–320.
• Golinelli, Paolo (1991). Matilde e i Canossa nel cuore del Medioevo. Milano: Mursia.
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Capitani, Ovidio (2000), "Gregorio VII, santo," in Enciclopedia dei Papi. Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana.
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book. Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Studien und Texte, 53.
• Template:Cite book
• Capitani, Ovidio; (ed. Pio Berardo) (2015). Gregorio VII : il papa epitome della chiesa di Roma. Spoleto : Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo.
• Template:Cite book
• Villegas-Aristizábal, Lucas, "Pope Gregory VII and Count Eblous II of Roucy's Proto-Crusade in Iberia c. 1073", Medieval History Journal 21.1 (2018), 1–24. Template:Doi

External links

• Women's Biography: Matilda of Tuscany, countess of Tuscany, duchess of Lorraine, contains several of his letters to his supporter, Matilda of Tuscany.
• Database of the Letters of Pope Gregory VII: Which letter is in which collection?
• Template:DNB-Portal
• Template:DDB
• Template:Geschichtsquellen Person