Editing Pope Gregory VII (section)

==Start of conflict with the Emperor==
{{See also|Investiture Controversy}}
Gregory VII's main political project was his relationship with the Holy Roman Empire. Since the death of Holy Roman Emperor Henry III, the strength of the German monarchy had been seriously weakened, and his untried son [[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry IV]] had to contend with great internal difficulties, presenting an opportunity for Gregory to strengthen the Church.<ref name="EB"/>

In the two years following Gregory's election, the [[Saxon revolt of 1073–1075|Saxon rebellion]] fully occupied Henry and forced him to come to terms with 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 the members of his council who had been banned by Gregory; he took an oath of obedience, and promised his support in the work of 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 [[Battle of Hohenburg|Hohenburg]]), he tried to reassert his sovereign rights in northern Italy. Henry sent Count Eberhard to [[Lombardy]] to combat the [[Pataria|Patarenes]]; nominated the cleric [[Tedald (archbishop of Milan)|Tedald]] to the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan|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 dated 8 December 1075, in which he accused Henry of breaching his word and of continuing to support excommunicated councillors. At the same time, the pope sent a verbal message threatening not only the ban of the Church against the emperor, but the deprivation of his crown. 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 (1076)|synod of Worms]] on 24 January 1076. In the higher ranks of the German clergy, Gregory had many enemies, and the Roman cardinal [[Hugh of Remiremont|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>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/henry4-to-g7a.html 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 (bishop of Treviso)|Roland of Parma]] faced the pope with these decisions before the synod which had just assembled in the [[Lateran Basilica]]. For the moment the members were frightened, but 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, Holy Roman Emperor|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 snatched the opportunity to renew their rebellion, and the anti-royalist party grew in strength from month to month.<ref name="EB"/>

===Walk to Canossa===
{{Main|Road 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 ruler. 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"/> Their dissension, however, merely postponed the verdict. Henry, they declared, 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 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 before the period named. 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 had travelled through [[Burgundy (region)|Burgundy]], greeted with enthusiasm by the Lombards, but he resisted the temptation to employ force. In an astonishing turn, the emperor mortified his pride and abased himself in the snow to do penance before the pope. This 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>[https://storicamente.org/creber-women-canossa 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 Gregory VII granted absolution, the [[diet (assembly)|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===
Obedience to the excommunication of Henry IV was used as a pretext to legitimize the rebellion of the German nobles, which did not end with his absolution. To the contrary, at [[Forchheim]] in March 1077 they elected a rival ruler in the person of [[Rudolf of Rheinfelden|Duke Rudolf of Swabia]], with the papal legates declaring their neutrality. Pope Gregory sought to maintain this attitude 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. In the end, his non-commitment largely lost the confidence of both parties. Finally he decided for Rudolf of Swabia after his victory at the [[Battle of Flarchheim]] on 27 January 1080. Under pressure from the Saxons, and misinformed as to the significance of this battle, 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>

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 [[Synod of Brixen|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 was at 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>{{cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=Edward | title=The First Crusade | publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press | location=Philadelphia | isbn=978-0812210170 | year=1971 |page=33 }}</ref> Gregory refused to entertain Henry's overtures, although the latter promised to hand over Guibert as a prisoner, if the sovereign pontiff would only consent to crown him 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 [[Antipope Clement III|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, 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.{{sfn|Peters|1971|p=33}} He was probably a prisoner of the Normans in Salerno. 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"/>