Editing Pope Gregory VII (section)

==Papal policy to the rest of Europe==

===England===
[[File:Pope Gregory VII's letters.gif|thumb|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-de-Bretagne|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>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rYbFIh92OQsC&pg=PA47 |last=De Fougerolles |first=Paula |chapter=Pope Gregory VII, the Archbishopric of Dol, and the Normans |title=Anglo-Norman Studies |volume=21 |editor-first=Christopher |editor-last=Harper-Bill |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |year=1999 |isbn=0-85115-745-9 }}</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 [[Diocese|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>{{cite book |first=H. R. |last=Loyn |chapter=William's Bishops: Some further thoughts |title=Anglo-Norman Studies |volume=10 |year=1988 |pages=222–235 |isbn=0-85115-502-2 }}</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>{{cite book |first=David C. |last=Douglas |title=William the Conqueror |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |year=1964 |pages=317–345, especially 323, 336–339 |isbn=0-520-00350-0 }}</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", [[Medieval Corsica|Corsica]] and [[Giudicati|Sardinia]] were assumed to belong to the Roman Church. [[Reconquista|Spain]], [[Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages|Hungary]] and [[Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)|Croatia]] were also claimed as her property, and an attempt was made to induce the king of [[History of Denmark#Christianity, expansion and the establishment of the Kingdom of Denmark|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 [[Hugo of Dié|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>{{cite book |first=Bernard F. |last=Reilly |title=The Contest of Christian and Muslim Spain 1031–1157 |publisher=Blackwell |year=1995 |isbn=0-631-19964-0 |page=69 }}</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 [[History of Poland during the Piast dynasty|Poland]], [[Kievan Rus']] and [[History of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown (Middle Ages)|Bohemia]]. He unsuccessfully tried to bring [[Bagratid Armenia|Armenia]] into closer contact with Rome.<ref name="EB"/><ref>{{cite book |first=Jacob G. |last=Ghazarian |title=The Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia During the Crusades: The Integration of Cilician Armenians with the Latins, 1080–1393 |publisher=Curzon Press |year=2000 |pages=81–82; 188–193 |isbn=0-7007-1418-9 }}</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]].{{sfn|Peters|1971|p=33}} 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>{{Cite web|url=https://apholt.com/2016/11/14/pope-gregory-vii-on-the-plight-of-eastern-christians-prior-to-the-first-crusade/|title = Pope Gregory VII on the Plight of Eastern Christians Prior to the First Crusade|date = 14 November 2016}}</ref>