Hildebrand/Gregory VII

Gregory VII met with vigorous opposition from the German clergy as well as from the king when he attempted to enforce his laws against simony and the marriage of the clergy. In a synod at Home, 1075, Feb. 24-28, Gregory excommunicated five of Henry’s intimate advisers for the sin of simony. Henry refused to recognize the validity of this excommunication, and, regardless of papal protests, persisted in his policy of disposing of bishoprics (Milan, Fermo, Spoleto, for example) as he chose. Gregory determined to proceed to extreme measures. He sent messengers to Henry, bearing this letter (no. 74) in which he defended his decrees against simony and the marriage of the clergy, and announced his determination to hold fast to them and to compel the whole world to accept them. He also intrusted an oral message to the bearers of the letter to the effect that if Henry did not mend his evil life, and drive his excommunicated counsellors from his court, Gregory would not only excommunicate him but also depose him.

Henry’s answer to this message and letter was given at a national synod at Worms, Jan. 24. 1076. This synod deposed Gregory and informed him of their action by two letters, one by Henry (no. 75), and the other by the German bishops (no. 76). Gregory replied by excommunicating and deposing the king (no. 77).

Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to Henry, the king, greeting and apostolic benediction—that is, if he shall prove obedient to the apostolic see as a Christian king should.	GREGORIUS episcopus, servus servorum Dei, HENRICO regi, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem ; si tamen apostolicae sedi, ut Christianum decet regem, obedierit [obediat]. [...]
We have sent you our apostolic benediction with some hesitation, knowing that we must render account to God, the severe judge, for all our acts as pope. Now it is reported that you have knowingly associated with men who have been excommunicated by the pope and the synod. If this is true, you know that you cannot receive the blessing either of God or of the pope until you have driven them from you and have compelled them to do penance, and have yourself sought absolution and forgiveness for your transgressions with due penance and reparation. Therefore, if you realize your guilt in this matter, we counsel you to confess straightway to some pious bishop, who shall absolve you with our permission, enjoining upon you suitable penance for this fault, and who shall faithfully report to us by letter, with your permission, the character of the penance prescribed.	cum dubitatione apostolicam tibi benedictionem mandavimus, quoniam judicio sedis apostolicae ac synodali censura excommunicatis communionem tuam scienter exhibere diceris. Quod si verum est, tu ipse cognoscis quod nec divinae nec apostolicae benedictionis gratiam percipere possis, nisi his qui excommunicati sunt a te separatis et compulsis ad poenitentiam de transgressione tua condigna poenitudine et satisfactione prius absolutionem consequaris et indulgentiam. Unde excellentiae tuae consulimus ut, si in hac re te culpabilem sentis, celeri confessione ad consilium religiosi alicujus episcopi venias, qui cum nostra licentia congruam ^[0440A] tibi pro hac culpa injungens poenitentiam te absolvat, ut nobis tuo consensu modum poenitentiae tuae per epistolam suam veraciter intimare audeat.
We wonder, moreover, that you should continue to assure us by letter and messengers of your devotion and humility; that you should call yourself our son and the son of the holy mother church, obedient in the faith, sincere in love, diligent in devotion, and that you should commend yourself to us with all zeal of love and reverence—whereas in fact you are constantly disobeying the canonical and apostolic decrees in important matters of the faith.	De caetero mirum nobis valde videtur quod toties nobis tam devotas epistolas et tantam humilitatem tuae celsitudinis per legatorum tuorum verba transmittis, filium te sanctae matris Ecclesiae et nostrum vocas in fide subjectum, in dilectione unicum, in devotione praecipuum, postremo cum omni affectu dulcedinis et reverentiae te commendas, re tamen et factis asperrimum, canonicis atque apostolicis decretis in his quae ecclesiastica religio maxime poscit te contrarium ostendis.
For, to say nothing of the rest, in the case of Milan, concerning which you gave us your promise through your mother and through our fellow-bishops whom we sent to you, the event has shown how far you intended to carry out your promise [that is, not at all] and with what purpose you made it.	Nam ut de reliquis taceamus, quod de causa Mediolanensi per matrem tuam, per confratres nostros episcopos quos ad te misimus, nobis ^[0440B] promiseras, qualiter attenderis, aut quo animo promiseris, ipsa res indicat,
And now, to inflict wound upon wound, contrary to the apostolic decrees you have bestowed the churches of Fermo and Spoleto—if indeed a church can be bestowed by a layman—upon certain persons quite unknown to us; for it is not lawful to ordain men before they have been known and proved.	et nunc quidem ut vulnus vulneri infligeres, contra statuta apostolicae sedis tradidisti Firmanam et Spoletanam Ecclesiam; si tamen ab homine tradi Ecclesia aut donari potest quibusdam personis nobis etiam ignotis; quibus non licet nisi probatis et ante bene cognitis regulariter manum imponere.
Since you confess yourself a son of the church, you should treat with more honor the head of the church, that is, St. Peter, the prince of the apostles. If you are one of the sheep of the Lord, you have been entrusted to him by divine authority, for Christ said to him: “Peter, feed my sheep” [John 21:16]; and again: “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” [Matt. 16:19].	Decuerat regiam dignitatem tuam, cum te filium Ecclesiae confiteris, honorabilius magistrum Ecclesiae, hoc est beatum Petrum apostolorum principem intueri, cui, si de Dominicis ovibus es, Dominica voce et potestate ad pascendum traditus es, dicente sibi Christo: Petre, pasce oves meas (Joan. XVII), et iterum: Tibi traditae sunt claves regni coelorum, et quodcunque ligaveris super ^[0440C] *terram, erit ligatum et in coelis; et quodcunque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in coelis* (Matth. XVI).
And since we, although an unworthy sinner, exercise his authority by divine will,	In cujus sede et apostolica administratione dum nos qualescunque peccatores et indigni divina dispositione vicem suae potestatis gerimus,
the words which you address to us are in reality addressed directly to him. And although we only read or hear the words, he sees the heart from which the words proceed.	profecto quidquid ad nos vel per scripta, ut nudis verbis miseris ipse recipit; et dum nos aut elementa percurrimus, aut loquentium voces auscultamus, ipse ex quo corde mandata prodierint subtili inspectione discernit.
Therefore your highness should be very careful that no insincerity be found in your words and messages to us; and that you show due reverence, not to us indeed, but to omnipotent God, in those things which especially make for the advance of the Christian faith and the well-being of the church. For our Lord said to the apostles and to their successors: “He who hears you hears me; and he who despises you despises me” [Luke 10:16].	Quapropter providendum esset tuae celsitudini, ne erga sedem apostolicam in verbis et legationibus tuis aliqua inveniretur discrepantia voluntatis, et in his, per quae Christiana fides et status Ecclesiae ^[0440D] ad aeternam salutem maxime proficit, non nobis, sed Deo omnipotenti debitam non denegares reverentiam, quanquam apostolis eorumque successoribus Dominus dicere dignatus sit: Qui vos audit, me audit, et qui vos spernit, me spernit (Luc. X).
For no one will disregard our admonitions if he believes that the decrees of the pope have the same authority as the words of the apostle himself. For if our Lord commanded the apostles out of reverence for the seat of Moses to observe the sayings of the scribes and Pharisees who occupied that seat, then surely the faithful ought to receive with all reverence the apostolic and evangelical doctrine through those who are chosen to the ministry of preaching.	Scimus enim quoniam qui fidelem Deo obedientiam exhibere non renuit, in his quae sanctorum Patrum statuta sequentes dixerimus, veluti si ab ore ipsius apostoli accepisset, nostra monita servare non spernit. Nam si propter reverentiam cathedrae Moysi Dominus praecepit apostolis ut quaecunque Scribae et Pharisaei super eam sedentes dicerent observarent, non dubium est quin apostolica et evangelica doctrina, cujus sedes et ^[0441A] fundamentum Christus est, cui omni veneratione a fidelibus per eos qui in ministerium praedicationis electi sunt, suscipienda et tenenda sit.
Now in the synod held at the apostolic seat to which the divine will has called us (at which some of your subjects also were present) we, seeing that the Christian religion had been weakened by many attacks and that the chief and proper motive, that of saving souls, had for a long time been neglected and slighted, were alarmed at the evident danger of the destruction of the flock of the Lord, and had recourse to the decrees and the doctrine of the holy fathers; we decreed nothing new, nothing of our invention [that is, against simony and the marriage of the clergy] ; but we decided that the error should -be abandoned and the single primitive rule of ecclesiastical discipline and the familiar way of the saints should be again sought out and followed. For we know that no other door to salvation and eternal life lies open to the sheep of Christ than that which was pointed out by him who said: “I am the door, by me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and find pasture” [John 10:9]; and this, we learn from the gospels and from the sacred writings, was preached by the apostles and observed by the holy fathers.	Congregata namque hoc in anno apud sedem apostolicam synodo, cui nos superna dispensatio praesidere voluit, cui etiam nonnulli tuorum infuere fidelium, videntes ordinem Christianae religionis multis jam labefactatum temporibus, et principales ac proprias lucrandarum animarum causas diu prolapsas, et suadente diabolo conculcatas, concussi periculo et manifesta perditione Dominici gregis, ad sanctorum Patrum decreta doctrinamque recurrimus, nihil novi, nihil adinventione nostra statuentes, sed primam et unicam ecclesiasticae disciplinae regulam, et tritam sanctorum viam relicto errore repetendam et sectandam ^[0441B] esse censuimus. Neque enim alium nostrae salutis et aeternae vitae introitum Christi ovibus eorumque pastoribus patere cognoscimus, nisi quem ab ipso monstratum qui dixit: Ego sum ostium; per me si quis introierit, salvabitur, et pascua inveniet (Joan. X): et ab apostolis praedicatum, et a sanctis Patribus observatum in evangelica et in omni divinarum Scripturarum pagina didicimus.
And we have decided that this decree— which some, placing human above divine honor, have called an unendurable weight and an immense burden, but which we call by its proper name, that is, the truth and light necessary to salvation—is to be received and observed not only by you and your subjects, but also by all princes and peoples of the earth who confess and worship Christ; for it is greatly desired by us, and would be most fitting for you, that, as you are greater than others in glory, in honor, and in virtue, so you should be more distinguished in devotion to Christ.	Hujus autem decreti, quod quidam dicunt, humanos divinis honoribus praeponentes, importabile pondus, et immensam gravitudinem; nos autem magis proprio vocabulo, recuperandae salutis necessariam veritatem vocamus et lucem, non solum a te, vel ab his qui in regno tuo sunt, sed ab omnibus terrarum principibus et populis qui Christum ^[0441C] confitentur et colunt, devote suscipiendam et observandam adjudicamus. Quanquam hoc multum desideremus et te permaxime deceret, ut sicut caeteris gloria, honore virtuteque potentior, ita esses et in Christi devotione sublimior.
Nevertheless, that this decree may not seem to you beyond measure grievous and unjust, we have commanded you by your faithful ambassadors to send to us the wisest and most pious men whom you can find in your kingdom, so that if they can show or instruct us in any way how we can temper the sentence promulgated by the holy fathers without offence to the eternal King or danger to our souls, we may consider their advice. But, even if we had not warned you in so friendly a manner, it would have been only right on your part, before you violated the apostolic decrees, to have asked justice of us in a reasonable manner in any matter in which we had injured or affected your honor. But it is evident in what you have since done and decreed how little you care for our warnings or for the observance of justice.	Attamen ne haec supra modum tibi gravia aut iniqua viderentur, per tuos fideles tibi mandavimus ne pravae consuetudinis mutatio te commoveret, mitteres ad nos quos sapientes et religiosos in regno tuo invenire posses; qui si aliqua ratione demonstrare vel astruere possent, in quo salvo aeterni Regis honore, et sine periculo animarum nostrarum promulgatam sanctorum Patrum possemus temperare sententiam, eorum consiliis condescenderemus. Quod quidem etsi a nobis tam ^[0441D] amicabiliter monitus non fuisses, aequum tamen fuerat, ut prius in quo te gravaremus, aut tuis honoribus obstaremus, rationabiliter a nobis exigeres quam apostolica decreta violares. Verum quanti aut nostra monita aut observantiam justitiae feceris, in his quae postmodum a te gesta et disposita sunt declaratur.
But since we hope that, while the long-suffering patience of God still invites you to repent, you may become wiser and your heart may be turned to obey the commands of God, we warn you with fatherly love that, knowing the rule of Christ to be over you, you should consider how dangerous it is to place your honor above his, and that you should not interfere with the liberty of the church which he has deigned to join to himself by heavenly union, but rather with faithful devotion you should offer your assistance to the increasing of this liberty to omnipotent God and St. Peter, through whom also your glory may be amplified. You ought to recognize what you undoubtedly owe to them for giving you victory over your enemies, that as they have gladdened you with great prosperity, so they should see that you are thereby rendered more devout. And in order that the fear of God, in whose hands is all power and all rule, may affect your heart more than these our warnings, you should recall what happened to Saul when, after winning the victory which he gained by the will of the prophet, he glorified himself in his triumph and did not obey the warnings of the prophet, and how God reproved him; and, on the other hand, what grace king David acquired by reason of his humility, as well as his other virtues.	Sed quia dum adhuc longa Dei patientia ad emendationem te invitat, crescente intelligentia tua ad obedientiam mandatorum Dei cor et animum tuum flecti posse speramus. Paterna te charitate monemus, ut Christi super te imperium recognoscens, honorem tuum ejus honori praeponere quam sit periculosum ^[0442A] cogites, et libertatem Ecclesiae, quam sponsam sibi coelesti consortio jungere dignatus est, non jam tua occupatione impedias, sed quo maxime crescat Deo omnipotenti et beato Petro, a quibus et tua mereatur amplificari gloria, auxilium tuae virtutis fideli devotione exhibere incipias. Quod nimirum, pro collata tibi ex hostibus tuis victoria, nunc te permaxime illis debitum fore cognoscere debes, ut dum te memorabili prosperitate laetificant, ex concessis beneficiis devotionem videant. Atque hoc ut timor Dei, in cujus manu et potestate omne regnum est et imperium, praecordiis tuis altius quam nostra admonitio infigat, in mente habeas quid Sauli post adeptam victoriam, qua propheta jubente usus est, de suo triumpho glorianti, et ^[0442B] ejusdem prophetae monita non exsequenti acciderit, et qualiter a Domino reprobatus sit; quanta vero gratia David regem ex merito humilitatis inter virtutum insignia subsecuta fuit.
Finally, in regard to those matters in your letter which we have not yet touched upon, we will not give a definite answer until your ambassadors, Rapoto, Adelbert, and Wodescale, and those whom we have sent with them, shall return to us and shall make known more fully your intention in regard to the matters which we committed to them to be discussed with you.	Denique super his quae in epistolis tuis visa ac cognita reticemus, non antea tibi certa responsa dabimus, donec legati tui Rabbodi Adelprech [Adelprecus] et Vodescal Requos [Vodescalcus, quos] his adjunximus, ad nos reversi, super his quae illis tecum agenda commisimus tuam nobis plenius aperiant voluntatem.
Given at Rome, the 6th of the Ides of January, the 14th indiction.	Data Romae, sexto Idus Januarii, indictione decima quarta.

This is the salutation which you deserve, for you have never held any office in the church without making it a source of confusion and a curse to Christian men instead of an honor and a blessing. To mention only the most obvious cases out of many, you have not only dared to touch the Lord’s anointed, the archbishops, bishops, and priests; but you have scorned them and abused them, as if they were ignorant servants not fit to know what their master was doing. This you have done to gain favor with the vulgar crowd. You have declared that the bishops know nothing and that you know everything; but if you have such great wisdom you have used it not to build but to destroy. Therefore we believe that St. Gregory, whose name you have presumed to take, had you in mind when he said: “The heart of the prelate is puffed up by the abundance of subjects, and he thinks himself more powerful than all others.” All this we have endured because of our respect for the papal office, but you have mistaken our humility for fear, and have dared to make an attack upon the royal and imperial authority which we received from God. You have even threatened to take it away, as if we had received it from you, and as if the empire and kingdom were in your disposal and not in the disposal of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ has called us to the government of the empire, but he never called you to the rule of the church. This is the way you have gained advancement in the church: through craft you have obtained wealth; through wealth you have obtained favor; through favor, the power of the sword; and through the power of the sword, the papal seat, which is the seat of peace; and then from the seat of peace you have expelled peace. For you have incited subjects to rebel against their prelates by teaching them to despise the bishops, their rightful rulers. You have given to laymen the authority over priests, whereby they condemn and depose those whom the bishops have put over them to teach them. You have attacked me, who, unworthy as I am, have yet been anointed to rule among the anointed of God, and who, according to the teaching of the fathers, can be judged by no one save God alone, and can be deposed for no crime except infidelity. For the holy fathers in the time of the apostate Julian did not presume to pronounce sentence of deposition against him, but left him to be judged and condemned by God. St. Peter himself said: “Fear God, honor the king” [1 Pet. 2:17]. But you, who fear not God, have dishonored me, whom He hath established. St. Paul, who said that even an angel from heaven should be accursed who taught any other than the true doctrine, did not make an exception in your favor, to permit you to teach false doctrines. For he says: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” [Gal. 1:8]. Come down, then, from that apostolic seat which you have obtained by violence; for you have been declared accursed by St. Paul for your false doctrines and have been condemned by us and our bishops for your evil rule. Let another ascend the throne of St. Peter, one who will not use religion as a cloak of violence, but will teach the life-giving doctrine of that prince of the apostles. I, Henry, king by the grace of God, with all my bishops, say unto you: “Come down, come down, and be accursed through all the ages.”

Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, Udo, bishop of Trier, William, bishop of Utrecht, etc. [a list of names of bishops, twenty-six in all], to brother Hildebrand.

At first when you made yourself pope we thought it better to ignore the illegality of your action and to submit to your rule, in the hope that you would redeem your bad beginning by a just and righteous government of the church, although we realized even then the enormity of the sin which you had committed. But now the lamentable condition of the whole church shows us only too well how we were deceived in you; your violent entrance into office was but the first in 11 series of wicked deeds and unjust decrees. Our Lord and Redeemer has said, in more places than we can well enumerate here, that love and gentleness are the marks of his disciples, but you are known for your pride, your ambition, and your love of strife. You have introduced worldliness into the church; you have desired a great name rather than a reputation for holiness; you have made a schism in the church and offended its members, who before your time were living together in peace and charity. Your mad acts have kindled the flame of discord which now rages in the churches of Italy, Germany. France, and Spain. • The bishops have been deprived of their divine authority, which rests upon the grace of the Holy Spirit received through ordination, and the whole administration of ecclesiastical matters you have given to rash and ignorant laymen. There is nowhere in the church to-day a bishop or a priest who does not hold his office through abject acquiescence in your ambitious schemes. The order of bishops, to whom the government of the church was intrusted by the Lord, you have thrown into confusion, and you have disturbed that excellent coordination of the members of Christ which Paul in so many places commends and inculcates, while the name of Christ has almost disappeared from the earth; and all this through those decrees in which you glory. Who among men is not filled with astonishment and indignation at your claims to sole authority, by which you would deprive your fellow-bishops of their coordinate rights and powers ? For you assert that you have the authority to try any one of our parishioners for any sin which may have reached your ears even by chance report, and that no one of us has the power to loose or to bind such a sinner, but that it belongs to you alone or to your legate. Who that knows the scriptures does not perceive the madness of this claim?

Since, therefore, it is now apparent that the church of God is in danger of destruction through your presumption, we have come to the conclusion that this state of things can no longer be endured, and we have determined to break our silence and to make public the reasons why you are unfit and have always been unfit to rule the church as pope. These are the reasons:

In the first place, in the reign of emperor Henry [III] of blessed memory, you bound yourself by oath never to accept the papacy or to permit anyone else to accept it during the life of that emperor or of his son without the consent of the emperor. There are many bishops still living who can bear, witness to that oath. On another occasion, when certain cardinals were aiming to secure the office, you took an oath never to accept the papacy, on condition that they should all take the same oath. You know yourself how faithfully you have kept these oaths!

In the second place, it was agreed in a synod held in the time of pope Nicholas [II] and attended by 125 bishops, that no one, under penalty of excommunication, should ever accept the papacy who had not received the election of the cardinals, the approbation of the people, and the consent of the emperor. You yourself proposed and promoted that decree and signed it with your own hand.

In the third place, you have filled the whole church with the stench of scandal, by associating on too intimate terms with a woman who was not a member of your family [the countess Matilda]. We do not wish to base any serious charge on this last accusation; we refer to it because it outrages our sense of propriety. And yet the complaint is very generally made that all the judgments and acts of the papacy are passed on by the women about the pope, and that the whole church is governed by this new female conclave.

And finally, no amount of complaint is adequate to express the insults and outrages you have heaped upon the bishops, calling them sons of harlots and other vile names. Therefore, since your pontificate was begun in perjury and crime, since your innovations have placed the church of God in the gravest peril, since your life and conduct are stained with infamy; we now renounce our obedience, which indeed was never legally promised to you. You have declared publicly that you do not consider us to be bishops; we reply that no one of us shall ever hold you to be the pope.

St. Peter, prince of the apostles, incline thine ear unto me, I beseech thee, and hear me, thy servant, whom thou hast nourished from mine infancy and hast delivered from mine enemies that hate me for my fidelity to thee. Thou art my witness, as are also my mistress, the mother of God, and St. Paul thy brother, and all the other saints, that thy holy Roman church called me to its government against my own will, and that I did not gain thy throne by violence; that l would rather have ended my days in exile than have obtained thy place by fraud or for worldly ambition. It is not by my efforts, but by thy grace, that I am set to rule over the Christian world which was specially intrusted to thee by Christ. It is by thy grace and as thy representative that God has given to me the power to bind and to loose in heaven and in earth. Confident of my integrity and authority

I now declare in the name of omnipotent God, the Father. Son, and Holy Spirit, that Henry, son of the emperor Henry, is deprived of his kingdom of Germany and Italy; I do this by thy authority and in defence of the honor of thy church, because he has rebelled against it. He who attempts to destroy the honor of the church should be deprived of such honor as he may have held. He has refused to obey as a Christian should, he has not returned to God from whom he had wandered, he has had dealings with excommunicated persons, he has done many iniquities, he has despised the warnings which, as thou art witness, I sent to him for his salvation, he has cut himself off from thy church, and has attempted to rend it asunder; therefore, by thy authority, I place him under the curse. It is in thy name that I curse him, that all people may know that thou art Peter, and upon thy rock the Son of the living God has built his church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

In accordance with the advice of my subjects, I hereby promise to show henceforth fitting reverence and obedience to the apostolic office and to you, pope Gregory. I further promise to make suitable reparation for any loss of honor which you or your office may have suffered through me. And since I have been accused of certain grave crimes, I will either clear myself by presenting proof of my innocence or by undergoing the ordeal, or else I will do such penance as you may decide to be adequate for my fault.

Henry, by the grace of God king, to the archbishops, bishops, margraves, counts, and to his subjects of every rank and dignity, greeting and good will. Our faithful subjects have convinced us that in our recent controversy with pope Gregory we were led astray by certain evil counsellors. Therefore we now make known to all, that we have repented of our former actions and have determined henceforth to obey him in everything, as our predecessors were wont to do before us, and to make full reparation for any injury which we may have inflicted upon him or his office. We command all of you to follow our example and to offer satisfaction to St. Peter and to his vicar, pope Gregory, for any fault you may have committed, and to seek absolution from him, if any of you are under his ban.

Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the archbishops, bishops, dukes, counts, and other princes of the German kingdom, defenders of the Christian faith, greeting and apostolic benediction.

Since you have made common cause with us and shared our perils in the recent controversy, we have thought it only right that you should be informed of the recent course of events, how king Henry came to Italy to do penance, and how we were led to grant him absolution.

According to the agreement made with your representatives we had come to Lombardy and were there awaiting those whom you were to send to escort us into your land. But after the time set was already passed, we received word that it was at that time impossible to send an escort, because of many obstacles that stood in the way, and we were greatly exercised at this and in grave doubt as to what we ought to do. In the meantime we learned that the king was approaching. Now before he entered Italy he had sent to us and had offered to make complete satisfaction for his fault, promising to reform and henceforth to obey us in all things, provided we would give him our absolution and blessing. We hesitated for some time, taking occasion in the course of the negotiations to reprove him sharply for his former sins. Finally he came in person to Canossa, where we were staying, bringing with him only a small retinue and manifesting no hostile intentions. Once arrived, he presented himself at the gate of the castle, barefoot and clad only in wretched woollen garments, beseeching us with tears to grant him absolution and forgiveness. This he continued to do for three days, until all those about us were moved to compassion at his plight and interceded for him with tears and prayers. Indeed, they marvelled at our hardness of heart, some even complaining that our action savored rather of heartless tyranny than of chastening severity. At length his persistent declarations of repentance and the supplications of all who were there with us overcame our reluctance, and we removed the excommunication from him and received him again into the bosom of the holy mother church. But first he took the oath which we have subjoined to this letter, the abbot of Cluny, the countess Matilda, the countess Adelaide, and many other ecclesiastic and secular princes going surety for him. Now that this arrangement has been reached to the common advantage of the church and the empire, we purpose coming to visit you in your own land as soon as possible. For, as you will perceive from the conditions stated in the oath, the matter is not to be regarded as settled until we have held consultation with you. Therefore we urge you to maintain that fidelity and love of justice which first prompted your action. We have not bound ourself to anything, except that we assured the king that he might depend upon us to aid him in everything that looked to his salvation and honor.

I, Henry, king, promise to satisfy the grievances which my archbishops, bishops, dukes, counts, and other princes of Germany or their followers may have against me, within the time set by pope Gregory and in accordance with his conditions. If I am prevented by any sufficient cause from doing this within that time, I will do it as soon after that as I may. Further, if pope Gregory shall desire to visit Germany or any other land, on his journey thither, his sojourn there, and his return thence, he shall not be molested or placed in danger of captivity by me or by anyone whom I can control. This shall apply to his escort and retinue and to all who come and go in his service. Moreover, I will never enter into any plan for hindering or molesting him, but will aid him in good faith and to the best of my ability if anyone else opposes him.

This Webpage was created for a workshop held at Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, California in 1990....x.... ’ “”.



LETTER of GREGORY VII to HENRY IV DECEMBER, 1075. Jaffd, II, pp. 218 ft; Doeberl, III. no. 7. EPISTOLA X. ad HENRICUM REGEM ROMANORUM (Anno 1075.) [=§74]



75. THE DEPOSITION of GREGORY VII by EMPEROR HENRY IV, January 21, 1076. H. G. LL. folio, II, pp. 47 ff; Doeberl, III, no. 8 b. See introductory note to no. 74.



LETTER of the BISHOPS to GREGORY VII, JANUARY 24, 1076. Codex Udalrici, no. 162; M. G. LL. folio, II, pp. 44 ff; Doeberl, III, no. 8 a. See introductory note to no. 74.



77. THE FIRST DEPOSITION and EXCOMMUNICATION of HENRY IV by GREGORY VII, 1076. Greg VII. Reg., Ill, no. 10 a; JaSte, II, pp. 223 ff; Doeberl, III, no. 9. See introductory note to no. 74.



78. THE AGREEMENT AT OPPENHEIM October, 1076. M. G. LL. 4to, IV, 1, noa. 64, 65; Codex I’dalrici, nos. 145, 155; Doeberl, III, no. 12.



79. EDICT of EMPEROR HENRY IV ANNULLING THE DECREES AGAINST POPE GREGORY VII Cf. reference to no. 78.



80. LETTER of GREGORY VII to the GERMAN PRINCES CONCERNING THE PENANCE of HENRY IV at CANOSSA ca. January 28, 1077. Greg. VII. Reg., IV, nos. 12, 12 a; Jaffd, II, pp. 256 ff; Doeberl, III, no. 13.



81. THE OATH of KING HENRY. Cf. reference to no. 80. See introductory note to no. 80.