Pope Gregory VII, 1073-1085

by Cowdrey, H. E. J.

• ISBN13: 9780198206460
• ISBN10: 0198206461
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-11-05
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

The reign of Pope Gregory VII (1073-85), who gave his name to an era of Church reform, is critically important in the history of the medieval church and papacy. Thus it is surprising that this is the first comprehensive biography to appear in any language for over fifty years. H. E. J. Cowdreypresents Gregory's life and work in their entirety, tracing his career from early days as a clerk of the Roman Church, through his political negotiations, ecclesiastical governance, and final exile at Salerno. Full account is taken of his turbulent relations with King Henry IV of Germany, from hisfirst deposition and excommunication in 1076, to the absolution at Canossa and the imposition of a second sentence in 1080. Pope Gregory was also a contemporary of William the Conqueror, and, as the author shows, fully supported his conquest of England. Gregory VII is presented as an individual whose deep inner belief in iustitia (righteousness) did not waver in the face of new circumstances, although his broad outlook underwent changes. Deeply committed to the traditions of the past and especially to those of Pope Gregory the Great, his reignprepared the way for an age of strong papal monarchy in the western Church.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	xiii
Background	1	(26)
The City of Rome	1	(1)
The Lands of St Peter	2	(2)
The Roman Families	4	(4)
The Government of Rome	8	(2)
The Roman Church	10	(6)
Roman Monasteries	16	(2)
The Image of Rome	18	(3)
The Crisis at Rome, 1044--9	21	(6)
Hildebrand	27	(48)
The Young Hildebrand	27	(10)
Hildebrand as Archdeacon	37	(38)
Hildebrand Becomes Archeacon	37	(2)
Peter Damiani and Hildebrand	39	(4)
Hildebrand under Pope Nicholas II	43	(6)
The Cadalan Schism	49	(5)
Hildebrand and Rome	54	(4)
Hildebrand and the Regions of Europe	58	(7)
Hildebrand and North Italian Reform Movements	65	(6)
Hildebrand's Election to the Papacy	71	(4)
Pope Gregory VII and the German Kingdom and Empire	75	(197)
Background	75	(14)
Ottonian and Early Salian Kingship	76	(4)
King Henry IV's Minority and Early Years	80	(9)
1073--5	89	(40)
The Saxon War	89	(2)
1073: The Quest for Concord between Sacerdotium and Regnum	91	(5)
1074: A Vision of Success	96	(4)
1075: The Continuance of Hope	100	(10)
1073--5: The Recalcitrance of the German Bishops	110	(10)
1075: Gregory VII's Attempts at Conciliation	120	(9)
From Worms to Canossa	129	(38)
Henry IV's Breach with Gregory VII	129	(11)
Gregory VII's Lent Synod, 1076	140	(2)
The Erosion of Henry IV's Position	142	(8)
Tribur--Oppenheim	150	(3)
The Way to Canossa	153	(5)
The Significance of Canossa	158	(9)
From Forchheim to the Second Excommunication of Henry IV	167	(32)
The Assembly at Forchheim	167	(4)
The Sequel to Forchheim in Germany	171	(4)
The Response of Henry IV	175	(4)
Gregory VII at Rome, 1077--8	179	(3)
The German Reaction to Gregory VII's Plans in 1078 up to the Battle of Mellrichstadt	182	(1)
Gregory VII and Germany in the Winter of 1078--9	183	(5)
The Eclipse of Hopes for a German Assembly	188	(6)
Gregory VII's Lent Synod of 1080 and the Second Excommunication of Henry IV	194	(5)
Gregory VII and Henry IV, 1080--5	199	(43)
The Sequel in Germany to the Second Excommunication of Henry IV	199	(2)
The Synod of Brixen	201	(3)
Gregorys VII's Response to the Synod of Brixen	204	(2)
The Battle on the Elster	206	(2)
Henry IV's First Expedition to Italy	208	(7)
The Propaganda Debate in Germany and the Election of an Anti-King	215	(3)
Henry IV's Second Expedition to Italy	218	(3)
Gregory VII and Henry IV at Rome in 1083	221	(6)
Henry IV's Capture of Rome and the Setting up of the Anti-Pope Clement III	227	(2)
The Final Stages in Italy	229	(3)
The Final Stages in Germany: Debate	232	(6)
The Final Stages in Germany: Confrontation	238	(4)
Gregory VII and the German Church	242	(28)
The Campaign against Simony and Clerical Unchastity	242	(7)
Bishop Altmann of Passau and the Canonical Life	249	(4)
Hirsau and German Monasticism	253	(12)
Bernold of St Blasien and the Propagation of Gregory VII's Aims	265	(5)
Conclusion	270	(2)
Gregory VII and the Kingdom of Italy	272	(59)
The Kingdom of Italy	272	(1)
Central Italy	273	(7)
Lombardy	280	(10)
Aquileia, Grado, and Venice	290	(6)
Tuscany	296	(12)
Romagna and Emilia	308	(6)
The Church and City of Rome	314	(15)
Conclusion	329	(2)
Gregory VII and France	331	(92)
Introduction	331	(3)
Gregory VII and the French Laity	334	(14)
The King	334	(6)
Lay Magnates	340	(8)
Gregory VII and the French Church and Clergy	348	(50)
The Hearing of French Churchmen at Rome	348	(7)
Gregory VII's Use of Legates	355	(20)
Primates and Metropolitans	375	(23)
Gregory VII's Objectives in France	398	(21)
The Extirpation of Simony	398	(5)
The Question of Lay Investiture	403	(4)
The Problem of Free Elections	407	(3)
The Enforcement of Clerical Chastity	410	(3)
Peace and the Defence of the Unprotected	413	(6)
Conclusion	419	(4)
Gregory VII and the Periphery of Latin Europe	423	(58)
Introduction	423	(2)
South Italy and Sicily	425	(14)
The North-East Adriatic	439	(4)
Hungary	443	(5)
Bohemia	448	(3)
Poland	451	(1)
Russia	452	(2)
The Scandinavian Kingdoms and Iceland	454	(5)
The Anglo-Norman Kingdom	459	(8)
Ireland	467	(1)
Christian Spain	468	(13)
Gregory VII and the World Beyond Latin Christedom	481	(14)
The Byzantine Church and Empire	481	(6)
The Armenian Church	487	(2)
Islam	489	(6)
Gregorian Ideas	495	(89)
Introduction	495	(19)
The Berengarian Controversy	496	(6)
The Dictatus Papae	502	(5)
Gregory VII's Roman Synods of 1078--80	507	(7)
The Sources of Christian Authority	514	(6)
The Authority of the Papacy	520	(9)
The Religious Outlook of Gregory VII	529	(7)
The Liberty of the Church	536	(3)
Free Elections	539	(4)
Simony	543	(3)
Lay Investiture	546	(4)
Clerical Chastity	550	(4)
Gregory VII's Demands upon Christians	554	(10)
Charity	554	(1)
Obedience	555	(3)
Humility	558	(1)
Righteousness	559	(1)
Mercy	560	(3)
Loyalty	563	(1)
Gregory VII's Principal Concerns as Pope	564	(19)
The Proclamation of the Gospel	565	(5)
The Implementation of Righteousness	570	(2)
The Power of the Keys	572	(4)
The Promotion of Peace and Concord	576	(7)
Conclusion	583	(1)
The Ordering of the Church	584	(24)
The Roman Church	584	(2)
Roman Synods	586	(6)
Papal Legates	592	(4)
Primates and Metropolitans	596	(9)
Bishops	605	(1)
Rome and the Church Universal	606	(2)
Sacerdotium and Regnum	608	(51)
Gregory VII's View of the Relationship between Sacerdotium and Imperium/Regnum	608	(10)
The Government of Kings and Princes	618	(11)
The Regna of Europe	629	(4)
Emperors	633	(5)
The Bonds of Loyalty and Service	638	(12)
Kings, Knights, and Warfare	650	(9)
Gregory VII and the Monastic Order	659	(18)
Gregory VII and the Protection of Monasteries	659	(3)
Gregory VII's Expectations of Monasticism	662	(5)
Montecassino and Cluny	667	(6)
Gregory VII and Conversion to the Monastic Life	673	(4)
Death in Exile	677	(6)
The Last Months at Salerno	677	(1)
The Final Testament	678	(5)
Conclusion	683	(16)
Bibliography	699	(40)
Index	739