When Popes Were Emperors – The Clash between Henry and Gregory
In the year 1073, Hildebrand of Sovana (an Italian city) became Pope Gregory VII. The clash between papacy and emperor’s authority in (what we would today call) Germany, was already evident for quite some time. The Emperor Henry IV was 23 years old. One of the first few measures implemented by Gregory were, a ban on secular authority to appoint clergy (the lay investiture) and the ostracizing of some of the members of Henry’s council, which remained a dead letter in the eyes of Henry. However, faced with the Saxon uprising, the Emperor had no choice but to bow to the will of the Pope. His penance took place in Nuremberg.
Nonetheless, the armistice did not last long, for the Emperor, having defeated the Saxons in June 1075, went about reasserting his authority all over Northern Italy, to which the Pope responded with a letter threatening to strip Henry of his crown. Thereafter, at the Worms Synod (24 January 1076), the German bishops led by the Roman cardinal Hugo Candidus disobeyed the Pope and sided with the Emperor. The Piacenza Synod came to the similar conclusions. The Pope replied vehemently. At once, Henry was excommunicated, stripped of his crown, and his subjects were absolved of their oath of fealty to him. The success of excommunication depended heavily on the kings’ subjects, that is, the German princes. Hence, led by rebellious Saxons, some of them chose to seize the day and side with the Pope against their king. …show more content…
The German princes met in October that year to choose their new leader; however, no agreement was to be found then. Therefore, they presented Henry with a deadline for his penance, which expired on the eve of the first anniversary of excommunication. Consequently, Henry made a move that will ultimately become the stuff of legends and not in a good way for him. Immediately, he set out on a road trip to Italy begging for his penance. It was the middle of the winter and, having arrived at Canossa, Henry had to wait for three days in the snow for the Pope to show his mercy. After careful consideration of Henry’s motives and promises, the Pope agreed to give him penance. What German princes did next, points to the fact that they used the excommunication merely as an excuse to rebel against the young king. Untouched by the king’s absolution, a group of German princes elected Rudolf, the Duke of Swabia, as their new king at the meeting at Forchheim (13 – 15 March 1077). The Pope remained neutral until the news of the supposed victory of Rudolf’s forces came about. Not much is known about the Battle at Flarchheim, but the Pope was apparently misinformed about its significance. Subsequently, the Pope sided with Rudolf and excommunicated Henry for the second time at Lenten Synod in March 1080. Only this time, it backfired as the people (and the majority of princes) saw the excommunication as unjust. Faced with an anti-king (after the death of Rudolf, the princes chose Hermann of Luxembourg), Henry decided to return the favor. It was Gregory’s turn to face the anti-pope, the Archbishop of Ravenna, Guibert. The epilogue of the story consists of Henry reversing his reverses and marching on Italy, the Pope fleeing to Castel Sant’Angelo and crying for help to the Norman (Vikings on Sicily) leader Robert Guiscard. Consequently, Robert’s involvement marked Henry’s turn to run (he took refuge in Civita Castellana), but ultimately it meant the defeat for the Pope. Due to the heavy plunder and looting of the Normans, the Roman people rose up in revolt against the Pope and chased him away to Monte Cassino and finally to the Salerno castle, where he met his erelong end. Afterwards, enormous propaganda managed to somewhat taint the accounts of these events. Its purpose was to justify Pope’s acts as well as to justify the German and Saxon rebellion. One of the main propagandists was Bruno of Merseburg, who wrote in 1082 his Saxonicum bellum. For him, the meeting at Canossa was meaningless since Henry failed to fulfill his promises. He and other writers, for example Bernold of St. Blasien and Berthold of Reichenau, exclaim
In the year 1073, Hildebrand of Sovana (an Italian city) became Pope Gregory VII. The clash between papacy and emperor’s authority in (what we would today call) Germany, was already evident for quite some time. The Emperor Henry IV was 23 years old. One of the first few measures implemented by Gregory were, a ban on secular authority to appoint clergy (the lay investiture) and the ostracizing of some of the members of Henry’s council, which remained a dead letter in the eyes of Henry. However, faced with the Saxon uprising, the Emperor had no choice but to bow to the will of the Pope. His penance took place in Nuremberg.
Nonetheless, the armistice did not last long, for the Emperor, having defeated the Saxons in June 1075, went about reasserting his authority all over Northern Italy, to which the Pope responded with a letter threatening to strip Henry of his crown. Thereafter, at the Worms Synod (24 January 1076), the German bishops led by the Roman cardinal Hugo Candidus disobeyed the Pope and sided with the Emperor. The Piacenza Synod came to the similar conclusions. The Pope replied vehemently. At once, Henry was excommunicated, stripped of his crown, and his subjects were absolved of their oath of fealty to him. The success of excommunication depended heavily on the kings’ subjects, that is, the German princes. Hence, led by rebellious Saxons, some of them chose to seize the day and side with the Pope against their king. …show more content…
The German princes met in October that year to choose their new leader; however, no agreement was to be found then. Therefore, they presented Henry with a deadline for his penance, which expired on the eve of the first anniversary of excommunication. Consequently, Henry made a move that will ultimately become the stuff of legends and not in a good way for him. Immediately, he set out on a road trip to Italy begging for his penance. It was the middle of the winter and, having arrived at Canossa, Henry had to wait for three days in the snow for the Pope to show his mercy. After careful consideration of Henry’s motives and promises, the Pope agreed to give him penance. What German princes did next, points to the fact that they used the excommunication merely as an excuse to rebel against the young king. Untouched by the king’s absolution, a group of German princes elected Rudolf, the Duke of Swabia, as their new king at the meeting at Forchheim (13 – 15 March 1077). The Pope remained neutral until the news of the supposed victory of Rudolf’s forces came about. Not much is known about the Battle at Flarchheim, but the Pope was apparently misinformed about its significance. Subsequently, the Pope sided with Rudolf and excommunicated Henry for the second time at Lenten Synod in March 1080. Only this time, it backfired as the people (and the majority of princes) saw the excommunication as unjust. Faced with an anti-king (after the death of Rudolf, the princes chose Hermann of Luxembourg), Henry decided to return the favor. It was Gregory’s turn to face the anti-pope, the Archbishop of Ravenna, Guibert. The epilogue of the story consists of Henry reversing his reverses and marching on Italy, the Pope fleeing to Castel Sant’Angelo and crying for help to the Norman (Vikings on Sicily) leader Robert Guiscard. Consequently, Robert’s involvement marked Henry’s turn to run (he took refuge in Civita Castellana), but ultimately it meant the defeat for the Pope. Due to the heavy plunder and looting of the Normans, the Roman people rose up in revolt against the Pope and chased him away to Monte Cassino and finally to the Salerno castle, where he met his erelong end. Afterwards, enormous propaganda managed to somewhat taint the accounts of these events. Its purpose was to justify Pope’s acts as well as to justify the German and Saxon rebellion. One of the main propagandists was Bruno of Merseburg, who wrote in 1082 his Saxonicum bellum. For him, the meeting at Canossa was meaningless since Henry failed to fulfill his promises. He and other writers, for example Bernold of St. Blasien and Berthold of Reichenau, exclaim