Pope Gregory Controversy

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The controversy between papal and imperial authority reaches new heights near the end of the eleventh century as Emperor and Pope argue the right to rule supreme over the other. Pope Gregory VII (d.1085) asserts in the Dictatus Papae, that papal authority is supreme in comparison to the imperial powers of King Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d.1106). The Dictatus Papae decrees that only the papacy can rule and grant investitures to a new abbot or bishop. King Henry opposes the decree and engages Pope Gregory in a series of letters, where each writer claims divine-legitimacy and the right of investiture. Each contender believes in their own authority as supreme and therefore refuse to back down from one another. The difference in papal and …show more content…

King Henry believed that the Roman Catholic church had been corrupted and sought to be the supreme authority of the divided Roman Empire. King Henry defends his title as Holy Roman Emperor and accuses Pope Gregory of buying his way into the papacy (c.1076), claiming “me…unworthy to be among the anointed, have nevertheless been anointed to the kingdom…thou has achieved money; by money, favour; by the sword, the throne of peace.” King Henry did not approve of Pope Gregory’s conjectured authority and saw Pope Gregory as a usurper after his crown. The next lines show how King Henry saw the papal threat (c.1076) with “The pride of him who is in power increases the more, the greater the number of those subject to him.” The words of King Henry seem logical from his point of view; but Pope Gregory proved determined to rule supreme, even if it took the excommunication of the …show more content…

King Henry as the Emperor, had been replaced by King Rudolph, a loyal-sworn ally of the Pope. Later (c.1084), King Henry would be excommunicated for a second time. Pope Gregory initially won his war for papal authority, but would soon face the army of King Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (d.1125) at the gates of Rome. During the turmoil, the Norman mercenaries that Pope Gregory had paid for protection, turned upon the Romans and sacked Rome. Pope Gregory luckily escaped and was forced into

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