Dying Words of Pope Gregory VII. (hildebrand)

"I have loved justice, and hated iniquity; therefore I die an exile."

These were the last words of Pope Gregory VII. (Hildebrand), one of the most illustrious men of the Middle Ages, born about A.D. 1020.

He was called to Rome in 1049 by Pope Leo IX., to assist in the papal councils as chancellor and cardinal; and he held this office for twenty years, under five successive popes, over whom he exercised the influence of a great mind.

In 1073 Hildebrand rose to the papal throne, under the title of Gregory VII.: he was the first Pope elected by the College of Cardinals.

Until his time, the title of Pope was given to all bishops alike: he, however, in 1076, decreed that thenceforth it should be applied only to the Roman "papa," or pontiff, prefixing, at the same time, sanctus, whence the modern title, "His Holiness the Pope."

Pope Gregory's first act was to strike a blow at what was called the "right of investiture," claimed by the emperors. This was the right of bestowing on abbots and bishops the ring and crosier, which were the symbols of their office, and which declared them to be the feudal vassals of the emperor. Pope Gregory caused it to be ordained by a council, that, if any one should accept "investiture" from a layman, both the giver and the receiver should be excommunicated, claiming that this right belonged exclusively to the Vicar of Christ.

The emperor, Henry IV., of Germany set this decree at defiance, and, assembling the nobles and prelates at Worms, deposed the Pope; whereupon the Pope solemnly excommunicated the emperor (1076), and absolved his subjects in Germany and Italy from their oath of allegiance to him. Henry, enraged at this, prepared for war, and entered Italy to subdue his powerful foe. He was soon made to feel, however, that unseen power that had arisen to sway the minds of men. In every part of his empire, monks and friars preached against him; and insurrections arose on every hand, until at last Henry was forced to become an humble suitor for mercy at the hands of Gregory.

On the 21st of January, 1077, the emperor, Henry IV., the most powerful sovereign of Europe, proceeded to the Castle of Canossa, Italy, a fortress belonging to the Countess Matilda, to seek pardon and absolution from the Pope.

He was made to suffer the deepest humiliation; and only after the most abject confession of his error, and standing for three days in an outer court of the castle, amid the cold of winter, barefoot, and clad only in a woollen shirt, was he absolved, and the interdict removed.

Henry was no sooner released than he renewed the war, and Gregory was forced to flee from Rome. He died in exile at Salerno, A.D. 1085.

The successors of Gregory adhered to his policy, until at length the German emperor, Henry V., yielded; and by a treaty signed at Worms, A.D. 1122, he formally resigned all claim to investitures.

The temporal power of the Pope reached its zenith in the latter part of the twelfth and the early part of the thirteenth centuries, under Pope Innocent III. He claimed to be sovereign of Europe,--an earthly king of kings.

After the thirteenth century the papal power declined; but it was not until 1606, during the reign of James I. of England, that the famous Oath of Allegiance was drawn up, which asserted the supremacy of the sovereign in ecclesiastical matters, denying the right of the Pope to depose him, or to absolve his subjects from their allegiance to him.