Pope Gregory VII

Early life

He was born in obscurity in Sovana, a small town of Tuscany where his house can still be seen. He was sent to Rome at an early age for his education; an uncle of his being abbot of the convent of St. Mary on the Aventine. His instructor appear to have included Pope Gregory VI. But when the emperor Henry III deposed Gregory VI and exiled him to Germany, Hildebrand went with him. As he himself afterwards admitted, he had no wish to cross the Alps. But his residence in Germany was of great educational value, and significant for his later official activity. In Cologne he was able to pursue his studies. He returned to Rome with Pope Leo IX. Under him, Hildebrand first began work in the ecclesiastical service, becoming a subdeacon and steward in the Roman Church. He acted as a legate in France, where he had to deal with the question of Berengar of Tours, whose views on the Eucharist had caused controversy.

Related Topics:
Sovana - Tuscany - St. Mary on the Aventine - Pope Gregory VI - Henry III - Cologne - Pope Leo IX - Subdeacon - Legate - France - Berengar of Tours - Eucharist

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On the death of Leo IX he was sent by the Romans as their envoy to the German court, to conduct the negotiations with regard to his successor. The emperor pronounced in favour of Pope Victor II who again employed Hildebrand as his legate to France. When Pope Stephen X was elected, without previous consultation with the German court, Hildebrand and Bishop Anselm of Lucca were sent to Germany to secure a belated recognition, and he succeeded in gaining the consent of the empress Agnes de Poitou. Stephen, however, died before his return, and, by the hasty elevation of Bishop Johannes of Velletri, the Roman aristocracy made a last attempt to recover their lost influence on the appointment to the papal throne: a proceeding which was dangerous to the Church as it implied a renewal of the disastrous patrician régime. That the crisis was overcome was essentially the work of Hildebrand. Against Pope Benedict X, the aristocratic nominee, he supported a rival pope in the person of Pope Nicholas II whose tenure was distinguished by events which exercised a strong influence on the policy of the Curia during the next two decades: the rapprochement with the Normans in the south of Italy, and the alliance with the democratic and, subsequently, anti-German movement of the Patarenes in the north.

Related Topics:
Leo IX - Pope Victor II - Pope Stephen X - Anselm of Lucca - Agnes de Poitou - Johannes of Velletri - Pope Benedict X - Pope Nicholas II - Curia - Normans - Patarenes

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It was also under this pontificate that the law was enacted which transferred the papal election to the College of Cardinals, thus withdrawing it from the nobility and people of Rome and diminishing German influence on the election. When Nicholas II died and was succeeded by Pope Alexander II, Hildebrand loomed larger in the eyes of his contemporaries as the soul of Curial policy. The general political conditions, especially in Germany, were at that time very favourable to the Curia, but to use them with the wisdom actually shown was nevertheless a great achievement, and the position of Alexander at the end of his pontificate was a brilliant justification of Hildebrandine statecraft.

Related Topics:
College of Cardinals - Pope Alexander II

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