CHAP. V A. D. 1002-1125 Lateran and the Primicerius, they advanced to the silver doors of the Basilica, where the King knelt in prayer, after which the Bishop of Albano pronounced the first discourse. Having entered the nave of the church, not far from the entrance, at the rota porphyretica, -a round porphyry stone set in the floor,1- the Pope and the King knelt, while the latter repeated his confession of faith, after which the Cardinal Bishop of Porto, stationed on the rota porphyretica, delivered the second discourse. The candidate was then made a member of the clergy in the sacristy, clad with the priestly vestments, -the tunic, the dalmatic, and the cope,— shod with sandals, and covered with the mitre. He was then led to the altar of St. Mauritius, where he was anointed with holy oil on the neck and on the right arm by the Bishop of Ostia. The Pope then, before the high altar, placed a gold ring on his finger as a symbol of faith, girded him with a sword, and at last set the imperial crown upon his head, with the words: "Receive the sign of glory, the diadem of the kingdom, and the crown of the Empire, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; renounce the arch enemy and all manner of sin, be just and compassionate, and so live in holy love that thou mayest in the reunion of the blessed receive the eternal crown from our Lord Jesus Christ." The "Gloria" resounded through the cathedral with shouts of "Life and victory to the Emperor!" taken up and repeated in their several tongues by the assembled warriors, as the newly crowned monarch retired from the altar.2 1 This circular stone may still be seen in the floor of St. Peter's Church at Rome, a short distance from the central entrance, directly in front of the high altar. 2 The "Ordo Coronationis" is variously given by different writers; as, for example, by Cenni, Monumenta, II, p. 261; Pertz, Mon. Germ. Hist., IV, p. 187; Mabillon, Musaeum Italicum, II, p. 397. See also the works cited under the literature of this subject. As the question of the relation of the Emperor to the Pope came into dispute in the reign of Henry IV, it has appeared instructive to select as an example A. D. 1002-1125 But the Emperor was not suffered to depart from the basil- CHAP. V ica filled with a sense of his own superiority. The solemn rites were not concluded till he had laid off his imperial insignia, and in the modest garb of a sub-deacon ministered to the Pope in the pontifical mass. Then the Count Palatine removed his sandals and put on him the spurred red boots of the Emperor; after which the procession left the church, to march in triumph through the streets,-when the circumstances permitted,―amid the ringing of bells and the jubilation of the people. A banquet in the papal palace concluded the solemnities of the day. Thus the ceremony of coronation was made to symbolize the rôle and duty of the Emperor as a servant of the Church. As a king, his authority was derived from his election by the German nation, who conferred upon him the attributes of sovereignty and assumed a relation of subjection to him as lord and master; but, as emperor, he was an ordained minister of the Church, specially charged with the defence of the Papacy from its enemies, and of Christendom from the Infidel. To escape from this conclusion, later emperors found it necessary to revive the rights and prerogatives of : the Caesars as embodied in the old imperial Roman Law, but such an expedient was, in effect, a repudiation of the Holy Roman Empire. ture contro versy The first open battle between the Papacy and the Empire The investiwas over the right of investiture. In a letter written to the Abbot of Cluny, Gregory complains, "If I look toward the West, the South, or the North, it is with difficulty that I find any bishops whose elevation to the episcopate and whose life are in conformity with the laws of the Church, or who govern the people from the love of God, and not under the influence of worldly ambition." The free election of bishops had been, superseded by royal appointment, and the highest ecclesias of the imperial investiture the coronation of Henry III, as presented in the text. See Gregorovius, Geschichte, IV, who has given a detailed description. CHAP. V A. D. 1002-1125 tical offices had been either bestowed for services rendered Henry IV, who had been crowned king in his infancy, entered upon his reign in the midst of faction, anarchy, turbulence, and rebellion in Germany. His struggle with the Saxons almost cost him his throne. Intelligent and ambitious, he was both violent and impolitic; and, relying upon the strong party anxious for reform, Gregory did not hesitate, in a synod held at Rome, in February, 1075, to issue decrees against the practice of lay investiture. Whoever received from the hand of any lay person a bishopric or abbey, and whatever "emperor, king, duke, count, or any other lay person" bestowed investiture of an ecclesiastical dignity, was to be punished with excommunication. Henry IV replied with an attempt to depose the Pope; for, to yield to this decree seemed to him the ruin of the whole system upon which the imperial power had been erected. A national council was called at Worms, in January, 1076, and a general assembly at Mainz, in June, by which, in the absence of many bishops and princes, the Pope was condemned. Henry accused Gregory of being "no pope, but a false monk"; and demanded that he abdicate the papal office. Gregory defended his excommunication of Henry in a letter addressed to the German magnates, and the defection from the King increased. In October, the princes took steps for electing another king; but Henry, proceeding with an army to Oppenheim, attempted to prevent the gathering of the assembly. Through the mediation 1 See also Gregory's letter of December, 1075, to Henry IV, in Henderson, Select Documents, pp. 367, 371; Henry's reply, pp. 372, 373, and following documents. A. D. 1002-1125 of his godfather, Hugh of Cluny, the King was prevailed CHAP. V upon, after it was evident that the assembly at Tribur would condemn him, to sign a convention at Oppenheim in which he promised "due obedience to the Apostolic See" and either to refute the charges against him or to do penance for them.1 In an edict cancelling the sentence against Gregory VII, he exhorted those under the papal ban to strive to be solemnly absolved by "our master" Pope Gregory. Practically suspended from his royal authority, the King The humiliawithdrew to Speyer to await the arrival of the Pope, who tion of Henry was expected to come to Germany in the following February and preside over a tribunal by which he was to be judged. In the meantime, the magnates returned to their homes, resolved not to recognize Henry as king, if he did not free himself from the papal ban. Seeing that his cause was hopeless in Germany, and that his overthrow would be final if Gregory came to judge him in his own realm, Henry undertook the wintry journey to Italy. Hesitating to resort to force, as he was urged to do by his followers in Lombardy, he resolved to throw himself upon the mercy of the Pope. Gregory, fearing that Henry had come to Italy with hostile intentions, had taken up his residence in the mountain fortress of the Countess Matilda at Canossa. Proceeding thither in the garb of a pilgrim, the deposed monarch, on January 21, climbed the snowy heights of the mountain to seek absolution. "There," to use the language of Gregory's own letter to the German nobles, "having laid aside all the belongings of royalty, wretchedly, with bare feet and clad in wool, he continued for three days to stand before the gate of the castle. Nor did he desist from imploring with many tears the apostolic mercy until he had moved all of those who were present there . . to such pity and depth of compassion that, interceding for him with many prayers and 1 For the "Convention of Oppenheim," see Henderson, Select Documents, p. 384. CHAP. V Ꭺ. D. 1002-1125 The administration of Gregory tears, all wondered at the unaccustomed hardness of our heart." 1 Finally, admitted to the presence of Gregory, through the supplications of those who were present, Henry fell at his feet, pleading for absolution.2 Responding to his cry "Spare me, Holy Father, spare me!" Gregory raised him up, and after a formal acceptance of the conditions imposed, which were confirmed by an oath and signed by witnesses, absolution was given and the sacrament was administered. Without changing the situation of Henry with reference to his kingdom, the Pope sent him away pledged to submit to a trial by a tribunal composed of his German nobles under the presidency of the Pope. If found innocent, he was to be restored, after promising obedience to the Holy See. Raised thus to the highest pinnacle of power ever yet attained by any ecclesiastic, Gregory, in a systematic manner, diligently labored to give permanent solidity to his authority. To fortify his position in Italy, he allied himself closely to the College of Cardinals, which became his council, and whose members were called "the spiritual senators of the Universal Church." In order to strengthen the power of Rome over the nations everywhere, the papal legates were clothed with a new dignity. Since the fourth century these envoys had played a considerable rôle in the direction of the Church, 1 From Gregory's letter to the German princes concerning the penance of Henry IV at Canossa, 1077. Henderson, Select Documents, p. 386. 2 The following Latin lines on the submission of Henry IV at Canossa are attributed to Donizzone: "Ante dies septem quum finem Ianus haberet Ante suam faciem concessit papa venire Regem cum plantis nudis a frigore captis In cruce se jactans papae, saepissime clamans: Parce, beate pater, pie, parce mihi, peto, plane! Papa, videns flentem, miseratus ei, satis est, est." Quoted by La Farina, Storia d'Italia, Florence, 1849, IV, p. 144. |