The conflict between the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII was triggered by Gregory’s desire to end the practice of lay investiture. By ending this practice, Gregory declared that the Papal office was to act as the head of the entire society and that the church ranked higher than the secular world. The competition between these two leaders would only get worse in 1075 when Gregory wrote to Henry and issued him with an admonition, only for Henry to refuse to recognize the provisions of the sent statement. Henry retaliated by organizing meetings with bishops to convince them that Gregory was unfit for the Papal office. He further wrote two letters, one to Gregory informing him of the synod’s decision to renunciate his position. At the same time, another one contained propaganda and was disseminated throughout Germany to gain support from the public.
Gregory was not to take Henry’s attacks lying down as he declared him to be excommunicated and toppled from his position. Dejected, Henry decided to visit the pope in Canossa, Italy, and humbly asked for forgiveness. The pope forgave him and withdrew his ex-communication punishment on the condition that he appears at the general council of the German princes to respond to accusations leveled against him.
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After the encounter with Gregory, Henry fell back onto his mission of affirming his royal authority by lobbying for the moderate princes’ support and investing in new bishops, a move which angered Gregory and forced him to pass decrees opposing lay investiture. In total disregard of the papal decrees, Henry IV invaded Rome in 1084, 4 years after the second decree was passed, and sought to take Gregory VII captive. Gregory sought refuge in St. Angelo’s fortress and requested help from his ally, Robert Guiscard. However, instead of coming to rescue Gregory, Guiscard and his army entered Rome, looted the city, captured the pope, and took him along to Southern Italy. The pope died a few years later, a dejected, bitter and disillusioned man. On the other hand, Henry IV put more effort into curbing the rebellion exhibited by the nobles and affirming his position at the throne.
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You have painted a vivid picture of the conflict between Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV. The conflict between these two was indeed based on who had more powers, and each of them tried their best to prove it. However, I beg to differ on who the victor was. I would say that Henry IV was the victor since he was left curbing rebellion and strengthening his control on the throne.
