HIST-308 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Anathema, Absolution, Papal Supremacy
16 Nov 2020
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Document Summary
Matters came to a head during the pontificate of gregory vii (1073 1085). coincided with henry iv"s reaching adulthood and taking over control of the government. Both were headstrong men to whom the notion of compromise was anathema. Henry was kept busy for two years putting down rebellions by various princes during which time he and gregory maintained cordial though tenuous relations. In 1075 henry finished dealing with his rebels and prepared to confront rome. Gregory responded with a preemptive strike that surprised everyone, including the most ardent pro-reform enthusiasts: gregory penned a declaration called the dictatus papae ( dictates of the pope ) in that year. This was a list of twenty-seven single sentence statements about papal power. Letters passed back and forth between emperor and pope. the vitriol of their language increased with every exchange. by the end of 1076 both the emperor and the pope had declared each other excommunicated and deposed from office.
