Home > Middle Ages > VII Gregory Biography

Gregory VII

Born c. 1020

Died 1085

Italian pope

Henry IV
Born 1050
Died 1106
German king and Holy Roman emperor

"In the name of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I withdraw … from Henry … the rule over the whole kingdom of the Germans and over Italy. And I absolve all Christians from the bonds of the oath which they have made or shall make to him; and I forbid any one to serve him as king."

"First Deposition and Banning of Henry IV," February 22, 1076

Gregory VII was the pope, leader of the Catholic Church, and Henry IV, as Holy Roman emperor, ruled a number of lands. Thus they were the two most powerful men in Western Europe, and in 1075, they faced off in a power struggle called the Investiture Controversy that would have an enormous impact on history.

The immediate cause was the right of the emperors to...