Lateran) where he attended school with other upper-
class Romans. He spent some time at the monastery of
Saint Mary on the Aventine Hill, where his uncle was
abbot. Saint Mary’s had once been reformed by Abbot
Odo of Cluny and had connections with certain local
reformers of the church.
The fi rst secure date for Gregory VII—then Hil-
debrand—is January 1047. He accompanied Pope
Gregory VI (r. 1045–1046) into exile in Germany after
the latter’s deposition by Emperor Henry III at the synod
of Sutri (20 December 1046). In early 1049, Hildebrand
returned to Rome in the entourage of Pope Leo IX (r.
1049–1054). He had probably become a monk by then,
although it remains unclear where and when he made his
vows. Certainly, however, this did not occur at Cluny.
In Rome, he became subdeacon and then rector of the
Abbey of Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls. He was sent
as papal legate in 1054 to the synod of Tours and in
1056 to the synod of Chalon-sur-Saône. The synod at
Tours was concerned with the teachings of Berengar of
Tours on the eucharist (a topic that Hildebrand would
have to deal with again later, as pope); the synod at
Chalon dealt with simony and led to the deposition of
six simoniac bishops by Hildebrand. At least once during
these years, Hildebrand must have been at the court of
Emperor Henry III (d. 5 October 1056); later, as pope, he
would note that Henry III honored him more than other
Italians. Moreover, Hildebrand participated in a court
ceremony in which the boy Henry IV (r. 1056–1105)
was either elected or acclaimed king. In 1057, Pope
Stephen IX (r. 1057–1058) once again sent Hildebrand
to Germany, together with Anselm of Lucca (later Pope
Alexander II, r. 1061–1073). Stephen IX demanded a
solemn oath from the cardinal bishops and the clergy
and laity of Rome that if he died they would await
Hildebrand’s return from Germany before electing a
successor; this is an indication of Hildebrand’s standing
in Rome. It is very likely that Hildebrand collaborated
actively with Stephen’s successor, Pope Nicholas II
(r. 1059–1061) and helped shape Nicholas’s policies
toward the Normans and the Patarenes; but it is dif-
fi cult to identify Hildebrand’s infl uence precisely or to
determine whether he differed from other reformers.
Apparently, he did not sign the election decree of the
Lateran synod of April—May 1059, but in a speech at
this council he severely condemned the Aachen rule of
816 for regular canons, which had permitted the holding
of private property. In the autumn of 1059, Nicholas II
named Hildebrand archdeacon of the Roman church,
entrusted with fi nancial, judicial, and military tasks.
Hildebrand would also have been responsible for the
papal states, would have acted as vicar during the pope’s
absence, and would have administered the see of Rome
during a vacancy. These were heavy responsibilities, but
it would be an exaggeration to claim that Hildebrand
was the power behind the papal throne during his more
than twenty years at the curia.Pontifi cate
During the funeral of Alexander II on 22 April 1073, Hil-
debrand was proclaimed Pope Gregory VII in a tumultu-
ous election by the Roman people—an election that was
subsequently formalized by the cardinals, the clergy,
and the Roman laity in San Pietro in Vincoli. Gregory’s
pontifi cate is relatively well known. His invaluable
register, the offi cial papal record containing chiefl y his
letters but also some synodal protocols, feudal oaths,
etc., is still preserved in the Vatican’s Archivio Segreto.
It provides a solid basis for an evaluation of Gregory’s
policies, but it is limited because only a certain number
of letters were registered (the selection criteria are un-
known), because many important letters were originally
supplemented with oral messages, and not least because
many of Gregory’s declarations are ambiguous and often
impenetrable for modern readers.
Gregory interpreted his election as a call by God to
continue unhesitatingly, not to say ruthlessly, the fi ght
for what he considered the proper world order and to
restore the church to its original splendor, as envisioned
by the eleventh-century reformers. He linked the battle
against simony and for celibacy—the chief characteris-
tics of the Gregorian reform (which took its name from
him)—with a marked emphasis on the primacy of the
papacy. This primacy did indeed include the subordina-
tion of all temporal Christian governments to the pope’s
authority, but it applied fi rst of all to the ecclesiastical
hierarchy. In Gregory’s view, all Christians, including
kings and emperors, owed the papacy unquestioned obe-
dience because the pope alone, by virtue of his mystic
connection with Saint Peter, would never deviate from
the Christian faith. According to Gregory, Saint Peter
himself, through the pope, directed the church. Obedi-
ence to God became obedience to the papacy.
Gregory’s attitude had profound political conse-
quences. He emphasized the territorial claims of the
papacy and tried to bring several areas of Europe
under the overlordship of Saint Peter, i.e., the pope.
The conditions varied; they included the simple oath
of fealty by William of Burgundy and clearly feudal
relationships involving homage and investiture as well
as fealty. The popes thus became feudal lords. The vas-
sals’ obligations corresponded to those customary in the
secular sphere and included military and fi nancial aid.
Examples are the alliances with the Normans (1059),
Aragon (1068), Denmark, Hungary, Kiev, Croatia, and
Dalmatia. Like his predecessor, Gregory supported the
reconquista in Spain by French knights, provided that
they were willing to take over the conquered lands as
vassals of Saint Peter—since, Gregory argued, SpainGREGORY VII, POPE