of the Emperor. The last dynastic Pope was Benedict IX, elected in 1032, and said to have been
only twelve years old at the time. He was the son of Alberic of Tusculum, whom we have already
met in connection with Abbot Odo. As he grew older, he grew more and more debauched, and
shocked even the Romans. At last his wickedness reached such a pitch that he decided to resign
the papacy in order to marry. He sold it to his godfather, who became Gregory VI. This man,
though he acquired the papacy simoniacally, was a reformer; he was a friend of Hildebrand
( Gregory VII). The manner of his acquiring the papacy, however, was too scandalous to be passed
over. The young Emperor Henry III ( 1039-1056) was a pious reformer, who had abandoned
simony at great cost to his revenue, while retaining the right to appoint bishops. He came to Italy
in 1046, at the age of twenty-two, and deposed Gregory VI on the charge of simony.
Henry III retained throughout his reign the power of making and unmaking popes, which,
however, he exercised wisely in the interests of reform. After getting rid of Gregory VI, he
appointed a German bishop, Suidger of Bamberg; the Romans resigned the election rights which
they had claimed and often exercised, almost always badly. The new Pope died next year, and the
Emperor's next nominee also died almost immediately--of poison, it was said. Henry III then
chose a relation of his own, Bruno of Toul, who became Leo IX ( 10491054). He was an earnest
reformer, who travelled much and held many councils; he wished to fight the Normans in
Southern Italy, but in this he was unsuccessful. Hildebrand was his friend, and might almost be
called his pupil. At his death the Emperor appointed one more Pope, Gebhard of Eichstadt, who
became Victor II, in 1055. But the Emperor died the next year, and the Pope the year after. From
this point onwards, the relations of Emperor and Pope became less friendly. The Pope, having
acquired moral authority by the help of Henry III, claimed first independence of the Emperor, and
then superiority to him. Thus began the great conflict which lasted two hundred years and ended
in the defeat of the Emperor. In the long run, therefore, Henry III's policy of reforming the papacy
was perhaps short-sighted.
The next Emperor, Henry IV, reigned for fifty years ( 1056-1106). At first he was a minor, and the
regency was exercised by his mother the Empress Agnes. Stephen IX was Pope for one year, and
at his