where the Pope was. For three days the Pope kept him waiting, barefoot and in penitential garb. At
last he was admitted. Having expressed penitence and sworn, in future, to follow the Pope's
directions in dealing with his German opponents, he was pardoned and received back into
communion.
The Pope's victory, however, was illusory. He had been caught out by the rules of his own
theology, one of which enjoined absolution for penitents. Strange to say, he was taken in by
Henry, and supposed his repentance sincere. He soon discovered his mistake. He could no longer
support Henry's German enemies, who felt that he had betrayed them. From this moment, things
began to go against him.
Henry's German enemies elected a rival Emperor, named Rudolf. The Pope, at first, while
maintaining that it was for him to decide between Henry and Rudolf, refused to come to a
decision. At last, in 1080, having experienced the insincerity of Henry's repentance, he
pronounced for Rudolf. By this time, however, Henry had got the better of most of his opponents
in Germany. He had an antipope elected by his clerical supporters, and with him, in 1084, he
entered Rome. His antipope duly crowned him, but both had to retreat quickly before the
Normans, who advanced to the relief of Gregory. The Normans brutally sacked Rome, and took
Gregory away with them. He remained virtually their prisoner until his death the next year.
Thus his policies appeared to have ended in disaster. But in fact they were pursued, with more
moderation, by his successors. A compromise favourable to the papacy was patched up for the
moment, but the conflict was essentially irreconcilable. Its later stages will be dealt with in a
subsequent chapter.
It remains to say something of the intellectual revival in the eleventh century. The tenth century
was destitute of philosophers, except for Gerbert ( Pope Sylvester II, 999-1003), and even he was
more a mathematician than a philosopher. But as the eleventh century advanced, men of real
philosophical eminence began to appear. Of these, the most important were Anselm and Roscelin,
but some others deserve mention. All were monks connected with the reform movement.
Peter Damian, the oldest of them, has already been mentioned. Berengar of Tours (d. 1088) is
interesting as being something of a rationalist. He maintained that reason is superior to authority,
in sup-