A letter from Gregory VII, pope (6/24/1073)

Translated letter:

Gregory, Roman pontiff-elect, to Beatrice and her daughter Matilda, greeting in the Lord Jesus Christ. As St. Gregory [I] says in a certain book of Commentaries upon Job concerning human conduct: "It is fixed by the divine judge how much everyone is to suffer by adversity and how far he is to enjoy prosperity. Whoever, therefore, in times of temptation is led by fear of the one or hope of the other to stray from the right path shows that he neither hopes in God nor respects the appeal of Holy Writ." We speak of this because neither you nor we, nor anyone who desires to share in the adoption of the children of God, sbould consider our own advantage, that is, what may profit or injure us, but rather should diligently study and strive to hold fast the righteousness of God, which never fails to bring us happiness. For it is written: "Blessed are they that suffer for righteousness' sake." You know, beloved daughters of St. Peter, how openly the bishops of Lombardy have dared to uphold the heresy of Simony by bringing a curse in the form of a blessing upon the simoniac Godfrey, a man excommunicated and condemned for that crime, and, under the guise of ordination, have set up an execrable heretic. Those people who have long been hurling stones and arrows against the Lord have now come out into the open field, overturning religion and beating against the immovable rock of the Holy Roman Church and are beyond a doubt precursors of Antichrist and satellites of our ancient foe. How dangerous it is to favor or support them, may Your Prudence learn from the words of the blessed Gregory: "Failure to resist such men with all your might is nothing less than to deny your faith." Wherefore we exhort Your Excellencies and beg you most earnestly to avoid all communion with them and to give no aid or counsel to their party. In this matter let no worldly considerations, vain, transitory and deceptive as these are, influence you; for by the mercy of God and of St. Peter, no wiles of your enemies can harm you if a clear conscience supports your minds. As to the bishop-elect of Lucca, we can give you no answer except that we know him to be a man of such learning in the sacred writings and with such good judgment that he must know his right hand from his left. If he shall turn to the right we shall rejoice greatly; but if — which God forbid! — he shall turn to the left, it will certainly be a grief to us; but we will not give our approval to impiety through the grace or favor of anyone. And as to the king: As you have learned from our former letters, it is our intention to send pious men to him, by whose admonitions and the help of God we may be able to bring him back to loyalty to his mother, the Holy Church of Rome, and give him detailed instructions as to the proper form of assuming the empire. But if, contrary to our hopes, he shall refuse to listen to us, we cannot and we ought not to turn aside from our mother, the Roman Church, which has cherished us and has often brought forth other children from the blood of her sons; so God protect us! And surely it is safer for us to resist him even unto death in defense of the truth and for our own welfare than to give way to his will by consenting to iniquity and so rush on to our own ruin. Farewell in Christ, and be assured that we hold you in the most heartfelt affection.1 Dated at Rome, 8th kalends of July, Indiction 11.

Original letter:

Gregorius in Romanum pontificem electus Beatrici et eius filie Mathildi salutem in domino Iesu Christo. Sicut beatus Gregorius in quodam super moralia Iob explanationum libro ait, statutum est apud supernum iudicem, quanta unumquemque aut ferire adversitas aut debeat mulcere prosperitas. Quicunque ergo sive spe huius vel timore illius in tempore temptationis ab his que recta sunt deviat, nec sperare in Deum nec divinarum eloquiis scripturarum se adhibere manifestat. Hoc autem ideo dicimus, quia nobis et vobis immo omnibus, qui consortes adoptionis filiorum Dei esse cupimus, non tam occasiones nostre existimationis, videlicet quid hinc prosit inde noceat, intuende sunt, quam illud, ut iustitiam Dei, que nunquam beatitudinis fine carebit, fortiter teneamus, sollicite pensandum et enitendum est. Scriptum est enim: "Sed et si quid patimini propter iustitiam, beati." Nostis, dilectissime sancti Petri filie quam aperte Longobardorum episcopi symoniacam heresim defendere ac fovere presumpserint, cum Gotefredum symoniacum et ob hoc excommunicatum atque damnatum sub specie benedictionis maledixerint et sub umbra ordinationis execratum hereticum constituerint. Nempe qui hactenus lapides et sagittas latenter contra Dominum iactaverunt, iam nunc ad subvertendam religionem et immobilem sancte Romane ecclesie petram concutiendam, non dubie precursores antichristi et antiqui hostis satellites, in apertum furoris sui campum prosiluerunt. Quibus favere vel consentire quam periculosum sit, prudentia vestra inde perpendat, quod beatus Gregorius dicit: "talibus non sumopere obviare, quid aliud est, nisi fidem negare." Unde nobilitatem vestram hortamur et valde rogamus, ut communionem illorum evitare et declinare studeat nec factionibus eorum consilia vel adiumenta prebeat. Neque vero in hac re aliqua huius mundi ratio, que quidem vana transitoria et deceptiva est, vos commoveat, quoniam per misericordiam Dei et sancti Petri nulla vos inimicorum versutia ledere poterit, si mentem vestram libera conscientia defendit. De electo vero Lucensi non aliud vobis respondendum esse pervidimus, nisi quod in eo tantam divinarum litterarum scientiam et rationem discretionis esse percepimus, ut, que sinistra que sit dextra, ipse non ignoret. Quodsi ad dexteram inclinaverit, valde gaudemus; sin vero, quod absit, ad sinistram, utique dolemus; sed nullius persone gratia vel favore impietati assensum dabimus. De rege autem, ut antea in litteris nostris accepistis, hec est voluntas nostra, ut ad eum religiosos viros mittamus, quorum ammonitionibus inspirante Deo ad amorem sancte Romane et sue matris ecclesie eum revocare et ad condignam formam suscipiendi imperii instruere et expolire valeamus. Quodsi nos, quod non optamus, audire contempserit, nos tamen a matre nostra Romana ecclesia, que nos nutrivit et sepe filiorum suorum sanguine alios generavit filios, custodiente Deo exorbitare nec possumus nec debemus. Et certe tutius nobis est defendendo veritatem pro sui ipsius salute ad usque sanguinem nostrum sibi resistere, quam ad explendam eius voluntatem iniquitati consentiendo secum, quod absit, ad interitum ruere. Valete in Christo, clarissime, et in nostra dilectione cordetenus vos annexas esse scitote. Data Rome VIII Kalendas Iulii, Indictione XI.

Historical context:

Gregory addressed this and several other letters to Matilda and her mother Beatrice, who ruled jointly until Beatrice's death. Gregory seeks their support against the simony of Lombard bishops, cautiously refuses to commit himself on Anselm of Lucca, and announces a firm stand against Henry IV, unless he accepts the church's position. The Anselm is Anselm II, bishop of Lucca from 1073-86; Gregory apparently delayed Anselm's consecration because of his own relations with Henry, but Lucca was an imperial diocese and Anselm was invested by Henry in 1074. Anselm and Gregory were, however, close, see Ute-Renate Blumenthal, The Investiture Controversy, Church and Monarchy from the Ninth to the Twelfth Century, (Philadephia: University of Pennsylvania, 1988), 113.

Scholarly notes:

(1) Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

Printed source:

Register Gregors VII, MGH, EpSel, ed. Erich Caspar, ep.1.11; translation from The Correspondence of Pope Gregory VII, Selected Letters from the Registrum, trans. Ephraim Emerton, pp.8-9.(1)

Date:

6/24/1073