Digital Continent Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul 2016 | Page 56

49 Gregory VII The monk Hildebrand had followed Gregory VI into exile and in 1049 returned to Rome after the deposed pope’s death. Noted for his efforts that reestablished order to the papal territories, in the fall of 1059 he was elevated to archdeacon by Pope Nicholas II and remained so for fourteen years. Some of Hildebrand’s talents were put to good use in fundraising and defending the spiritual and temporal rights of the Apostolic See. He had repeatedly requested St. Peter Damian to compile a collection of writings, decrees, laws, and rulings on papal authority that the reformers could but the request was never fulfilled. He also supported the alliance with the Normans that would provide not only protection for the papacy and Church but also serve as a counter-balance to the German monarchy.105 105 Aubrey Gwynn, “Gregory VII as Modern Scholars See Him,” Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review 39, no. 153 (March 1950), 43-44, accessed April 16, 2015, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30100303.