Digital Continent Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul 2016 | Page 69

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ours and act contrary to it, he shall be deprived of his power and his office and shall learn that he
stands condemned at the bar of God for the wrong that he has done”.132 His words are weightier
but the context is the same. Kings were subject to judgment by the pope. To be recognized as a
true Christian ruler, suitability was determined by obedience to the laws of the Church. Priests
and bishops, and particularly the pope, were at the service of the king in order to clarify, guide,
and nudge back onto the path of godliness when waywardness crept in.
Without question, suitability was critical and in 1081 the question of electing a new antiking presented an opportunity to instruct on this matter. Pope Gregory VII wrote that the Church
would only support such an individual if he proved to be humble, obedient, devoted, and useful.
The pope’s new alliance with the Norman Robert Guiscard spelled out such requirements.
Robert had been excommunicated three times previously over a six year period in conjunction
with his annexation of papal territory. However, Gregory agreed to recognize Guiscard’s claim
if in the future he would behave in a suitable manner acceptable to the pope that respected both
God and St. Peter. An oath of fealty was rewritten which emphasized the concept of suitability
in which Robert promised fealty to the papal successors who confirmed his investiture by Pope
Gregory VII.133 The tumultuous and trying relationship between the pope and Robert Guiscard
stood in stark contrast to the downward spiral and outright refusal to recognize the position of the
Apostolic See and its authority by King Henry IV.
Henry and Gregory

132

Ibid., 168.

133

Robinson, The Papacy: 1073-1198, 312-13.