Letters of Henry IV
The letter in which Henry IV, early in 1076, renounced his obedience to Gregory VII and called on him to leave the papal throne. It addresses him as Hildebrand, ‘not pope but false monk’.
Read the text at avalon.law.yale.edu ↗The German bishops’ letter to Gregory, sent at the same time (Avalon Project) ↗The same letter of Henry at the Fordham Medieval Sourcebook ↗
The letter is the king’s side of the breach of 1076, written in his name and sent out with a letter in which a long list of German bishops withdrew their obedience from the pope. It argues that a king anointed by God is to be judged by God alone and may be deposed only for heresy, and it accuses Gregory VII of having gained the papacy by money and violence.
It is a piece of polemic, composed to be read aloud and circulated, and it should be read as a statement of the royal case, not as a report of facts. Henderson’s translation gives it the date 24 January 1076.
Cited in
- 1075 to 1077, firm date