Pope Gregory VII, 1073–1085 (review)

Abstract

Pope Gregory VII, 1073-1085. By H. E.J. Cowdrey (NewYork: Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press. 1998. Pp. xvi, 743. $150.00.) It has been more than fifty years since anyone has attempted a full-scale biography of Pope Gregory VII, one of the most influential personalities of the entire Middle Ages, who lent his name to the Gregorian reform of the eleventh century when the future course of the relationship between Church and monarchy was altered profoundly and irrevocably. This daunting task has been admirably accomplished by Professor Cowdrey. For many years his publications-such as the new edition with a facing-page English translation of known letters of Gregory VII that circulated but are not preserved in the pontiff's extant register or his studies of the Berengar affair-led up to this volume, which at long last provides English speakers with the essential key to the understanding and appreciation of history and politics in the central Middle Ages, not to mention the evolution of the religious outlook which led inevitably to the medieval papal monarchy. The clearly written narrative, divided into thirteen chapters, presents the background (pp. 1-26) and the beginnings of Hildebrand up to his election to the papacy in 1073, when he adopted the name Gregory VII (pp. 27-74), a name that according to Cowdrey was designed to honor Gregory VI (p. 74). Subsequently the book deals with Gregory VII in relation to the various regions of Europe: the German Kingdom and Empire (pp. 75-271); the Kingdoms of Italy (pp. 272-330) and of France (pp. 331-422); the Periphery of Latin Europe (pp. 423-480), including Sicily, the Balkans, Russia, Scandinavia, Spain, and last but not least the Anglo-Norman Kingdom. This main section of the volume concludes with a brief consideration of Gregory VII and the World Beyond Latin Christendom (pp. 481-494). In chapter 8 Cowdrey discusses Gregorian ideas as evidenced by the preceding detailed presentations (pp. 495-583). Chapters 9 (pp. 584-607), 10 (pp. 608-658), and 11 (pp. 659-676) summarize Gregorian ideas with regard to the hierarchy of the Church, to the relationship between Sacerdotium and Regnum, and to the monastic order. Chapter 12 (pp. 677-682) is devoted to Gregory's death in exile at Salerno and pages 683-697 contain Cowdrey's reticent concluding remarks on the personality and lasting achievements of Pope Gregory VII. As the author points out, there is little possibility of forming a generally acceptable conclusion about him. much the historian may set out to present him sine ira et studio, Gregory strikes chords that echo too deeply in men's being to permit of detachment or objectivity ... It is seldom indeed that any conclusion can be drawn about him which does not call out to be balanced and modified by a contrasting judgement (p. 684). But few historians today would quibble with Cowdrey's finding that However much Gregory's exploration of the prerogatives of the apostolic see opened the way for the papal monarchy of the central Middle Ages, he was its forerunner, not its founder. …