Pope Gregory VII
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Pope Gregory VII, born Hildebrand of Sovana, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
Depiction of Gregory VII from an exultet roll, c. 1087
Wax funeral effigy of Gregory VII under glass in the Salerno cathedral.
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
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Henry IV was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, and King of Italy and Burgundy. A Salian ruler, he was the son of Henry III and Agnes of Poitou. After his father's death in 1056, his mother acted as
Pope Gregory VII
…reforming popes, he initiated the Gregorian Reform, and is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Emperor Henry IV to establish the primacy of papal authority and the new canon law governing the election of the pope by the College of Cardinals. He was also at the…
Henry in full regalia (depicted in the 11th-century Evangelion of Saint Emmeram's Abbey)
Throne of Charlemagne in the Palatine Chapel in Aachen
Henry's brother-in-law, King Solomon of Hungary, appeals to him for help (miniature in the 14th-century Vienna Illuminated Chronicle).
Ruins of Homburg Castle. Henry's army inflicted a decisive defeat on the Saxons near the castle in 1074.