Gregory the Seventh
An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (1920)
A pope of the eleventh century, against whom a charge of necromancy was brought. He is chiefly notable for his bitter and prolonged struggle with Henry IV., Emperor of Germany . A quarrel arose between them regarding the gift by Henry of ecclesiastical dignities, to account for which he was summoned before Gregory. He refused to appear, was excommunicated, and, in return, had the pope kidnapped by brigands. Gregory, however, was rescued by the people of Rome , and on his release commanded the Germans to elect a new emperor, Rudolph, duke of Suabia. Henry, attended by a very small retinue, thereupon repaired to Canossa, where Gregory at that time resided, to arrange for terms of peace. He was there treated with such severity and studied neglect that his desire to come to terms with the pope left him, and on his return he elected an anti-pope, Clement III. In the struggle which ensued Henry defeated Rudolph in battle and Gregory was sentenced as a sorcerer. He died in exile at Salerno. As a magician he is not very conspicuous, for his fame rests chiefly on a prophecy he made publicly that Rudolph would be victorious, and that "before St. Peter's day," on the fulfilment of which saying he staked his papal crown. The unfortunate Rudolph, entirely trusting to Gregory's oracular utterance, renewed the battle six times and finally perished without having obtained the promised victory. Other stories credit Gregory with the power of making lightning with a motion of his hand, and causing thunder to dart from his sleeve. It is related by Benno that on one occasion he left his magical book behind him at his villa. Entrusting two of his servants with the task of returning for it, he warned them not to look into it on pain of the most awful punishment. However, curiosity overcame the fears of one of them, and, opening the book he pronounced some words. Immediately a band of imps appeared and asked what was their command. The terrified servants begged that the demons would cast down so much of the city wall as lay in their way, and thus they escaped the penalty of their disobedience. Of a lofty and severe cast of mind, Gregory's motive was not so much fraud as profound enthusiasm and strength of purpose, which sustained him through the struggle with Henry to the end of his life.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The Encyclopaedia of Occultism was in 1920 retelling the charges of Cardinal Benno, a partisan of Henry IV who accused Hildebrand of keeping a book of demons and shaking lightning from his sleeve; historians today read Benno's tract as imperial propaganda from the middle of the Investiture Contest, not as evidence of anything Gregory did. The narrative here is also scrambled: at Canossa in January 1077 Henry did penance in the snow and was absolved, and Rudolf of Swabia was elected only afterwards, dying of wounds at the battle on the Elster in 1080. Far from being remembered as a sorcerer, Gregory was canonised by the Roman church in 1606 and gives his name to the whole "Gregorian Reform"; his surviving letter-register, edited by Erich Caspar in the 1920s, is now the main source for his pontificate. Canossa itself became a political byword when Bismarck declared in 1872 that Germany would not go there.
Written for this edition, 2026.