War in Rome

After King Henry IV of Germany and Pope Gregory VII clashed over several issues, Henry decided to depose Gregory and put Guibert of Ravenna on the Throne of Peter as (antipope) Clement III. Henry promised to bring his army to Rome to accomplish this, but failed in his first attempt in 1081. A later attempt succeeded, however.

Henry marched into Rome on 21 March 1084. Pope Gregory barricaded himself in the Castle Sant'Angelo, which meant abandoning the papal complex. Three days later, Clement III took possession of the papacy. In return, he crowned Henry as Holy Roman Emperor.

Gregory had allies, however, one of whom was the powerful King of Sicily, Robert Guiscard. Robert brought his Norman army to Gregory's aid, prompting Henry and Guibert to abandon Rome. On their way north, Henry ravaged parts of Tuscany which were possessions of Matilda of Tuscany, who had supported Gregory. Guibert went to Ravenna, where he had been archbishop, and wielded limited power.

Although Gregory was free to resume his job as pope, Romans were upset at damage done by his Norman allies. Opposition to Gregory grew great enough that he decided to live at Monte Cassino. He died a year later, on 25 May 1085. His immediate successor (Victor III) did not relish the public life of the papacy, and did not last long before he retired. His successor was Urban II, who also had problems because of German support (and some in Rome) for Clement. Clement returned to Rome in 1089, taking up residence at the Vatican and forcing Urban to stay away from Rome.

The King of France's brother, Hugh of Vermandois, marched on Rome to deal with the antipope, prompting Clement this time to flee to Monte Cassino. Hugh captured Monte Cassino as well, however, and Clement fled to Albano, a day's journey from Rome. By this time, however, Urban had died, and Paschal II was the pope of the anti-Germany faction.

Guibert/Clement died on 8 September 1100, having outlived two popes who were his opposition and who failed to depose him. His supporters elected another antipope, Theodoric, who never wielded any real authority and lasted a year.

Who was this Matilda of Tuscany, who supported Gregory and suffered because of Henry IV? Let me tell you about la Gran Contessa tomorrow.

The First Crusade Commences

It can be argued that the First Crusade, announced in 1095, could not or would not feasibly have been undertaken much earlier than the end of the 11th century. A few different trends combined at the right time.

One was that the political power of Western Europe had recently grown; kingdoms were becoming more sophisticated with fewer border squabbles, and the church and the secular powers had the organizational ability to manage a large undertaking. Also, there was an eschatological air ever since the year 1000, and the end of the world could be nigh, sparking a religious fervor not previously seen. The end of the world in Biblical terms involved Jerusalem, and so freeing Jerusalem from infidels was important. A request from Alexius I Comnenus of Constantinople to get help from the West with his infidel problems was a catalyst for Urban II to declare this undertaking.

Assembling armies takes time, however, and joining the Crusade was expensive. There was no large standing army in any country capable of taking on such a huge military operation, so citizens from all walks of life were recruited. The prospect of a plenary indulgence from the pope that would remove the need for penance was a strong inducement to join. Individuals sold goods and sought donations to be able to afford food, armor, weapons, passage, etc.

The main forces (there were four major organized groups) were ready to depart Europe in August 1096. A fifth and smaller force led by the King of France's brother, Hugh of Vermandois, left early and was shipwrecked in the Adriatic. (There was also an impatient "People's Crusade" that left early and, well, see the result here.)

The major group was led by Godfrey of Bouillon (1060 - 1100), the duke of Lower Lorraine. Much of the story of the First Crusade relies on his actions. We can look at how the Crusade went through the point of view of the first European "King of Jerusalem" next time.

[map source]