Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/303

 Popes, Emperors, and Princes in the Middle Ages 219 statement, called the Dictatus, in which he sets forth the powers which he believed God had conferred on the papacy. The Pope, or Bishop of Rome, had, he claims, the right to depose or transfer any other bishop. No Church council could be regarded as speak- ing for Christendom without the Pope's ratification ; no religious MEDIEVAL PICTURES OF GREGORY VII These pictures are taken from an illustrated manuscript written some decades after Gregory's death. In the one on the left Gregory is represented blowing out a candle and saying to his cardinals, "As I blow out this light, so will Henry IV be extinguished." In the one on the right is shown the death of Gregory (1085). He did not wear his crown in bed, but the artist wanted us to be sure to recognize that he was Pope book should be deemed authoritative without his approval ; no one might be considered a Catholic Christian who did not yield obedience to the commands of the Roman Mother Church. Gregory does not stop with asserting the Pope's complete supremacy over the Church. He says that "the Pope is the only person whose feet are kissed by all princes" ; that he may depose emperors and "absolve subjects from allegiance to an unjust ruler." No one shall dare to condemn one who appeals to the Pope. No one may annul a decree of the Pope, though the Pope may declare null and void the decrees of all other earthly powers ; and no one may pass judgment upon his acts.