Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/309

 0, of the emperor. Conflict between Gregory VII and Henry IV 273 Then, reaching the real object of their mission, he con- tinued as follows: " This is the reason that the emperor has sent us hither. The claims It is well known that in the time of our predecessors it was recognized by holy and truly apostolic men, like Gregory the Great and others, that, according to the law of the empire, in every election the following method should be observed. First, the election was brought to the emperor's attention before it was publicly announced. Before deciding the matter measures were taken to learn whether he approved of the candidate proposed, and his sanction was obtained. Then, following the canons, 1 the election was proclaimed in a general meeting, as having been carried out by the clergy with the ratification of the people and the assent of the distributor of honors. The person chosen, freely elected without simony in the manner above described, should then present himself to the emperor to be invested with the regalia by the ring and the staff, to pledge his fidelity and to do homage. Nor is it any wonder that there should be no other way by which one should be able to get possession of towns, castles, markets, tolls, and other things associated with the imperial dignity. If the lord pope will recognize this, the throne and the Church will be united, to the glory of God, in a firm and advantageous peace." To all this the lord pope replied judiciously, by the mouth The counter- of the bishop of Piacenza, a distinguished orator, as follows : J^ 1 ^ " The Church, redeemed and made free by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, may in no way become a slave again. Now if the Church cannot choose a prelate without the permis- sion of the emperor, she is subject to him, and Christ's death is made of no avail. To invest with the ring and the staff, since these belong to the altar, is to usurp the powers of God himself. For a priest to place his hands, sanctified by the body and blood of the Lord, in the blood-stained hands of a layman, as a pledge, is to dishonor his order and holy consecration." 1 See History of Western Europe, p. 155.