279
when I was ascending the mount itself by your command, as I cried aloud, and proclaimed to the people their crimes, and to the sons of the Church their sins, these members of the devil conspired against me, and laid their hands upon me even to bloodshed. For the kings of the earth, and the princes of this world, stood up, and, to- gether with them certain ecclesiastics and common persons, con- spired against the Lord, and against His anointed ones (“ Christos,” others read 66 Christianos”), saying : Let us break asunder their bonds, and cast their yoke from us : but this they did, in order that they might punish me either with death or with exile : And among these was Henry, whom they call king, — Henry, I say, the son of Henry the Emperor, who, in the excess of his pride, has raised his horns and heel against the Church of God ; having made a confede- racy with many Italian, French, and German bishops, whose pride your authority has as yet resisted, who, broken in spirit, rather than reduced to a sound mind, coming to me into the Cisalpine country, suppliantly besought me to release him from his anathema. This man, when I had believed that he had come to repentance, I received into favour, and restored him only to communion, without reinstating him in his kingdom, from which I had deservedly driven him in a Synod at Rome ; nor did I permit those who were tributary to his kingdom, to return to their allegiance.1 This I did to the in- tent, that if he should delay to return to favour with his neighbours, whom he had always harassed, and should refuse to restore affairs, both ecclesiastical and ordinary, according to his compact, he might be driven to his duty by curses and arms. Aided by this oppor- tunity, certain bishops and princes of Germany, who had long been harassed by this wild beast, chose Rodulph as their leader and king in the place of Henry, who had fallen from the kingdom by his crimes ; and he, with modesty and uprightness worthy of a king, at once sent messengers to me, from whom I might understand that he was compelled to undertake the government of the kingdom, but that he was not so desirous of reigning, as not to prefer obe- dience to me, rather than to those who promised him the kingdom ; that he would always be under the control of God and of us ; and in order that we might be assured that he would thus act, he promised his sons as hostages. Then Henry began to be indignant, and at first to implore us to repel Rodulph by curses from occupy- ing the kingdom. I said that I wished to see to whom the right belonged, and that I would send thither messengers, to inquire into 1 Fidem ; others read jirnm.
280