Pope Gregory looked to William for help in this matter. The
Conqueror, who was a zealous Catholic, was ready to give that help,
but with limitations. He pledged himself to aid in reforming the
English Church, which had enjoyed "an insular and barbaric
independence." He undertook to remove inefficient men from its high
places. The King also agreed to do something that had never been done
before in England, namely, to establish separate courts (S151) for the
trial of Church cases (SS164, 165). Finally, he agreed to pay the
customary yearly tax to Rome, called "Peter's pence."
But Pope Gregory was not satisfied. He demanded that the Conqueror
should do him homage for his crown, and should swear "to become his
man" (S86). This William respectfully, but decidedly, refused to do,
saying that as no "King of the English before him had ever become the
Pope's man, so neither would he." In taking this action the King
declared himself to be an obedient and affectionate son of the "Holy
Catholic Church." But at the same time he laid down these three rules
to show that he would not tolerate any interference with his power as
an independent English sovereign:
1. That no Pope should be acknowledged in England, or letters from the
Pope received there, without his sanction.
2. That no national synod or meeting of churchmen (S48) should enact
any decrees binding the English Church, without his confirmation.
3. That no baron or officer of his should be expelled from the Church
without his permission.[1]
[1] Taswell-Langmead's "English Constitutional History," p. 59;
Professor W. Stubb's "Constitutional History of England," I, 286.
It is noticeable that Pope Gregory never seems to have censured
William for the position he took,--perhaps because one brave man
always understands and respects another.
Yet a little later than this (1077), when Henry IV, Emperor of
Germany, refused to comply with certain demand made by Gregory VII,
the German monarch had to submit. More than this, he was compelled to
stand barefooted in the snow before the Pope's palace, waiting three
days for permission to enter and beg forgiveness.