oly Father to raise the interdict, and to restore him to the communion
of the Church. He is ready to give every satisfaction that the Pope
shall require; to present himself at such place and at such time as the
Pope shall order; to meet his accusers, and to commit himself entirely
to the decision of the head of the Church."

Henry, says Voigt, having received permission to advance, was not long
on the way. The fortress had triple inclosures; Henry was conducted into
the second; his retinue remained outside the first. He had laid aside
the insignia of royalty; nothing announced his rank. All day long,
Henry, bareheaded, clad in penitential garb, and fasting from morning
till night, awaited the sentence of the sovereign pontiff. He thus
waited during a second and a third day. During the intervening time he
had not ceased to negotiate. On the morrow, Matilda interceded with the
Pope on behalf of Henry, and the conditions of the treaty were settled.
The prince promised to give satisfaction to the complaints made against
him by his subjects, and he took an oath, in which his sureties joined.
When those oaths were taken, the pontiff gave the King the benediction
and the apostolic peace, and celebrated Mass.

After the consecration of the host, the Pope called Henry and all
present, and still holding the host in his hand, said to the King: "We
have received letters from you and those of your party, in which we are
accused of having usurped the Holy See by simony, and of having, both
before and since our episcopacy, committed crimes which, according to
the canons, excluded us from holy orders.

"Although we could justify ourselves by the testimony of those who have
known our manner of life from our childhood, and who were the authors of
our promotion to the episcopacy, nevertheless, to do away with all kind
of scandal, we will appeal to the judgment, not of men, but of God. Let
the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we are about to take, be this
day a proof of our innocence. We pray the Almighty to dispel all
suspicion, if we are innocent, and to cause us suddenly to die, if we
are guilty."

Then turning towards the King, Gregory again spoke: "Dear son, do also
as you have seen us do. The German princes have daily accused you to us
of a great number of crimes, for which those nobles maintain that you
ought to be interdicted, during your whole life, not only from royalty
and all public function, but also from all ecclesiasti