ur, but that if they should think fit to choose him he was
willing to be pope. On this he was elected by them with great joy, and
took the name of Leo IX. (A.D. 1048). But, although Leo was called pope,
it was Hildebrand who really took the management of everything.

When Leo died (A.D. 1054), the Romans wished to put Hildebrand into his
place; but he did not yet feel himself ready to take the papacy, and
instead of this he contrived to get one after another of his party
elected, until at length, after having really directed everything for no
less than five-and-twenty years, and under the names of five popes in
succession, he allowed himself to be chosen in 1073, and styled himself
Gregory VII.

The empire was then in a very sad state. Henry III. had died in 1056,
leaving a boy less than six years old to succeed him; and this poor boy,
who became Henry IV., was very badly used by those who were about him.
One day, as he was on an island in the river Rhine, Hanno, archbishop of
Cologne, gave him such an account of a beautiful new boat which had been
built for the archbishop, that the young prince naturally wished to see
it; and as soon as he was safe on board, Hanno carried him off to
Cologne, away from his mother, the empress Agnes. Thus the poor young
Henry was in the hands of people who meant no good by him; and, although
he was naturally a bright, clever, amiable lad, they did what they could
to spoil him, and to make him unfit for his office, by educating him
badly, and by throwing in his way temptations to which he was only too
ready to yield. And when they had done this, and he had made himself
hated by many of his people on account of his misbehaviour, the very
persons who had done the most to cause his faults took advantage of
them, and tried to get rid of him as king of Germany and emperor. In the
meantime Hildebrand (or Gregory, as we must now call him) and his
friends had been well pleased to look on the troubles of Germany; for
they hoped to turn the discontent of the Germans to their own purpose.

Gregory had higher notions as to the papacy than any one who had gone
before him. He thought that all power of every kind belonged to the
pope; that kings had their authority from him; that all kingdoms were
held under him as the chief lord; that popes were as much greater than
kings or emperors as the sun is greater than the moon; that popes could
make or unmake kings just as they pleased; and although he had as