Bruno The Saxon - The Saxon Wars

The Saxon Wars

Bruno sought to justify the rebellion of the Saxons and the election of the first anti-king, Rudolf, and to show how by his oppressive government King Henry had forfeited any right to rule, both for himself and his dynasty. Bruno also devoted considerable attention to Henry’s dispute with Pope Gregory VII, ten of whose letters he reproduced in his history. But while supporting the pope against the king, he made clear, both in his own words and through letters which he copied, that the German rebels were deeply disappointed by the Gregory’s absolution of Henry at Canossa in December 1076, and his attempt to remain neutral after the more intransigent rebels had elected a rival king at Forchheim in March 1077. Bruno was at pains to stress that this election was conducted with the full knowledge and involvement of a papal legate, and indeed followed the standards of probity laid down by canon law. Hence there could be no doubt about its validity. Bruno described the dissatisfaction of the Saxons to the actions of Gregory VII. The German rebels reproached Gregory VII for not supporting the anti-king Rudolf. The letters to which they refer, which Bruno reproduced in full, were those sent by Gregory in the summer of 1077 to his legates, and to the clergy and people of Germany, setting out the terms by which a judgement might be made between the respective claims of Henry and Rudolf to be the rightful king.