Pope St. Gregory VII born Hildebrand of Sovana

Sovana

250px|thumb|A view of a street in Sovana.Sovana is a small town in southern Tuscany, Italy, a frazione of Sorano, a comune in the province of Grosseto.-History:...

 , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy

Investiture Controversy

The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...

, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...

 affirming the primacy of the papal authority and the new canon law governing the election of the pope by the College of Cardinals

College of Cardinals

The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...

. He was at the forefront of both evolutionary developments in the relationship between the emperor and the papacy during the years before becoming pope.