Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1845-06-19
Article on IIhdebrand.
THE I%sTFRDIcT OF KING HENRY.
From fhe Edinburph Rerfe,p.

FL IfOh tc I<4FtoUf -W ttfCU
Ii was now the second week in Lent in The year 1876.
From his throne, beneath the sculptured roof Of the Vat
lean, Gregory, arrayed in the rich mantle, the pail, and
the other mystic vestmeDts OF ponti6cal dominion, look
ed down tile. far receding aisIes Of the sacred edifce on
the long array of ecclesiastical lords and princes, before
whom "Henry, King of Germany and Italy, called him
sell Emperor" had been summoned 10 appear, not as
their sovereign to receive their homage, but as a culprlt
to await their sentence. As he gazed on that senate, as
sertiDg a Jurisdiction so majestlc-and listened TO harmo-
MES which might not unity have accompanied the wor-
ship Of Eden-and Joined in anthems which in far distant
ages had been sung by blessed saints in their dark crypIs,
aud by triumphant martyrs in their dying agonies-and
inhaling the incense symbohcal Of the prayers offered by
the Catholic Church 10 her eternal Head-what wonder,
if, under the intoxicating influence of such a scene and
Of such an hour, the old man believed that he wal him.
self the apostolic rock on which her foundations were
laid, aud that his cause and person were sacred as the
will, and Invincible as The power of heaven itself. The
"Veni Creator" was on the lips of the papal choir, when
Roland, an envoy from the Synod Of Worms and Pla-
cenza, presented himself before the assembled hierarchy
Of Rome. His demeanor was fierce, and his speech ab-
rupt. "The King and the united Bishops both Of Ger.
many and Italy" (such was his a%postrophe to the Pope,)
"tTansmit to thee this command descend without de-
lay from the throne of St. Peter. Abandon the usurped
government of the Roman Church. To such honors
sanction of the Emperor" Then addressing the con-
cIave-"To you, brethren, . he said, sit is commanded,
that at the feast Of Pentecost We present yourselves be-
fore the KING my master, TO receive a Pope and fatherffom
his hands. This pretended pastor Is a ravenous wolf"
A brief pause of mute astonishmeDt gave way to shouts
Of fury. Swords were drawn, and the audacious herald
was about to expIate his temerltY with his blood. Bot
Gregory descended from his throne, received from the
hands of Roland the letters of the Synods, and resuming
his seat, read them in a clear and deliberate voice to the
indignant council. Again the sacred edifce rang with a
tempest of passionate inyeciive. Again swords were
drawn on Roland. and again the storm was composed BY
the voice of the Ponthf. He spoke of prophecies fulfill
ed in the contumacy of the King, and in the troubles Of
the faithful. lie assured them, that victory would re-
} ward their zeal, or divine consultations sooIhe their de-
feat but whether victory or defeat should be their doom.
the time, he said, had come when the a~venging sword
must be drawn to smite the enemy Of God and of his
Church.
The speaker ceased, and turned for appreciation, or at
least for acquiescence, not to the enthusiastic throng of
mitred or of armed adherents, but to one who, even in
a that eventful moment, divided with himself the gaze and
the sympathy Of that illusrious assemblage. For by his
side, though in an inferior station, sat Agnes the Empress
mother, brought there to witness and to raiify the iudg-
ment 10 be pronounced on her only child, whom she had
borne amidst the proudest hopes, and trained for empire
beneath the griefs and anxieties of widowhood. She
bore, or stroye to bear herself as a daughter OF the
y church, but could not forget that she was the mother Of
u Henry, when, IN all the unprecedented majesty of that
holy fellowship, ffildebrand,r raising his eyes to heaven,
with a voice %echoing, amidst the breaihless silence Of the
Synod, through the remotest arches Of the lofty pile, IN
4 voked the holy Peter, prince Of the apostles, to hear, and
q "Mafy the mother Of God, and the blessed Paul and all
r the saints to bear witness, while for the honor and de-
h fence of Cbrlst's Church, in the name of the sacred Trim
e iv, and BY the power and authority Of Peter, he inter
= dicted to King Henry, son Of Henry the Emperor, the
ahsolved all Christians from their oaths and allegiance e
> him, and bound HIM with the bond of anaihema, tina
the nations may know and acknowledge that thou art Pc
!, ter and that upon thy rock the Son Of fhs-iising Goo
q hath built his church, and that The gates Of hell shall no
prevail against it,