Dictatus Papae

A collection of 27 propositions entered in the papal register in 1075, asserting claims about papal authority and associated with Pope Gregory VII’s reform program.

Papal supremacy: The doctrine that the pope holds supreme authority within the Catholic Church. Several propositions claim powers over bishops, councils, and rulers for the pope.
Pope: The bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. The propositions repeatedly define powers belonging to the holder of this office.
Hildebrand: The name by which Gregory VII was known before becoming pope. His pre-papal reform activity forms part of the background to the collection.
Papal bull: A formal papal document authenticated by a lead seal and issued to communicate an authoritative decision. Dictatus Papae is a register entry, not a conventionally issued papal bull.
Papal infallibility: The doctrine that the pope is preserved from error when defining certain teachings on faith or morals. The propositions claim the Roman pontiff cannot err, a claim later distinguished from defined infallibility.
Gregory VII: Pope from 1073 to 1085 whose reforms intensified conflict between the papacy and secular rulers. The collection is associated with his register and reform program.
Papal election of 1073: The election that made Hildebrand Pope Gregory VII. It began the pontificate whose reform program the propositions are associated with.
Canon law: The body of laws and legal principles governing the Catholic Church. The propositions are not themselves a comprehensive code of canon law.
Papal primacy: The doctrine that the bishop of Rome holds primacy among Christian bishops. The text grounds its wider claims in the pope’s unique standing among bishops.
Papal register: An official record of documents and other materials produced by a medieval pope’s administration. The propositions survive as an entry in Gregory VII’s register.

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