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io. EARLY RELATIONS WITH ROME. 83
io. COMMENCEMENT OF ROMAN INFLUENCE AND OF
INTERCOURSE WITH THE PAPACY.
The collapse of the power of the see of Hamburg opened
the way for another power to appear on the scene, besides
that of the English Church. This was that of the papacy,
which, in the person of the wonderfully energetic pope,
Gregory VII., addressed its first known letters to Sweden
in the years 1080 and 1081 A.D. The first is to I(nge), king
of the Swedes, and congratulates him on the advent of mis
sionaries from the Gallican Church, which, however, has
only instructed him from the treasures of its mother, the
holy Roman Church. It requests him to send to the
Apostolic see a bishop or other sufficient clerk to give in
formation as to the habits and character of the nation, and
to receive the Apostolic (i.e., Roman) mandates to bring
back with him (4th October, 1080 A.D., Reg. viii., ep. n ;
P. L., 148, 585). The second, dated 24th October, 1081
A.D., is addressed to the kings of the West Goths, I(nge)
and A(lstan), after a visit from their bishop. It is thought
that this may have been Rodulward, Bishop of Skara.
The letter rejoices over the news of the conversion of their
people. It exhorts to concord and to reverence of churches,
compassion towards the poor and afflicted, reverence and
obedience to bishops and clergy, and urges them to give
tithes for the use of the clergy, the churches, and the poor
thus setting forth the tripartite division of tithes
which afterwards prevailed in Sweden and to pro
claim the duty of doing so to the whole realm. It
refers to their predecessor s good fame by whom, I sup
pose, Stenkil is meant and urges them frequently to send
their clerks to Rome for further instruction in the manners
of the Roman Church (Reg. ix., ep. 14; P. L., 148, 617-8).
The address "to the kings of the Visigoths," or West
Goths, instead of "to the king of the Swedes," as the
first was directed, is interesting as showing an increase of
local knowledge. At this time there were two joint kings
of the West Goths, reigning also over Svithiod; but the
title "king of the Swedes and Goths" was not yet
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