Pope Gregory VI
Gregory VI,
pope from 1044 to 1046, who as Johannes Gratianus had earned a high reputation for learning and probity. He succeeded
Benedict IX who sold him the papacy for an enormous sum, Johannes also bought off the antipopes
Sylvester III and
John XX. In a council held by the emperor Henry III at Sutri in Decmeber 1046, he was accused of
simony and freely admitted it, so his election was found to have been informal. This led to his degradation, and was followed by his withdrawal into Germany, where he died in the following year (1047). He was succeeded by
Clement II
from the 9th edition (1880) of an unnamed encyclopedia