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Why did Gregory VII excommunicate Henry IV for a second time in 1080?

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Gregory VII excommunicating Henry IV — St. Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII, after his expulsion from Rome, laying a ban of excommunication on the clergy “together with the raging king” (Henry IV of Germany), drawing from the 12th-century chronicle of Otto of Freising; in the library of the University of Jena, Germany.

At a synod in March 1080, Pope Gregory VII excommunicated and dethroned Henry IV for a second time primarily to resolve the ongoing civil war in Germany and bring a definitive end to the struggle between Henry and his rival, Rudolf of Rheinfelden, for the sake of continued church reform.12

Following the events at Canossa in 1077, where Henry had been readmitted to the church, the pope had initially attempted to arbitrate between the two claimants. However, as the conflict remained indecisive for nearly three years, Gregory resolved to intervene by formally recognizing Rudolf as the legitimate king and renewing the ban against Henry. This action was also deeply tied to the broader Investiture Controversy, as the pope had formally prohibited lay investiture at a council in 1078, further intensifying the fundamental dispute over the relationship between church and state.123