GREGORY VIII., antipope from 1118 to 1121, had been arch bishop of Braga. Suspended by Paschal II. in 1114 on account of a dispute with the Spanish primate and papal legate, the arch bishop of Toledo, he went to Rome and regained favour to such an extent that he was employed by the pope on important legations. He opposed the extreme Hildebrandine policy, and, on the refusal of Gelasius II. to concede the emperor's claim to investiture, he was proclaimed pope by Henry V. on March 8, 1118. He was excommunicated by Gelasius II. in April 1118, and by Calixtus II. at the synod of Reims (Oct. 1119). He died in exile at the convent of La Cava.
The life of Gregory VIII. by Baluzius in Baluzii miscellanea, vol. 1, ed. by J. D. Mansi (Lucca, 1761) , is an excellent vindication.