Investiture Controversy

The Investiture Controversy was the most significant conflict between secular and religious powers in medieval Europe. It began as a dispute in the 11th century between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Gregorian Papacy concerning who would control appointments of church officials (investiture). The controversy, undercutting the Imperial power established by the Salian Emperors would eventually lead to nearly fifty years of civil war in Germany, the triumph of the great dukes and abbots, and the disintegration of the German empire, a condition from which it would not recover until the reunification of Germany in the 19th century.

Investiture Controversy

In 1075 Pope Gregory VII declared in the Dictatus Papae that as the Roman church was founded by God alone, only the papal power (the auctoritas of Pope Gelasius) was the sole universal power, and that the pope alone could appoint or depose churchmen or move them from see to see. This radical departure from the Early Medieval balance of power, among its other reforms (see Gregorian Reform), eliminated the practice of investiture, the divinely-appointed monarch's right to invest a prelate with the symbols of power, both secular and spiritual. By this time, Henry IV of Germany was no longer a child, and he reacted to this declaration by sending Gregory VII a letter in which he, in effect, removed Gregory as pope and called for the election of a new pope. His letter ends:

Related Topics:
1075 - Pope Gregory VII - Pope Gelasius - See - Balance of power - Gregorian Reform

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: I, Henry, king by the grace of God, with all of my Bishops, say to you, come down, come down, and be damned throughout the ages.

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In 1076 Gregory responded to the letter by excommunicating the king, removing him from the Church and deposing him. Henry IV was no longer king of Germany nor Holy Roman Emperor. This was the first time a king of his stature had been deposed since the 4th century. In effect, the pope and the emperor each claimed to have removed the other from office.

Related Topics:
1076 - 4th century

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Enforcing these declarations was a different matter, but fate was on the side of Gregory VII. The German aristocracy was happy to hear of their king's deposition. They would use the cover of religion as an excuse for a continuation of the rebellion started at the First Battle of Langensalza in 1075 and the seizure of royal powers. The aristocracy would claim local lordships over peasants and property, build castles which had previously been outlawed, and build localized fiefdoms to break away from the empire.

Related Topics:
First Battle of Langensalza - Fiefdoms

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Henry IV had no choice but to back down, needing time to marshall his forces to fight the rebellion in his kingdom. In 1077 he traveled to Canossa in northern Italy to meet the Pope and apologize in person. As penance for his sins, he dramatically wore a hairshirt and stood in the snow barefoot in the middle of winter in what has become known as the Walk to Canossa. Gregory lifted the excommunication, but the German aristocrats, whose rebellion became known as the Great Saxon Revolt, were not so willing to give up their opportunity. They elected a rival king named Rudolf.

Related Topics:
1077 - Canossa - Hairshirt - Walk to Canossa - Great Saxon Revolt - Rudolf

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In 1081 Henry IV was able to capture and kill Rudolf, and in the same year he invaded Rome with the intent of forcibly removing Gregory VII and installing a more friendly pope. Gregory VII called on his allies the Normans, who were in southern Italy, and they rescued him from the Germans in 1085. The Normans managed to sack Rome in the process, and when the citizens of Rome rose up against Gregory he was forced to flee south with the Normans and died there soon after.

Related Topics:
1081 - Normans - 1085

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The Investiture Controversy would continue on for several decades as each succeeding Pope tried to fight the investiture by stirring up revolt in Germany. Henry IV was succeeded upon death in 1106 by his son Henry V, who was also unwilling to give up investiture.

Related Topics:
1106 - Henry V

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