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.

The English investiture controversy of 1103 – 1107

At the time of Henry IV's death, Henry I of England and the Gregorian Papacy were also imbroiled in a controversy over investiture, and its solution provided a model for the eventual solution of the issue in the Empire.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

William the Conqueror had accepted a papal banner and the distant blessing of Gregory VII upon his invasion, but had successfully rebuffed Gregory's assertion after the successful outcome, that he should come to Rome and pay homage for his fief, under the general provisions of the "Donation of Constantine".

Related Topics:
William the Conqueror - Gregory VII - Donation of Constantine

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The ban on lay investiture in Dictatus Papae did not shake the loyalty of William's bishops and abbots. In the reign of Henry I the heat of exchanges between Westminster and Rome induced Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, to give up mediating and retire to an abbey. A Norman count who was Henry's chief advisor was excommunicated, but the threat of excommunicating the king remained unplayed. The Papacy needed the support of English Henry while German Henry was still unbroken. A projected crusade also required English support. .

Related Topics:
Henry I - Anselm

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Henry commisioned the archbishop of York to collect and present all the relevant traditions of anointed kingship. "The resulting Anonymous of York treatises are a delight to students of early-medieval political theory, but they in no way typify the outlook of the Anglo-Norman monarchy, which had substituted the secure foundation of administrative and legal bureaucracy for outmoded religious ideology" (Cantor 1993 p 286).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Concordat of London (1107) suggested a compromise that was taken up in the Concordat of Worms. In England, as in Germany, a distinction was being made in the king's chancery between the secular and ecclesiastical powers of the prelates. Employing the distinction, Henry gave up his right to invest his bishops and abbots and reserved the custom of requiring them to come and do homage. The system of vassalage was not divided among great local lords in England, for the king was in control.

Related Topics:
1107 - Concordat of Worms - Vassal

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Henry recognized the dangers of depending on monastic scholars to staff his chancery and turned increasingly to secular scholars (who naturally held minor orders) and rewarded these men of his own making with bishoprics and abbeys. Henry expanded the system of scutage to reduce the monarchy's dependence on knights supplied from church lands. The conclusion of the brief English investuture controversy was to strengthen the secular power of the king.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~