Investiture

Investiture, from the Latin (preposition in and verb vestire, 'dress' from vestis 'robe') is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent (heir, elect of nominee) in public office, especially by talking possession of its insignia. The term is normally reserved for formal offices of state, aristocracy and church.

Ecclesiatical usage

Lay investiture was the appointment of bishops, abbots, and other church officials by feudal lords and vassals. The secular ruler usually invested the elect/appointee with the insignia of his ecclestiastic office, while the Pope crowned the Holy Roman Emperor (elected by the German Electoral Princes).

Related Topics:
Bishop - Abbot - Feudal

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The question who should invest (or more to the point, appoint) who was the subject of an epic conflict between the Catholic church (mainly papacy) and state (mainly the Holy Roman Empire) in the Middle Ages during the so-called Investiture Controversy (see that article).

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