Investiture+Controversy

=Investiture Controversy=

 The Investiture Controversy marked the notable conflict between secular and religious groups and powers in medieval Europe. The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope both argued over who should control the appointments of church officials. This was known as investiture. During this 50 year dispute, Germany would eventually disintegrate as an empire, with no recovery until the 19th century.

The original case of investiture was as follows: the appointment of church officials was performed by secular authorities. A newly appointed bishop or abbot would come before the secular leader. And as they came before the secular leader, they would then be handed a staff and ring as a symbol of power being granted to them. However, money was an extremely influential aspect of this appointing. A secular ruler saw it beneficial to appoint someone who was loyal to them, or had money and skills. When a group within the church wanted to liberate the church from such power by getting rid of this ceremony, many arguments arose. These were members of the Gregorian Reform.

They knew that in order to fully liberate the church, they must eliminate the power of the Holy Roman Emperor to appoint the pope. In order to control this, they went to liberate the papacy from control by the Emperor. So when Henry IV became Emperor at a younger age, his ignorance and innocence as a younger child caused the reformers to seize the opportunity. It was declared in 1059 that no secular leaders would take part in the election of popes. This became known as the College of Cardinals, which is still used to this day as the way to elect popes.

After the reformers succeeded in this, they moved on to a more head on approach. The papacy now had control of the election of the Pope, and it was now time to attack the practice of investiture. The elimination of this practice was declared by Pope Gregory VII in 1075. However, Henry IV (in Germany) was no longer a young child and could therefore react forcefully. He reacted to Pope Gregory's declaration by removing him as pope and replacing him with another. Gregory excommunicated the king, however, causing Henry IV to be neither the king of Germany nor the Holy Roman Emperor.

Rebellions soon broke out, and people used religion as an excuse for their rebellious attitudes. Henry IV backed down, attempting to fight the rebellions that took place in his kingdom. Traveling to Canossa, Italy, he personally apologized to the Pope. The excommunication was lifted, but the rebellions continued on. This German aristocratic rebellion was known as the Great Saxon Revolt. And they elected a man named Rudolf to be their new king.

Henry IV captured and killed Rudolf in 1081 and invaded Rome in an attempt to remove Gregory VII as pope. Gregory VII was rescued, however, in 1085 and died soon after fleeing with the Normans.

After Henry IV died, his son Henry V took power and was also not willing to give up investiture. And so the constant controversy continued. The Concordat of Worms was the compromise reached in 1122. It stated that investiture would be eliminated, but secular leaders would still have some type of power. toc

=Refrences=

Investiture Controversy

= =