117 The Investiture Controversy
Learning Objective
- Analyze the events of the Investiture Controversy
Key Points
- When the Holy Roman Empire developed as a force during the 10th century, it was the first real non-barbarian challenge to the authority of the church.
- A dispute between the secular and ecclesiastical powers known as the Investiture Controversy emerged beginning in the mid-11th century.
- The Investiture Controversy was resolved with the Concordat of Worms in 1122, which gave the church power over investiture, along with other reforms.
- By undercutting the imperial power established by previous emperors, the controversy led to nearly fifty years of civil war in Germany, and the triumph of the great dukes and abbots.
- The papacy grew stronger in its power and authority from the controversy.
Terms
simony
The sale of church offices to a successor.
investiture
The authority to appoint local church officials such as bishops of cities and abbots of monasteries.
Concordat of Worms
An agreement between Pope Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V on September 23, 1122, that found a resolution to the Investiture Controversy.
Overview
The Investiture Controversy was the most significant conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, specifically the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of popes challenged the authority of European monarchies. At issue was who, the pope or monarchs, had the authority to appoint (invest) local church officials such as bishops of cities and abbots of monasteries. The conflict ended in 1122, when Emperor Henry V and Pope Calixtus II agreed on the Concordat of Worms. It differentiated between the royal and spiritual powers and gave the emperors a limited role in selecting bishops. The outcome seemed mostly a victory for the pope and his claim that he was God’s chief representative in the world. However, the emperor did retain considerable power over the church.
The Investiture Controversy began as a power struggle between Pope Gregory VII (1072–1085) and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V (1056–1106). A brief but significant struggle over investiture also occurred between Henry I of England and Pope Paschal II in the years 1103–1107, and the issue also played a minor role in the struggles between church and state in France.
By undercutting the imperial power established by previous emperors, the controversy led to nearly fifty years of civil war in Germany, and the triumph of the great dukes and abbots. Imperial power was finally re-established under the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Historian Norman Cantor writes of its significance:
The age of the investiture controversy may rightly be regarded as the turning-point in medieval civilization. It was the fulfillment of the early Middle Ages because in it the acceptance of the Christian religion by the Germanic peoples reached its final and decisive stage…The greater part of the religious and political system of the high Middle Ages emerged out o