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Hub AI
Investiture Controversy AI simulator
(@Investiture Controversy_simulator)
Hub AI
Investiture Controversy AI simulator
(@Investiture Controversy_simulator)
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (Latin: Controversia de Investitura, German: Investiturstreit, pronounced [ɪnvɛstiˈtuːɐ̯ˌʃtʁaɪt] ⓘ) was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteries, and the Pope himself. A series of popes in the 11th and 12th centuries undercut the power of the Holy Roman Emperor and other European monarchies, and the controversy led to nearly 50 years of conflict.
It began as a power struggle between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV (then King, later Holy Roman Emperor) in 1076. The conflict ended in 1122, when Pope Callixtus II and Emperor Henry V agreed on the Concordat of Worms. The agreement required bishops to swear an oath of fealty to the secular monarch, who held authority "by the lance" but left selection to the church. It affirmed the right of the church to invest bishops with sacred authority, symbolized by a ring and staff. In Germany (but not Italy and Burgundy), the Emperor also retained the right to preside over elections of abbots and bishops by church authorities, and to arbitrate disputes. Holy Roman Emperors renounced the right to choose the Pope.
In the meantime, there was also a brief but significant investiture struggle between Pope Paschal II and King Henry I of England from 1103 to 1107. The earlier resolution to that conflict, the Concordat of London, was very similar to the Concordat of Worms.
After the decline of the Western Roman Empire, investiture was performed by members of the ruling nobility (and was known as lay investiture) despite theoretically being a task of the church. Many bishops and abbots were themselves part of the ruling nobility. Given that most members of the European nobility practiced primogeniture, and willed their titles of nobility to the eldest surviving male heir, surplus male siblings often sought careers in the upper levels of the church hierarchy. This was particularly true where the family may have established a proprietary church or abbey on their estate.[citation needed] Since a substantial amount of wealth and land was usually associated with the office of a bishop or abbot, the sale of church offices—a practice known as "simony"—was an important source of income for leaders among the nobility, who themselves owned the land and by charity allowed the building of churches.[citation needed] Emperors had been heavily relying on bishops for their secular administration, as they were not hereditary or quasi-hereditary nobility with family interests.[citation needed] They justified their power by the theory of the divine right of kings.
Many of the papal selections before 1059 were influenced politically and militarily by European powers, often with a king or emperor announcing a choice which would be rubber-stamped by church electors. The Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian dynasty believed they should have the power to appoint the pope. Since the ascendance of the first of that line, Otto the Great (936–72), the bishops had been princes of the empire, had secured many privileges, and had become to a great extent feudal lords over great districts of the imperial territory. The control of these great units of economic and military power was for the king a question of primary importance due to its effect on imperial authority. It was essential for a ruler or nobleman to appoint (or sell the office to) someone who would remain loyal.
Problems with simony became particularly unpopular as Pope Benedict IX was accused of selling the papacy in 1045. Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 to 1056, settled the papal schism and named several popes, the last emperor to successfully dominate the selection process. Six-year-old Henry IV became King of the Germans in 1056.
Benedict X was elected under the influence of the Count of Tusculum, allegedly by bribing the electors. Dissenting cardinals elected Pope Nicholas II in 1058 at Siena. Nicholas II successfully waged war against Benedict X and regained control of the Vatican. Nicholas II convened a synod in the Lateran on Easter in 1059. The results were codified in the papal bull In nomine Domini. It declared that leaders of the nobility would have no part in the selection of popes (though the Holy Roman Emperor might confirm the choice) and that electors would be cardinals (which would later evolve into the College of Cardinals) assembled in Rome. The bull also banned lay investiture. In response, all the bishops in Germany (who supported the Emperor) assembled in 1061 and declared all the decrees of Nicholas II null and void. Nevertheless, the elections of Pope Alexander II and Pope Gregory VII proceeded according to church rules, without the involvement of the Emperor.
Both Henry VI and Gregory VII claimed supreme power. In 1075, Pope Gregory VII composed the Dictatus papae, though this was not published at the time, cataloging principles of his Gregorian Reforms. One clause asserted that the pope held the exclusive power to depose an emperor. It declared that the Roman church was founded by God alone—that the papal power (the auctoritas of Pope Gelasius) was the sole universal power; in particular, a council held in the Lateran Palace from 24 to 28 February the same year decreed that the pope alone could appoint or depose churchmen or move them from see to see. The pope objected to bishops being 'invested' with the symbols of their office by their lay lord to show their feilty By this time, Henry IV was no longer a child, and he continued to appoint his own bishops, angering Gregory. He reacted to this declaration by sending Gregory VII a letter in which he withdrew his imperial support of Gregory as pope in no uncertain terms: the letter was headed "Henry, king not through usurpation but through the holy ordination of God, to Hildebrand, at present not pope but false monk". It called for the election of a new pope. His letter ends, "I, Henry, king by the grace of God, with all of my Bishops, say to you, come down, come down!", and is often quoted with "and to be damned throughout the ages", which is a later addition.
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (Latin: Controversia de Investitura, German: Investiturstreit, pronounced [ɪnvɛstiˈtuːɐ̯ˌʃtʁaɪt] ⓘ) was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteries, and the Pope himself. A series of popes in the 11th and 12th centuries undercut the power of the Holy Roman Emperor and other European monarchies, and the controversy led to nearly 50 years of conflict.
It began as a power struggle between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV (then King, later Holy Roman Emperor) in 1076. The conflict ended in 1122, when Pope Callixtus II and Emperor Henry V agreed on the Concordat of Worms. The agreement required bishops to swear an oath of fealty to the secular monarch, who held authority "by the lance" but left selection to the church. It affirmed the right of the church to invest bishops with sacred authority, symbolized by a ring and staff. In Germany (but not Italy and Burgundy), the Emperor also retained the right to preside over elections of abbots and bishops by church authorities, and to arbitrate disputes. Holy Roman Emperors renounced the right to choose the Pope.
In the meantime, there was also a brief but significant investiture struggle between Pope Paschal II and King Henry I of England from 1103 to 1107. The earlier resolution to that conflict, the Concordat of London, was very similar to the Concordat of Worms.
After the decline of the Western Roman Empire, investiture was performed by members of the ruling nobility (and was known as lay investiture) despite theoretically being a task of the church. Many bishops and abbots were themselves part of the ruling nobility. Given that most members of the European nobility practiced primogeniture, and willed their titles of nobility to the eldest surviving male heir, surplus male siblings often sought careers in the upper levels of the church hierarchy. This was particularly true where the family may have established a proprietary church or abbey on their estate.[citation needed] Since a substantial amount of wealth and land was usually associated with the office of a bishop or abbot, the sale of church offices—a practice known as "simony"—was an important source of income for leaders among the nobility, who themselves owned the land and by charity allowed the building of churches.[citation needed] Emperors had been heavily relying on bishops for their secular administration, as they were not hereditary or quasi-hereditary nobility with family interests.[citation needed] They justified their power by the theory of the divine right of kings.
Many of the papal selections before 1059 were influenced politically and militarily by European powers, often with a king or emperor announcing a choice which would be rubber-stamped by church electors. The Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian dynasty believed they should have the power to appoint the pope. Since the ascendance of the first of that line, Otto the Great (936–72), the bishops had been princes of the empire, had secured many privileges, and had become to a great extent feudal lords over great districts of the imperial territory. The control of these great units of economic and military power was for the king a question of primary importance due to its effect on imperial authority. It was essential for a ruler or nobleman to appoint (or sell the office to) someone who would remain loyal.
Problems with simony became particularly unpopular as Pope Benedict IX was accused of selling the papacy in 1045. Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 to 1056, settled the papal schism and named several popes, the last emperor to successfully dominate the selection process. Six-year-old Henry IV became King of the Germans in 1056.
Benedict X was elected under the influence of the Count of Tusculum, allegedly by bribing the electors. Dissenting cardinals elected Pope Nicholas II in 1058 at Siena. Nicholas II successfully waged war against Benedict X and regained control of the Vatican. Nicholas II convened a synod in the Lateran on Easter in 1059. The results were codified in the papal bull In nomine Domini. It declared that leaders of the nobility would have no part in the selection of popes (though the Holy Roman Emperor might confirm the choice) and that electors would be cardinals (which would later evolve into the College of Cardinals) assembled in Rome. The bull also banned lay investiture. In response, all the bishops in Germany (who supported the Emperor) assembled in 1061 and declared all the decrees of Nicholas II null and void. Nevertheless, the elections of Pope Alexander II and Pope Gregory VII proceeded according to church rules, without the involvement of the Emperor.
Both Henry VI and Gregory VII claimed supreme power. In 1075, Pope Gregory VII composed the Dictatus papae, though this was not published at the time, cataloging principles of his Gregorian Reforms. One clause asserted that the pope held the exclusive power to depose an emperor. It declared that the Roman church was founded by God alone—that the papal power (the auctoritas of Pope Gelasius) was the sole universal power; in particular, a council held in the Lateran Palace from 24 to 28 February the same year decreed that the pope alone could appoint or depose churchmen or move them from see to see. The pope objected to bishops being 'invested' with the symbols of their office by their lay lord to show their feilty By this time, Henry IV was no longer a child, and he continued to appoint his own bishops, angering Gregory. He reacted to this declaration by sending Gregory VII a letter in which he withdrew his imperial support of Gregory as pope in no uncertain terms: the letter was headed "Henry, king not through usurpation but through the holy ordination of God, to Hildebrand, at present not pope but false monk". It called for the election of a new pope. His letter ends, "I, Henry, king by the grace of God, with all of my Bishops, say to you, come down, come down!", and is often quoted with "and to be damned throughout the ages", which is a later addition.
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