Investiture Controversy

The Investiture Controversy refers to an issue in the Roman Catholic Church between the years 1075 and 1122. It was essentially a struggle for power between the church and civil leaders. Secular leaders, such as kings, emperors, and princes, wanted to continue their practice of appointing church officials including bishops, abbots, and priests. Church authorities, particularly the pope, wanted to end this practice and retain that power for the Church. The problem came to a head when the king of Germany said the pope should step down. When the king was forced to back down, Church authority was restored and papal power over secular issues increased. This would ultimately allow papal input into how secular leaders ruled and provide popes with the ability to initiate the Crusades.

Background

The power vacuum caused by the collapse of the Carolingian Empire in the ninth century led to the rise of a feudal system of government. The Carolingian Empire covered much of present-day Europe and was run by Charlemagne, a Frankish leader who was also known as Charles the Great. Charlemagne was a well-respected leader and even had the appreciation of Pope Leo III. In the year 800, Charlemagne helped to squash a rebellion against Pope Leo. In return, the Pope crowned Charlemagne as the Holy Roman Emperor.

When Charlemagne died in 814, he left eighteen known children, including nine sons. These sons split their father's holdings but lacked his leadership skills. As the empire Charlemagne built fell apart, individual landholders began to take greater control over their lands as well as bordering land. These new aristocrats grew in power; some even formed their own armies. This was the rise of the feudal system of government.

Overview

The newly empowered feudal lords took control of churches in and around their landholdings, sometimes by force. They began appointing church leaders, often choosing these new clergymen from among their own friends. This practice was known as lay investiture, or the installation of religious authorities by non-religious leaders. In some cases, the feudal aristocracy would accept money in exchange for religious appointments, a practice known as simony. Both lay investiture and simony were against the Church's established rules.

The increased secular influence on the churches also affected the ordained priests. Many of them took wives or mistresses, violating their vow to remain celibate and avoid marriage. This caused ordinary Catholics to begin to lose faith in their leaders and question their moral standing to lead. By the eleventh century, the situation had become unacceptable to the Church.

In response, Pope Leo IX, who became Pope in 1049, began a series of reforms. He ordered clergy to honor their vows of celibacy. He also ordered the removal of all church officials who had been appointed by lay leaders or who had purchased their offices. This was the beginning of what would become known as the Gregorian Reforms.

These reforms were named for Pope Leo's successor, Pope Gregory VII. His firm approach made it relatively easy to get members of the clergy to return to honoring their vows. The pope had a harder time unseating the church officials put in place by the lay aristocracy and getting the civil leaders to give up the power they had assumed over the churches in their areas. This was in large part because having control over the churches brought financial benefits in addition to the influence they acquired by wielding the authority of the local clergy over the common people. Local priests and bishops would often promote policies that would benefit the men who put them in power even when they did not agree with those of the Church. This hurt the church in two ways. First, it undermined the Church's authority and, from the point of view of the Church, sometimes endangered the souls of the misled Catholics. Second, it hurt the Church financially by redirecting funds that should be in the Church's coffers.

In response, Pope Gregory applied the strongest tool a pope has: he threatened to excommunicate those who did not step down from lay appointments. Those who were excommunicated were not able to receive any Church sacraments—in other words, they were removed from communication with the body of the Church—and this made heaven unattainable for them. Pope Gregory laid out his requirements in a document known as Dictatus Papae, or the Dictates of the Pope, which he released in 1075. The pope's demands were aimed at recovering the Church's authority and establishing the Church's authority over the secular leaders.

This was understandably unpopular with secular leaders. One, King Henry IV of Germany, who was the Holy Roman Emperor, was so opposed that he wrote a letter in 1076 that called for Pope Gregory to step down. Gregory's response was to excommunicate Henry. It turned out that the young and inexperienced Henry had misjudged his power and support. While he expected other monarchs to back him, many other leaders did not like Henry and were happy to see him at odds with the pope. Without the backing of either the Church or his fellow secular leaders, Henry was in an extremely difficult position. He was forced not only to withdraw his request but also to seek forgiveness from the pope.

During a cold, snowy winter, Henry donned simple wool clothing and stood shoeless outside the pope's home in repentance for his actions. After three days, the pope finally forgave him and reinstated him to full communion with the Church. The humbling of Henry put an end to the opposition to the papal dictates. It began an age of papal authority over lay leaders.

The battle of wills between Gregory and Henry led to civil war in Germany; ultimately, the German lords would assume power. Other disputes arose between popes and secular leaders, most notably with another Henry, King Henry I of England. This was resolved by the Concordat of London in 1107, under which the king gave up the right to appoint religious leaders but retained the right to require them to swear an oath of loyalty.

A similar agreement, the Concordat of Worms, was agreed to by King Henry V (the Holy Roman Emperor) and Pope Callixtus II. Signed near the city of Worms, Germany, on September 23, 1122, the concordat codified the Church's right to appoint bishops and abbots but allowed the secular authorities power over them in non-church matters. This ended the Investiture Controversy.

Bibliography

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