Investiture Controversy summary

Know about the Investiture Controversy, the conflict between the papacy and the secular rulers of Europe

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Investiture Controversy, Struggle between the papacy and the secular rulers of Europe over the latter’s presentation of the symbols of office to churchmen. Pope Gregory VII condemned lay investiture in 1078 as an unjustified assertion of secular authority over the church; the issue was pivotal in his dispute with King Henry IV and in the larger struggle over Henry’s refusal to obey papal commands. Henry successfully drove Gregory from Rome and installed an antipope, but it would be Gregory’s rejection of lay investiture that would ultimately prevail. Henry I of England renounced lay investiture (1106) in return for the guarantee that homage would be paid to the king before consecration, and the Concordat of Worms (1122) forged a similar compromise between Henry V and Calixtus II.

church and state Summary

Church and state, the concept, largely Christian, that the religious and political powers in society are clearly distinct, though both claim the people’s loyalty. A brief treatment of church and state follows. For full treatment, see Christianity: Church and state. Before the advent of

canon law Summary

Canon law, body of laws made within certain Christian churches (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, independent churches of Eastern Christianity, and the Anglican Communion) by lawful ecclesiastical authority for the government both of the whole church and parts thereof and of the behaviour and

papacy Summary

Papacy, the office and jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome, the pope (Latin papa, from Greek pappas, “father”), who presides over the Holy See (the central government) of the Roman Catholic Church. The term pope was originally applied to all the bishops in the West and also used to describe the

Holy Roman Empire Summary

Holy Roman Empire, the varying complex of lands in western and central Europe ruled by the Holy Roman emperor, a title held first by Frankish and then by German kings for 10 centuries. The Holy Roman Empire existed from 800 to 1806. For histories of the territories governed at various times by the