Medieval to Renaissance: High School Unit 11: Empire and Papacy

T h e A r t i o s H o m e C o m p a n i o n S e r i e s Unit 11: Empire and Papacy

T e a c h e r O v e r v i e w

THIS UNIT WILL cover the rise of the Holy Roman Empire under Otto I and the resulting conflict between the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church called the Investiture Controversy. In this unit, we will see friction grow between church and state.

Double-headed eagle with coats of arms of individual states, symbol of the Holy Roman Empire’s rule, by Hans Burgkmair dem Älteren

(1510). The double-headed eagle symbolizes imperial rule.

1881 illustration depicting papal infallibility,

by Lucas Caspar Businger

Le adin g Ideas

God orders all things for the ultimate good of His people.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

– Romans 8:28

God has a plan, and in the end He will be exalted.

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

– Psalm 46:10

Pray for those who lead us. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, inter-cessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

– 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Re adi ng and Suggested Ass ignments

In this unit, students will: Complete one lesson in which they will learn about the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy, journaling

and answering discussion questions as they read. Define vocabulary words. Watch the videos found on their HCS Class pages for this unit. Visit their HCS Class pages to check for additional resources.

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L e s s o n O n e

H i s t o r y O v e r v i e w a n d A s s i g n m e n t s The Investiture Conflict

Henry IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, waiting for 3 days in Canossa

with his wife and child, by John Foxe (publisher) (1563)

Key Pe ople , P l ac es , and Even ts

Otto I Henry III Investiture Conflict Hildebrand Henry IV Decree of 1059 Gregory VII Concordat of Worms

Re adi ng and Suggested Ass ignments

Review the discussion questions and vocabulary, then read the article: Empire and Papacy—the Investiture Conflict.

Narrate about today’s reading using the appropriate notebook page. Be sure to answer the discussion questions and include key people, events, and dates within the narration.

Define the vocabulary words in the context of the reading. Write the words and their definitions in the vocabulary section of your history notebook.

Watch the videos found on your HCS Class pages for this lesson. Be sure to visit your HCS Class pages to check for additional resources.

Vocabulary

simony investiture suppliant

D iscu ss ion Quest ions

1. What three evils of the Church were most disconcerting to those who wished to reform it?

2. What did the Decree of 1059 detail?

3. What “sin” did Henry IV commit for which he was excommunicated?

4. How did Pope Gregory VII humiliate the Emperor?

5. How was the Concordat at Worms a real compromise?

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Adapted for High School from the book:

New Medieval and Modern History by Samuel Bannister Harding in consultation with Albert Bushnell Hart

Empire and Papacy—the Investiture Conflict

The decline of Carolingian rule in the eastern or German part of Charlemagne’s empire in 911 coincided with a period of great confusion and disorder in those lands. This was due chiefly to the beginning of a new series of barbarian invasions. The newcomers were the Magyars or Hungarians, from Central Asia. They were akin to the old Huns and Avars, and like them threatened to destroy European civilization. They were especially renowned for their insatiable greed and the fury of their fighting.

The weakness of the central government in Germany threw the burden of defense against these invaders upon the local counts and dukes. These officers used the opportunity to strengthen and make practically hereditary their offices, and so laid the foundations of a number of powerful semi-national duchies.

Complete decay of Germany after the fall of the Carolingians was prevented by the election of the head of one of these duchies, but he proved to be weaker than the Saxon dukes, and after his death members of the Saxon house ruled Germany for four reigns.

Otto I

The first of these reigns which calls for consideration is that of Otto I (936-973). He was called Otto “the Great” and was one of the most important kings of Germany in the Middle Ages. He is described as having a powerful figure, a red face, a long wavy beard, and eyes that moved incessantly “as if they were watching their prey.” His deeds show that he was a man of energy, courage, and military skill.

He strove to increase the kingly power over the dukes and gained a measure of success in this, mainly by building up the power of his own family members, as well as the great churchmen in the state, as a counterbalance to that of the great nobles.

Defeat of the Hungarians

The value of Otto’s measures was revealed when in 955 the Hungarians advanced up the Danube Valley. On the banks of the river Lech in Swabia,

these formidable invaders were for the first time decisively defeated, and their forces slain, drowned, or scattered in the pursuit.

Otto’s victory was as great a deliverance for Germany as that of Charles Martel over the Saracen Moors had been for France. Soon thereafter the Hungarians settled down to agricultural and pastoral life and were converted to Christianity. In the year 1000 the Pope sent a crown to their king, and thus admitted the Hungarians to the family of European nations. Through their acceptance of Roman Christianity, the boundary of western Christendom was shifted far eastward.

Otto’s reign saw also the beginning of an important German expansion northeastward, at the expense of the Slavs, which won for modern Germany some of its most important territory. Here also Roman Christianity progressed, through the establishment of an archbishopric at Magdeburg in 967, and of a number of bishoprics dependent on it. From these centers civilization and Christianity slowly spread among the neighboring Slavs.

But the most important event of Otto’s reign arose from his dealings with Italy. Since the downfall of the Carolingians that land had suffered many ills. Saracen and Hungarian raids had devastated it, and whole cities were ruined. Conflicts raged between the townsmen, led by their bishops, and the feudal nobles. The central government was disputed among a series of shadowy kings and emperors, no one of which won wide recognition. The papacy, which might have taken the lead in combating these evils, was itself a prey to corrupt and greedy local nobles; and violence, bloodshed, and scandal stained its history throughout the greater part of the 10th century.

In 951 the aid of Otto was sought by Princess Adelaide, the widow of one of the contestants for the Italian crown, against King Berenger, who wanted to force her to marry his son. He led an expedition into Italy, where he rescued and married the lady who had sought relief by his aid. A revolt recalled him to Germany; but ten years later, on the invitation of the Pope, he went a second time into Italy.

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The Iron Crown of the Lombards was passed to Otto

in 951 during his first Italian campaign.

Crowned Emperor Otto now assumed the crown of Italy; and at

Rome, on February 2, 962, the Pope crowned him emperor. A few days later Otto confirmed all the grants that had been made to the popes by Pepin and Charlemagne, and decreed that bishops were now nobles of the empire.

The coronation of Otto revived the imperial title and re-founded the Empire of Charlemagne—to last (at least in name) for about eight centuries and a half longer. The new empire differed in some important respects from the former one.

France was no longer part of it, and imperial interests were confined almost entirely to Germany and Italy. The very title used by his successors, that of “the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation,” indicates its Teutonic nature. The close connection between Germany and Italy which the empire brought about proved hurtful to both. To Italy it brought the ruin of all hopes of nationality and of a native government. For Germany it meant the sacrifice of the substance of power at home for the shadow of dominion beyond the Alps. To the papacy alone the connection was of immediate value, for the imperial power protected it against the greed and corruption of local nobles.

Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire

commemorative coin

Three members of the Saxon house followed Otto I on the German and imperial throne—his son,

his grandson, and his grandnephew; but the events of none of these reigns were important enough to call for mention here.

Upon the death without heirs of the last of the Saxon rulers, a new German house, that of the Franconians, or Salians, ascended the throne. Under its first two members, Conrad II and Henry III, the Holy Roman Empire is considered to have reached its height. Burgundy was added to the empire by peaceable succession, and Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary became subject nations. The power of the German dukes was decreased, and a nominal control over Italy, with the imperial title, was maintained. But the most important event in these reigns was a slowly developing movement for church reform, which in the next reign produced one of the most dramatic struggles of the Middle Ages—the Investiture Conflict between the papacy and the empire.

Continued Church Reform:

The Investiture Conflict In the unit on the Medieval Church we described

the reform movement which spread from the monastery of Cluny throughout Western Europe. The program of this movement did not stop with the purification of the monasteries. It extended as well to the secular clergy, whose condition in the 10th and 11th centuries was deplorable. The three great evils most complained of in the church were clerical marriage, simony, and lay investiture. 1. The clergy (with the exception only of the monks

and of some bishops and priests) began to openly and freely enter into marriage. One great danger of this practice was the temptation it offered to married churchmen to provide for their children out of the lands in their possession, thereby impoverishing the Church. Another objection was that it centered the thoughts and affections of the clergy upon their families, and prevented their singlehearted devotion to the Church.

2. Simony was the purchase of ecclesiastical office, the word being derived from the name of that Simon Magus who sought to buy the gift of the Holy Ghost (see Acts 8:9-24).

3. Closely connected with this evil was the right exercised by emperors and nobles of “investing” newly elected bishops with the ring and staff, which were the symbols of their spiritual office, and requiring from them homage and fealty for the lands which they held. Accompanying the control thus secured were encroachments upon

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the freedom of election, so that the higher clergy almost everywhere became the appointees of temporal rulers. Says a Catholic writer in this period: “Kings could dispose, absolutely and without control, of all ecclesiastical dignities. All was venal, from the episcopate, and sometimes even the papacy, down to the smallest rural benefice.” In the beginning this reform movement was

perforce carried on independently of the papacy, which at that time was sunk under the control of the selfish nobles of central Italy.

When Emperor Henry III went to Italy in 1046, he found three rivals claiming to be pope, and each in possession of a portion of the city. At a council called near Rome, all three claimants were deposed for simony; and a German bishop of unblemished life and piety was chosen—the first of a series of four German popes. Of those who had filled the papal chair in the three preceding centuries, only four had not been born in Rome or the Papal States; with these German popes the papacy took on a more international character.

The popes now took the lead in the reform movement; and under their direction synods (local councils of the clergy) were held in Italy, Germany, and France, which everywhere condemned the married and simoniacal clergy. But the most significant thing which these German popes did was to bring to Rome the monk Hildebrand as advisor and chief subordinate officer of the papacy.

Hildebrand

Hildebrand of Sovana was of lowly German origin, but had been born in Tuscany. He received his education and monastic training in a monastery of which his uncle was abbot. For a time he was a resident of the monastery of Cluny. There one of these German popes found him, and was so impressed with his ability and character that he took Hildebrand to Rome. The monk soon became the real power behind the papal throne—under five different popes, covering a period of nearly a quarter of a century. Physically he was far from imposing. He was of small stature, ungainly figure, and feeble voice. But he possessed a mind of restless activity, uncommon penetration, and an inflexible will. The substance of his policy was to enforce the Pope’s supremacy over the Church and over temporal princes.

A famous Catholic historian sums up Hildebrand’s design in these words: “Seeing the

world sunk in wickedness and threatened with impending ruin, and believing that the Pope alone could save it, he conceived the vast design of forming a universal theocracy, which should embrace every kingdom of Christendom, and of whose policy the Ten Commandments should be the fundamental principle. Over this commonwealth of nations the Pope was to preside. The spiritual power was to stand related to the temporal as the sun to the moon, imparting light and strength, without, however, destroying it or depriving princes of their sovereignty.”

While Henry III lived, Hildebrand did not dare shake off the Emperor’s control. When that prince died, he left an infant, Henry IV, to rule under the regency of his mother. “The princes,” says a chronicler, “chafed at being governed by a woman or a child; they demanded their ancient freedom; they disputed among themselves the chief place; at last they plotted the deposition of their lord and king.”

With little now to fear from beyond the Alps, Hildebrand set about organizing new safeguards for papal independence. Everywhere he could count upon the reform party as favorable to his plans.

Countess Matilda of Tuscany gave him protection and resources, and donated to the papacy her vast estates, stretching almost to the Gulf of Genoa. New treaties were concluded with the Normans of southern Italy, by which they became the Pope’s vassals and agreed to aid him against all men. In 1059 a decree was issued changing the method of papal elections.

In the early church the Pope had been chosen by “the clergy and people” of Rome. Under Charlemagne, and also under the Saxon emperors and their successors, the Emperor practically appointed to that office. The Decree of 1059 promoted the independence of the papacy by providing that the real selection should be in the hands of the cardinals—that is, of the Pope’s own clerical council.

Election to the Papacy

The time at last came, in 1073, when Hildebrand himself was to don the papal crown. His election was irregular and not according to the Decree of 1059. The people, assembled for the funeral services of the late pope, raised the cry, “Let Hildebrand be our bishop!” One of the cardinals turned to the crowd and recalled how much Hildebrand had done for the Church and for Rome. On all sides the cry was then raised, “Saint Peter crowns Hildebrand as pope!”

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In spite of his resistance, Hildebrand was forthwith arrayed in the scarlet robe, crowned with the papal tiara, and seated in the chair of Saint Peter. In accordance with a practice which had prevailed since the 10th century, he took a new name as pope, and thenceforth was known as Gregory VII.

Pope Gregory VII and

Emperor Henry IV The claims of Gregory to treat the temporal

power as subordinate to the papacy made a struggle with the empire inevitable. The imperial power, at this time, was far from strong. The emperor Henry IV had been allowed to grow up with alternations between stern repression and careless indulgence, and thus arrived at manhood without adequate training to rule, with an undisciplined temper, and with a heedlessness of moral restraint which led him into many excesses. Finally, his rule was weakened by the disaffection of the Saxons, who had been the chief support of the throne under Otto I. In 1073 their discontent ripened into revolt; and although Henry, after one humiliating defeat, put down the rebellion, there continued to exist in Germany a disaffected party, with which Gregory formed an alliance.

Henry IV requests mediation from Matilda of Tuscany and abbot Hugh of Cluny. The Investiture Controversy

In 1075 Pope Gregory brought the question of investiture into a position of chief importance. He declared that investiture by laymen, even by kings and emperors, was void, and pronounced excommunication against all who disregarded his decrees. Temporal rulers generally felt that this

decree infringed upon their just rights. Bishops and archbishops, especially in Germany, were not merely officers of the Church. By virtue of the lands attached to their offices, they were great feudal princes as well, and exercised high influence in the state. The Emperor, therefore, could not consent to give up all means of keeping out undesirable men from these positions.

Henry IV resolved to make himself the head of the resistance to the Pope on this question. He continued to grant lay investiture, and he associated with persons whom the Pope had excommunicated.

When it was reported to King Henry that he was summoned to appear at Rome to justify his actions, he replied: “Henry, King not by usurpation, but by the will of God, to Hildebrand, no longer Pope, but false monk. Thou hast attacked me, who am consecrated king, and who, according to the tradition of the fathers, can be judged by God alone and can be deposed for no crime save the abandonment of the faith. Condemned by the judgment of our bishops, and by our own, descend! Quit the place which thou hast usurped! Let another take the seat of Saint Peter, who seeks not to cover violence with the cloak of religion, and who teaches the sound doctrine of Saint Peter!”

To this Gregory replied in February 1076, by sentence of excommunication. “Blessed Peter, prince of the Apostles,” he wrote, “be thou my witness that the Holy Roman Church called me against my will to govern it! As thy representative I have received from God the power to bind and loose in heaven and upon earth. Full of this conviction, for the honor and defense of thy church, I deny to King Henry, who with unheard-of pride has risen against thy church, the government of Germany and of Italy. I absolve all Christians from the oaths of fidelity they have taken or may take to him; and I forbid that any person shall serve him as king.”

The most powerful of the German princes were already opposed to Henry, and declared in 1077 that unless the excommunication was removed by a certain day, he would be treated as deposed and a new king elected.

Henry’s only hope after this was to break the alliance between the Pope and his enemies in Germany. To accomplish this he set off secretly across the Alps, in the dead of winter, accompanied only by his wife, his young son, and one attendant. At Canossa he found the Pope, who was already on his way to Germany to arrange the government with the princes and was staying at a castle owned by

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Countess Matilda. The Pope at first refused to see the King, and for three days Henry was obliged to stand outside the castle gates as a suppliant—fasting and, according to legend, barefooted. At last Gregory yielded to Matilda’s entreaties and admitted him to reconciliation. The excommunication was raised, but only on hard conditions.

The humiliation of the Emperor at Canossa was the most brilliant victory that the papacy ever won over the temporal power; but it was merely an incident in a long struggle, Henry’s German enemies were displeased that the Pope had removed the excommunication, and persisted in electing a new king. Civil war followed; and as Henry continued to grant lay investiture, the Pope renewed his excommunication.

A strong party now rallied to Henry’s support, and he caused an assembly of German and Italian bishops to declare Gregory deposed and set up an anti-pope. In 1081 Henry mastered his German enemies sufficiently to come to Italy with an army. After three years’ campaigning all of Rome, except the strong fortress of St. Angelo, was in his hands.

The dauntless Gregory meanwhile had sent for aid to the Normans of southern Italy. Upon their approach, Henry hastily quitted Rome, which was taken and sacked by Gregory and the Normans. When they retired, the Pope, who dared not remain behind, accompanied them. In May 1085, Gregory VII died at Salerno in southern Italy. In his last hours he said, “I have loved justice, and hated iniquity; therefore I die in exile.” He had done much to clear the Church of the scandals which clung to it, and he had raised the papal power to a higher pitch than ever before. But he had embroiled the papacy not only with the empire, but also with most of the kings of Europe. Had his ideas triumphed, Europe would have been left practically under the sovereignty of the papacy, distant and disassociated from royal families or national feeling—a single monarchical rule supported by all the terrors of religious authority.

The death of Gregory VII was far from ending the Investiture Controversy. With varying success the popes after Gregory continued the struggle, until Henry’s death in 1106. The latter’s undutiful son, Henry V, had rebelled against his father on the side of papal policy—forcing him to give up the throne and then imprisoning him—but when once seated upon the throne he proved as staunch an upholder of the imperial claims as his father.

A compromise was finally arranged in 1122, in what is called (from the German city where it was concluded) the Concordat of Worms. By its terms: 1. The Emperor gave up “all investiture by the ring

and the staff,” and promised that there should be “freedom of election and of consecration.”

2. In return, the Pope granted that the election of bishops and abbots should take place in the presence of the Emperor or of his representative, so that objection might be made to persons unsatisfactory to him.

3. It was also agreed that the person so elected should receive from the Emperor, by being touched with his scepter, “the property and the immunities of his office,” and should duly fulfill the obligations, such as homage. In this settlement the papacy gained the

abolition of lay investiture, and so secured greater freedom for the Church. Some solid advantages, however, remained to the empire, and the compromise was one which Pope Gregory VII would have been loath to approve. It gave, indeed, only a breathing spell in the struggle between the world-church and the world-state. The two institutions were mutually exclusive, and new occasions for controversy were not slow to arise. In the world-empire of Charlemagne or Otto I there was no room for an independent church. In the world-papacy of Hildebrand there was no room for an independent empire or kingdom. The conflict had to continue until the power of one or of the other was destroyed.

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