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Medieval Europe

Lay Investiture

Once the reform ideals of Cluny arrived at Rome, the stage was set for a dramatic conflict between popes and the kings of Europe. The larger issue was at once simple and complex: who was the supreme authority within Christendom--the king (or emperor) or the pope?

The traditional answer was that the pope was supreme in spiritual matters, the emperor in secular matters, but the reality was far more complicated. The Church held lands and, with them, powers and responsibilities that were worldly. Emperors were accustomed to nominate bishops within their realm because bishops formed an important element of imperial government and the emperor could not trust such a vital choice to the petty rivalries of cathedral canons.

Until the mid-eleventh century, both sides had gone their way, largely because it was rare that both emperor and pope were strong at the same time. But in the 1070s there emerged a pope who was determined to eliminate the influence of lay rulers in the business of the Church, and an emperor who was equally determined to prevent that very thing.