23 September 1122 A.D. Investiture Controversy. Concordat of Worms
23 September 1122 A.D. Investiture Controversy. Concordat of Worms
The Concordat of Worms, sometimes called the Pactum
Calixtinum by papal historians,[1] was an agreement between Pope Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V on September 23, 1122 near the city of Worms. It brought to an end the first phase of the power
struggle between the Papacy and the Holy
Roman Emperors and has been
interpreted[2] as containing within itself the germ of nation-based sovereignty that would one day be confirmed in the Treaty
of Westphalia (1648); in part
this was an unforeseen result of strategic maneuvering between the Church and
the European sovereigns over political control within their domains. The King
was recognized as having the right to invest bishops with secular authority
("by the lance") in the territories they governed, but not with
sacred authority ("by ring and staff"); the result was that bishops owed allegiance in worldly matters
both to the pope and to the king, for they were obligated to affirm the right
of the sovereign to call upon them for military support, under his oath of
fealty. Previous Holy Roman Emperors had thought it their right, granted by
God, to name the pope, as well as other Church officials, such as bishops. One
long-delayed result was an end to the belief in the divine right of kings. A more immediate result of the Investiture struggle identified a
proprietary right that adhered to sovereign territory, recognizing the right of
kings to income from the territory of a vacant diocese and a basis for
justifiable taxation. These rights lay outside feudalism, which defined authority in a hierarchy of personal
relations, with only a loose relation to territory.[3] The pope emerged as a figure above and out of the direct
control of the Holy Roman Emperor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investiture_Controversy : there is more at URL
On the European mainland, after 50 years of fighting, a
similar compromise (but with quite different long-term results) was reached in
1122, signed on 23 September and known as the Concordat
of Worms. It was agreed that
investiture would be eliminated, while room would be provided for secular
leaders to have unofficial but significant influence in the appointment
process.
While the monarchy was embroiled in the dispute with the
Church, it declined in power and broke apart. Localized rights of lordship over
peasants grew, increasing serfdom and resulting in fewer rights for the
population. Local taxes and levies increased while royal coffers declined.
Rights of justice became localized and courts did not have to answer to royal
authority. In the long term the decline of imperial power would divide Germany
until the 19th century. Similarly, in Italy the effect of the investiture
controversy was to weaken the authority of the emperor and to strengthen all
those local forces making for separatism.[13]
As for the papacy, it gained strength. During the
controversy, both sides had tried to marshal public opinion; as a result, lay
people became engaged in religious affairs and lay piety increased, setting the
stage for the Crusades and the great religious vitality of the 12th century.
The dispute did not end with the Concordat of Worms.
There would be future disputes between popes and Holy Roman Emperors, until
northern Italy was lost to the Empire entirely. The Church would turn the
weapon of Crusade against the Holy Roman Empire under Frederick II. According to Norman Cantor:
The investiture controversy had shattered the
early-medieval equilibrium and ended the interpenetration of ecclesia and mundus. Medieval kingship, which had been largely the creation
of ecclesiastical ideals and personnel, was forced to develop new institutions
and sanctions. The result during the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries,
was the first instance of a secular bureaucratic state whose essential
components appeared in the Anglo-Norman
monarchy."[14]
Comments
Post a Comment