Feudal Society/Investiture
Struggle
The Separation of Church and
State
Feudalism
• Weaker sought the protection from the stronger
– True lords and master
• Those who could provide security from violence and
starvation
– Feudal society rose from these needs
• A social, political, military and economic system
• Domination by warlords
– Lesser pledged themselves
• Recognition of their superiority
• Promise of faithful service
• Early Middle Ages Feudal system
– Weakness of the Merovingian system
• High Middle Ages
– Feudalism becomes more sophisticated
• Consolidation of territories
• Established royal rule
Vassalage
• Vassals
– Vassi- “those who serve”
• Freemen who placed themselves under the protection of
stronger freemen
• Kings would tried to acquire as many vassals as possible
– Fealty
• The promise to refrain from any action that would threaten
the lords well being
• Perform services upon his request
– Military service
• Terms of service could be negotiated
• Scutage
– Some could buy their way out of military serve with scut
The Lord’s Duty
• Protection of vassals
– Physical and legal harm
• Once fealty was sworn the lord provided
benefice or fief
– Money Fiefs
• Regular payments
– Weakness was loyalty
– Landed Fiefs
• Those granted land
– Few to several thousand acres
• Weakness
– Vassal of a vassal of a vassal
Religion Under Feudalism
• Louis the Pious (814-840)
– Bishops and abbots swore fealty to him
• Received their offices as benefice
• King invested them with their office with a
ceremony
– Given a ring and staff
– Rebellion
• Reform minded clerics questioned the practice
– Involuntary clerical vassalage
• Still enjoyed the land and power though
• Lords owned the churches on their land
– Serfs placed to the post of the parish priest
– Church law required freedom for serfs
attacking as clergy
• Many lord did not do this
• “Serf priest”
– Clergy could lead a sermon and then wind-up working a
field afterwards
• Serfs looked to the church for comfort
– Growing veneration of relics and saints
Class System of Feudalism
• Agrarian Economy
– Manors
• Managed and controlled the economy through
village farms
• Peasants worked lands allotted to them
– Demesne- land worked for the lord
» All crops went to the lord
– Landed Freemen- those with hereditary land
• Surrendered it to the lord for protection
• Given land back to work
– Defined legal and economic rights
• Unfree serfs
– Peasants with little property
– More vulnerable to lords demands
• Serfs
– Peasants who had nothing to offer the lord
– Least protected from demands of the lord
• Escape
– Many left and joined monasteries
– Others became beggars hoping to find better masters
Germany
• Henry I
– 918 became first non-Frank to become king
– Combined duchies (princely estates) of
Swabia, Bavaria, Saxony, Franconia,
Lotharingia
– Checked the threat of Hungarians
• Thus securing his borders
– Germany now a power
Otto I (936-973)
• Placed kin in charge of duchies
– Subordinate to the unified kingdom
• 951
– Invaded Italy and proclaims himself king
• 955
– Defeats Hungarians at Lechfeld
• New barbarian attacks
– Secures the borders and unifies duchies
Otto and the John XII
• Builds alliance with the church
– Grants vassalage to bishops
• 961- Pope John XII (955-964) requests help with
Berengar of Friuili
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Otto want the imperial crown and responds
Crowned emperor Feb. 2, 962
Recognizes Papal States and he as protector
Bishops and abbots are appointed by Otto
Pope John XII Recognizes intrusion of royalty with
church
• Joins Italian opposition to Emperor
Weakness of Germany
• Otto’s response to John XII
– John XII is deposed
– Pope’s rule at the discretion of Otto
• Royal focus shifts from Germany to Italy
– Otto II (973-983) and Otto III (983-1002)
– Attention on affairs of Italy and not Germany
– Empire begins to crumble
– Church prepares to declare independence
Cluny Reform
• Cluny Monastery in central France
– Founded by William the Pious in 910
– Devout Benedictine Monastery
– Rejected subservience to royal authority
• Pope was to sole ruler of clergy
– Rejected the sins of the flesh of “secular”
clergy
• Not married but kept concubines
• Church alone was lord and spouse
• Reform movement spreads
– Pope even embraced their reforms
• Pope Leo IX (1049-1054)
– Oppose simony (selling of spiritual things) and
clerical marriage
– Place Cluniacs in positions in Rome
Succession of Popes
• Henry III (1039-1056)
– Opposed aristocrat appointment of Popes
– Deposes three, but places his own bishop, Clement II
(1046-1047)
• Henry IV
– Popes begin to be more assertive
– Pope Stephen IX (1057-1058) reigns without royal
ratification
– Pope Nicholas II (1059-1061)
• 1059 decrees that high church officials will choose Pope
– Establishes the College of Cardinals
– The first Pope under new system was Alexander II (1061-1073)
Investiture Struggle
• Gregory VII (1073-1085)
– Strong supporter of Cluny reforms
– Puts church independence to the test
– 1075- decrees excommunication of lay investiture of any clergy
at any level
• Emperors could no long appoint bishops or popes
• Henry IV
– Church move threatens his power
– Jan. 1076- assembles loyal bishops at Worms
• They proclaim independence from Gregory
– Gregory excommunicates Henry and absolves his subject
• German princes embrace the move
– Jan. 25, 1077
• Henry seeks Gregory to absolve him, which he does
– Henry regroups his forces
• March 1080- excommunicated again, but now powerful
– 1084
• Henry appoint antipope Clement III
– Gregory forced into exile and dies
– Church will not recognize Clement
– 1122- Concordat of Worms
• End of Investiture controversy
• Henry V- can not appoint popes or bishops
• Pope Calixtus- king can give fiefs
– Result
• Church retains power of appointment
• Influence is still there
• Real winners are princes
– Because the power of the King was diminished