Reform and Investiture
Controversy
Europe in 1100
Otto III (b. 983, r. 996-1002) seated in majesty,
flanked by clerics and dukes
Henry II of Germany (1002-24) as king crowned by God
(with two saints, Bishop Udalrich of Augsburg and Bishop
Emmeren of Regensburg)
Emperor Henry III of Germany (1039-1056)
Sponsored reform movement against simony and
clerical marriage
Emperor Henry III fighting simony (represented as
a dragon)
Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury
(late eleventh century)
Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085)
Emperor Henry IV 1056-1106
Opponent of Gregorian Reformers
Dictates of the Pope, entered into Papal Register of Gregory VII in 1075
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The Dictates of the Pope
That the Roman church was founded by God alone.
That the Roman pontiff alone can with right be called universal.
That he alone can depose or reinstate bishops.
That, in a council his legate, even if a lower grade, is above all bishops, and
can pass sentence of deposition against them.
That the pope may depose the absent.
That, among other things, we ought not to remain in the same house with
those excommunicated by him.
That for him alone is it lawful, according to the needs of the time, to make
new laws, to assemble together new congregations, to make an abbey of a
canonry; and, on the other hand, to divide a rich bishopric and unite the poor
ones.
That he alone may use the imperial insignia.
That of the pope alone all princes shall kiss the feet.
That his name alone shall be spoken in the churches.
That this is the only name in the world.
That it may be permitted to him to depose emperors.
That he may be permitted to transfer bishops if need be.
That he has power to ordain a clerk of any church he may wish.
That he who is ordained by him may preside over another church, but may
not hold a subordinate position; and that such a one may not receive a higher
grade from any bishop.
That no synod shall be called a general one without his order.
That no chapter and no book shall be considered canonical without his
authority.
That a sentence passed by him may be retracted by no one; and that he
himself, alone of all, may retract it.
That he himself may be judged by no one.
That no one shall dare to condemn one who appeals to the apostolic chair.
That to the latter should be referred the more important cases of every
church.
That the Roman church has never erred; nor will it err to all eternity, the
Scripture bearing witness.
That the Roman pontiff, if he have been canonically ordained, is undoubtedly
made a saint by the merits of St. Peter; St. Ennodius, bishop of Pavia,
bearing witness, and many holy fathers agreeing with him. As is contained in
the decrees of St. Symmachus the pope.
That, by his command and consent, it may be lawful for subordinates to bring
accusations.
That he may depose and reinstate bishops without assembling a synod.
That he who is not at peace with the Roman church shall not be considered
catholic.
That he may absolve subjects from their fealty to wicked men.
From the History of Henry IV: Gregory VII driven
from Rome, 12th cent ms.
Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085)
• Pope Gregory VII, after
his expulsion from Rome,
laying a ban of
excommunication on the
clergy “together with the
raging king” (Henry IV of
Germany), drawing from
the 12th-century chronicle
of Otto of Freising; in the
library of the University of
Jena, Germany.
Frederick I Barbarossa (1122-90; king of
Germany, 1152-90; Roman Emperor, 1155-90)
Charterhouse of Trisulti, built by Innocent III
Trisulti (Interior)
Tower of the Conti, Rome
built by Pope Innocent III (birth name Lotario de’ Conti de Segni), 1203
Earliest Portrait of St. Francis, Subiaco c. 1218
(Francis, 1181-1226, canonized 1228)
His tunic was filthy, his figure
contemptible and his face far
from handsome. Yet God gave
such force to his words that
many factions of the nobility,
the fury of whose ancient feuds
had shed so much blood
among thorn, made peace
together. The reverence and
devotion of people towards
him was so great that men and
women rushed upon him,
trying to touch the hem of his
garment and carry off pieces of
his clothing.”
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Thomas of Spalato, August 15,
1222, eyewitness account by a
non-Franciscan of Francis’
preaching at Bologna
Innocent III receives St. Francis
(Giotto, Church of San Francesco in Assisi,1305)
Dream of Pope Innocent III
(Giotto, Church of San Francesco in Assisi,1305)
St. Francis receives the stigmata
(Giotto, Church of San Francesco in Assisi,1305)
Porziuncola (near Assisi), church that St. Francis rebuilt
with his own hands, 1208
San Maria degli Angeli, built 1569-1667 to enclose
the San Francesco, Porziuncola
Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi
begun immediately after St. Francis’ canonization in 1228, completed 1253.
Francis’ body was entombed there in 1230
Martyrdom of Peter of Castelnau, 1208
Beziers, massacre 1209
(Papal Legate Arnaud Aimery: “Kill them all; God will know his own”)
Crusaders expel citizenry from Carcassone so
they can loot the city, 13th century
Montsegur
Surrundered in 1224: 220 perfects burned