Concordat of Worms - Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor was one of those monarchs who found himself excommunicated. After 1080, he never showed any indication of repentance, and therefore remained excommunicate for twenty-six years (1080–1106). He was unrepentant to the end. The issue had revolved around the problem of investiture. The German Kings had been the worst offenders, naming not only bishops, but popes as well. Gregory VII condemned lay investiture. Henry in turn called a council of bishops who proclaimed Gregory illegitimate. Gregory excommunicated Henry in 1076. In the process, he released all subjects of Henry from obedience to him. It led to a great political struggle with many barons rising against Henry in open rebellion. Henry made his way to the Canossa where the Pope was staying in the castle of Countess Matilda. Henry wished to repent. The pope was suspicious of the king’s motives, and did not believe he was truly repentant. Henry did penance in the snow outside the castle for three days. Finally, Gregory gave absolution to him. The rebellious nobles in Germany who were interested in deposing Henry IV never forgave Pope Gregory VII for what they viewed as treachery. By 1080, Henry had shown enough of a recalcitrant attitude that Gregory excommunicated him for good. There was no going back after this point. It was the consequence of this lengthy episode that a whole generation grew up in Germany and Northern Italy in an atmosphere of war, doubt and scepticism. The papal backers had been busy propounding arguments to show that royal power was not of divine origin. They had been so successful that the moral authority of the Emperor had been undermined in the minds of many of his subjects. Serious divisions existed from this battle over the Investiture controversy, which fractured large portions of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany and Italy. Davis argues these rifts were so deep and lasting that neither Germany nor Italy were able to form a cohesive nation state until the nineteenth century. A similar situation arose from the French revolution, which caused fractures in France that still exist. The effect of Henry’s excommunication, and his subsequent reluctance to repent left a turbulence in central Europe that lasted throughout the Middle Ages. It may have been emblematic of certain German attitudes toward religion in general, and the perceived relevance of the German Emperor in the universal scheme of things.

Henry IV became so filled with hubris over his position, that he renounced Gregory VII and named the bishop of Ravenna pope. Perhaps he was only following what had been thought to be the right of kings: to name the Pope. Henry had invested the Ravenna bishop, and now he referred to the new pope, Clement III, Antipope Clement III as “our pope”. Henry attacked Rome, and on the outskirts of the city gained thirteen cardinals who became loyal to his cause. On Palm Sunday, 1084, Henry IV solemnly enthroned Clement at St. Peter’s Basilica and on Easter Day, Clement returned the favor and crowned Henry IV as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Gregory VII was meanwhile still resisting a few hundred yards away from the basilica in the Castel San Angelo, then known as the house of Cencius. Gregory appealed to the Normans

for help, and Robert Guiscard responded, entering Rome on May 27, 1084 and rescuing him. In the process, Rome was pillaged and partially burned. Gregory VII died the next year on May 25, 1085 in exile. He felt all was lost. The last words he uttered were, ‘I have loved justice and hated iniquity, and therefore I die in exile.” Gregory VII must have felt he died in utter failure, and to many of his contemporaries it appeared Henry IV and Antipope Clement III had won. But the underlying current was that Henry had overreached, and his appointment of the antipope was beyond the pale. Upon the death of Gregory, the cardinals elected a new pope, Victor III. He owed his elevation to the influence of the Normans. Antipope Clement III still occupied St. Peter’s. When Victor III died, the cardinals elected Urban II (1088–99). He was one of three men Gregory VII suggested as his successor. Urban II preached the First Crusade, which united Western Europe, and more importantly, reconciled the majority of bishops who had abandoned Gregory VII. In the end, Gregorian Reform won out over Henry IV. Preaching the Crusade had one important consequence. The Pope was now viewed as the head of the Church. No longer would kings and emperors think themselves equals of the pope, or the head of the Church in their kingdom. This was the situation from 1122 until the Reformation.

Several years later, Henry IV died in a deep gloom as had Gregory. It remained for his successor, Henry V to agree with Pope Calixtus II in 1122 to a compromise of the conflict over lay investitures known as the Concordat of Worms.

The reign of Henry IV showed the weakness of the German monarchy. The ruler was dependent upon the good will of the great men, the nobility of his land. These were technically royal officials and hereditary princes. He was also dependent on the resources of the churches. Henry IV alienated the Church of Rome and many of the magnates in his own kingdom. Many of these spent years in open or subversive rebellion. Henry failed to create a proper bureaucracy to replace his disobedient vassals. The magnates became increasingly independent, and the Church withdrew support. Henry IV spent the last years of his life desperately grasping to keep his throne. It was a greatly diminished kingdom.