Concordat of Worms - Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor

The reign of Henry IV ended with a diminished kingdom and waning power. Many of his underlords had been in constant or desultory revolt for years. Henry IV’s insistence that Antipope Clement III was the real pope had initially been popular with some of the nobles, and even many of the bishops of Germany. But as years passed, this support was slowly withdrawn. The idea that the German king could and should name the pope was increasingly discredited and viewed as an anachronism from a by-gone era. The Empire of the Ottos was virtually lost because of Henry IV.

Henry IV's son, Henry V, rebelled and became emperor after his father's abdication. Henry V realized swift action and a change in his father's policy was necessary. Pope Paschal II rebuked Henry V for appointing bishops in Germany. The king crossed the Alps with an army in 1111. The pope, who was weak and had few supporters was forced to suggest a compromise, the abortive Concordat of 1111. Its simple and radical solution of the Investiture Controversy between the prerogatives of regnum and sacredoium proposed that German churchmen would surrender their lands and secular offices to the emperor and constitute a purely spiritual church. Henry gained greater control over the lands of his kingdom, especially those that had been in the hands of the church, but of contested title. He would not interfere with ecclesiastical affairs and churchmen would avoid secular services. The church would be given autonomy and to Henry V would be restored large parts of his empire that his father had lost. Henry V was crowned by Pope Paschal II as the legitimate Holy Roman Emperor. When the concessions of land were read in St. Peters, the crowd revolted in anger. Henry took the pope and cardinals hostage until the pope granted Henry V the right of investiture. Then he returned to Germany – crowned emperor and apparent victor over the papacy.

The victory was as short-lived as that of his father, Henry IV over Gregory VII. The clergy urged Paschal to rescind his agreement, which he did in 1112. The quarrel followed the predictable course: Henry V rebelled and was excommunicated. Riots broke out in Germany, a new Antipope Gregory VIII was appointed by the German king, nobles loyal to Rome seceded from Henry. The civil war continued, just as under Henry IV. It dragged on for another ten years. Like his father before him, Henry V was faced with waning power. He had no choice but to give up investiture and the old right of naming the pope. The Concordat of Worms was the result. After the Concordat, the German kings never had the same control over the Church as had existed in the time of the Ottonian Dynasty.

Henry V died without heirs in 1125, three years after the Concordat. He had designated his nephew, Frederick von Staufen duke of Swabia, also known as Frederick II, Duke of Swabia as his successor. Instead, churchmen elected Lothar III. A long civil war erupted between the Staufen also known as Hohenstaufen supporters and the heirs of Lothar III. The result was the Hohenstaufen Frederick I (Barbarossa) 1152–1190 who came to power.