Potential Question #5- Henry IV (Holy Roman Emperor) vs. Pope Gregory VII / Church Flashcards
(9 cards)
Pope Gregory VII-
Very strong leader of the church
Wanted the church independent of secular rulers
Banned Lay Investiture
Which emperor believed that kings owned all of the land & had the right to pick the bishops?
Why was this radical?
Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (A German, not an English king)
Kings were required to give bishops land – when the bishops are chosen by the Pope, the Pope gets to choose who the King has to give land to – kings did not like this
How did Nobles react to Henry’s radical opinion?
Nobles saw this as a chance to undermine the King’s power and supported the Pope
How did the Pope react to Henry’s radical opinion?
Pope Gregory VII excommunicated Henry IV, forcing the King to make peace with the Pope
What was Henry’s response to being excommunicated?
Henry IV begged for forgiveness and the Pope pardoned him
Barefoot in the snow story-
He stood outside the Pope’s palace and took off his crown and shoes. He stayed outside the palace for three days straight as it snowed, sleeping on the ground.
He constantly banged on the palace door, crying, and pleaded for the Pope to let him in and for forgiveness.
The Pope completely ignored him until the third day, when he decided to let Henry in.
The pope forgave Henry and reversed his excommunication.
What did Henry do after being let back into the Church?
Later, Henry got his revenge on the nobles & the Pope
During his excommunication, Henry was powerless. Having regained his power, he promptly left the Pope’s palace and returned to his kingship.
He killed all the nobles who sided with the Pope
Henry centralized power in Germany
Henry tried to kill the Pope – the Pope fled, went into exile, and hid for the rest of his life.
Concordat of Worms (Happened after Henry IV’s reign)
Compromise of who selects Bishops
Pope picks Bishops
King gives them land (fiefs)
How did the Concordat of Worms make relative peace?
The King now determined how much land each bishop received
Pope is happy because he picks the bishop, king is happy because he gets to decide how much power (land=power) the bishop had
The King could incentivise the Pope to choose a certain bishop by offering to give that bishop more land than other bishops if chosen