Germany the Papacy

> Kingdom was a vast & diverse polity > contained several regions (duchies): . Swabia . Franconia . Bavaria . Lotharingia . Saxony rulers of which (dukes) were very powerful & their people fairly distinct with their own regional languages, identities & loyalties continuity (following Carolingian rule): > aspects of rulership – Charlemagne especially venerated/honoured for his considerable ambition & stature > Aachen remained an important centre of German governmental power > imperial title of Emperor for his successors change: > eastern Frankia had a distinct identity, traditions & aspects of rulership – government different to that of western Frankia under the Carolingians (counts were more independent for example) > Carolingian Empire died out – more specifically the branch that ruled the German region > Carolingian dynasty was replaced in eastern Frankia with Conrad I (chosen King of Germany in 911) > he was then succeeded by Henry, Duke of Saxony from 919-36, then Henry’s son, Otto I (Otto ‘the Great’) from 936-73 crowned Emperor in 962 the nature of German royal power > king by the grace/will of God > anointed (following Henry I’s refusal to be anointed) > considered themselves vicars of Christ – their power was sacred > exercised practical power through: . lordship – expect submission, service & fealty . government . justice . warfare – lead troops in battle, summon levies & expect military service from followers . renders/dues/taxes > had many responsibilities: . provide peace & justice . protection – especially of the Church, weak & poor . care for the souls of their subjects – ensure as many as possible to enter kingdom of Heaven (kings were answerable to Christ for this on Judgement Day) . distribute patronage – with grants, significant titles, offices, land, revenue & marriages etc. > accompanied by households/courts/assemblies whose focus was on: . politics . judicial procedures . law-making > itinerant government (like Carolingian predecessors): . royal palaces/residences . visited key Bishoprics & Abbeys . using resources on their many landed estates > had strong links with the aristocracy > succession to the crown: . tended to be hereditary – pass down dynastic bloodlines . often to their entire realm . kings chosen/elected by leading aristocrats – gave them submission, acts of commendation, fealty & service the Duchies: > divided into lay & ecclesiastical lordships (marches, counties, bishoprics & Abbeys) > people in these duchies had distinct identities & histories – comprised separate contingents in the royal armies > dukes’ sons succeeded them but sometimes aristocrats were made dukes by royal designation (kings generally had limited control over ducal succession though so usually it was the local aristocracy that elected the dukes) > kings sometimes held duchies themselves so they were both kings & dukes > kings could establish marriage alliances with local ducal families – create harmonious & co-operative bonds between them the power & role of the German Church: > the Christian Church had a hierarchical order: Archbishops, Bishops & Abbots > under the control of the Popes in Rome but the local Church officials had direct control in the German realm > the prelates (bishops & abbots) tended to support kings & promote unity – appointed by the kings from the aristocracy & royal chapel: . on occasion they could become confrontational & engage in conflict with the kings . authority is spiritual – ministers of God with a duty to care for the souls of Christian subjects . also a worldly authority – important role in government in advising the monarch . possessed great lands (often given by the kings & secular aristocrats) . also exercised authority in the emerging towns . could provide soldiers for the royal armies > similarities between Church officials & kings are evident in their portrayal in paintings (sitting on thrones holding sacred items with decorative imagery) Archbishop Egbert of Trier (977-93) King Otto III (1261-1312) > communities of monks > central purpose was to live in peace, work hard & worship God through daily acts of service & prayer > aimed to be detached from the world because it was full of sin (monasticism) BUT were also very much a part of it as they were inseparable from the aristocratic elite Corvey Abbey, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany > Italy was regarded as part of the realm/empire > kings occasionally visited/campaigned there – would also appoint Popes went to assert their power, secure coronations, > (attempt to) rule was protect/control the Papacy & to express their resisted by North Italian devotion at the sacred sites in Rome (pilgrimage) rulers & their cities as well as by aristocratic Roman families, Churchmen & citizens > occasionally went to South Italy but had limited success – kingdom of Sicily resisted German claims to the territory > Ottonian dynasty was succeeded by the Salians from Franconia: . Conrad II (1027-39) . Henry III (1046-1056) . Henry IV (1084-1105) . Henry V (1111-25) > Salian rulers consistently struggled with controlling neighbouring region of Saxony – attempted to build up their power in Harz Mountains of the region (exploited resources like silver here) increasing challenges: > Germany – factions in the aristocracy (especially during Investiture Contest) > Italy – North Italian powers, reform of the Papacy & the Normans growing power limitations of Papal power & independence: > late 10th/early 11th century – power largely confined to Rome & areas surrounding it > Papal office effectively under the control of aristocratic families in Rome (Tusculani & Crescentii were particularly competitive) & the German Emperor – often competed for control of the Papacy > German Pope, Leo IX is often regarded as beginning the process of transforming Papal power from the mid-11th century (Papal Reform Movement) & making the Papacy a truly European-wide authority > this increased independence of the Papacy from the control of secular authorities > aimed to promote proper ordering & stability of Christian Church & society – eradicate sin as much as possible (prevent souls from entering kingdom of Heaven) > sought to enforce Canon Law (captured in statements of previous Popes like Gelasius I & Gregory ‘the Great’ in patristic texts & promulgated by ecclesiastical councils) > by the late 11th century there were 3 prominent issues that the Church wanted to eradicate with the PRP: . simony (sin of buying & selling ecclesiastical offices) . clerical marriage (priests having wives & children, creating little ecclesiastical dynasties) both were seen as acts of invalidating the Sacraments . control of the Church by laymen/secular lords (Papal elections, lay investiture & private churches) > over time the reformers also developed more ideas (assertion of Papal supremacy meaning headship over the western European Church & that Popes would have higher authority/power than the kings) Leo IX: > expanded the Papal writing office – more letters sent from here to the rulers/prelates within & beyond Italy containing lists of the demands of Papal reformers > expanded Annual Roman Synod (& its membership) – Popes also toured outside of Rome in France, Germany & Italy preaching/holding reform councils > legates were appointed (high-ranking churchmen) – also held councils in various countries Nicholas II: > decreed that Popes should be elected by cardinal bishops rather than by secular rulers (1059) > Canon Law collections were encouraged – bringing Archbishops to Rome to receive their pallium & swear oaths of obedience to Popes > the reform programme (among other factors) brought the Papacy into conflict with the western European rulers (especially in Germany) why? > when Henry III died in 1056, his son, Henry IV succeeded him – BUT he was only a minor & spent the next 10 years ish being governed by regents > it was in this period that the Popes began acquiring new supporters against the Roman aristocratic families (I. S. Robinson) > also sought support from Normans in southern Italy: . 1059 – Pope Nicholas II invested Robert Guiscard as Duke of Apulia & Calabria (in return for fealty, support, protection & tribute) . Godfrey Margrave of Tuscany & his wife, Beatrice . Popes Nicholas II & Alexander II (from ranks of Tuscan bishops) . Pope Gregory VII – most significant & controversial ally (was an ally himself of Matilda of Tuscany, Godfrey’s step-daughter) . Nicholas also recognised Richard of Aversa as the Prince of Capua (in the same year) > royal & ecclesiastical power overlapped: . kings could consider themselves as ‘Vicars of Christ’ as much as the Popes could – sacred status, responsible for Christian souls, appointed/removed churchmen & presided over the Synods (ecclesiastical councils) . laws in this period owed much to God’s law (in the Bible) . bishops expected to perform homage/submission to the kings & had worldly powers . power of the Church – important for the kings to control (through investiture & appointments) but these were especially challenged by the reformers > led to claims of Papal primacy (had crucial practical & ideological implications) > so by the time of the emergence of this ‘Investiture Contest/Controversy’, German political context was fairly problematic: . Henry IV – under-age succession, looked after by regents & only assumed control of office in 1065-66 . he faced problems of recovering lost authority & control of Saxony . his opponents (in Germany) were prepared to exploit his problems with the Papacy (including Rudolf of Rheinfelden) . Gregory VII – new Papal opponent (reform Pope) was very confrontational with Henry in period 1073-85 . his opposition to lay investiture led to Henry & German/Italian bishops rejecting an allegiance with him in 1076 – they demanded he step down . Gregory excommunicated them & released Henry’s subjects from their allegiance to him . Henry now faced increased prospects of rebellion – confronted with deep opposition in Saxony & other German rebel aristocrats across his dominions . they planned (with the Pope) to compel the king & accept the authority of the Pope (publicly judge Henry IV) . to avoid this threat to his authority (in Germany & elsewhere), Henry took radical measures decided to cross the Alps to see the Pope before he reached Germany at Castle of Canossa in northern Italy – asked (some sources say he pleaded) to be readmitted to the Christian Church & the excommunication was lifted… only a temporary peace though . their conflict reached a point of crisis in 1080 when the Pope again declared the king to be excommunicated & also deposed – Rudolf of Rheinfelden, Duke of Swabia was elected as an anti-king but then defeated by Henry’s forces that same year . 1084 – Henry captured Rome, established own Pope, Clement III (an anti-pope) & effectively drove Pope Gregory into exile with Normans > investiture remained a very important issue for Henry V as well – compromise wasn’t reached (between Henry V & the Papacy) until the agreement with Callixtus II known as the ‘Concordat of Worms’ in 1122