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Heinrich IV was emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1050-1106). Heinrich IV reigned from 1056 to 1106, when he fought an anointment battle with Pope Gregory VII while Germany was in a state of political instability due to civil war. At first he succumbed to Gregory in the humiliation of Canossa, but later regained his position. However, he was again outnumbered in Germany by Pope Urbanus II.
Life of Heinrich IV (Henry IV)
Heinrich IV was born in Germany, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich III, who lost his father in 1056 when he was six years old. He ascended the throne as Emperor Heinrich IV, but his mother became regent.
While his mother was regent, the position of Holy Roman Emperor was weakened. For example, the Duchies of Bavaria and Swabia were ceded to the German princes. In 1062, Heinrich IV was kidnapped.
In 1065, Heinrich became of age, and in 1066 he assumed real power. In 1066, he assumed real power and sought to strengthen the royal authority over the princes. In 1073, however, a revolt against Heinrich broke out in Saxony. Heinrich was outnumbered. In 1075, however, Heinrich was able to put down the rebellion.
In 1073, Gregory VII ascended the papal throne. Initially, Heinrich established friendly relations with Gregory.
Gregory was implementing various reforms that expanded the power of the papacy. This is known as the Gregorian Reformation. As a result, Gregory came into conflict with Heinrich.
The Beginning of the Investiture Controversy
One of the main points of contention was whether the emperor had the right to appoint bishops, abbots, etc. At that time, bishops often doubled as secular lords. Thus, often the bishop’s appointive power overlapped in fact with that of the lords. Thus, if the emperor lost the right to appoint a bishop, he also effectively lost the right to appoint the lords of the region.
The conflict over the appointment of the bishop of Milan grew in earnest. For a long time, the Holy Roman Emperor had held and exercised the power of appointment of the Archbishop of Milan. Heinrich IV then tried to appoint the archbishop of Milan.
However, Gregory opposed this. First, Gregory excommunicated Heinrich’s advisors. Furthermore, Gregory denied the emperor’s right to appoint the archbishop of Milan. This led to a struggle for the right of ordination.
Excommunication and Dissolution of Loyalty to Heinrich
In 1076, Heinrich held an ecclesiastical council in Worms. At this time, the bishops of the empire objected to the election of Gregory VII as pope and tried to refuse to submit to him. The bishops in the empire objected to the election of Gregory VII and refused to obey him, since he was undermining their bishops’ interests. Encouraged by this move, Heinrich asked Gregory to resign his papacy.
In response, Gregory excommunicated Heinrich in the same year. At the same time, he declared that he would release Heinrich from his duty of loyalty. In other words, Gregory declared that Heinrich’s subjects were no longer obligated to obey him.
Gregory also declared that Heinrich was no longer king of Germany or Italy. The assertion that the pope had a legitimate right to such secular matters was one of the main focuses of Gregory’s Reformation.
The Humiliation of Canossa: Reasons for Apology to Gregory VII
At first glance, this papal declaration might seem meaningless. But, as noted above, the empire was in an unstable political situation that would have resulted in civil war in the first place. Therefore, such a declaration could have been used by princes hostile to Heinrich. Thus, declarations such as the abolition of the throne were a threat to Heinrich.
In fact, the struggle for the right to anoint the emperor divided the lords of the empire into two factions, the imperialists and the popes, and they were bitterly opposed to each other. Both sides published numerous works, defending their own positions and criticizing the other. For example, the Heinrichian faction criticized Gregory of Heinrich for destabilizing the position of Heinrich by excommunication and inciting rebellion in the low countries.
It was during this period that the leading princes, especially those in southern Germany, became papists, and in 1077 they sought to elect a new German king in response to the above-mentioned declaration of Gregory’s abdication against Heinrich IV. They planned a meeting in Augsburg for this purpose.
Gregory began to move to attend the meeting. Heinrich felt threatened by this move. Heinrich therefore blocked Gregorius’ arrival. As a result, Gregorius was forced to take hasty refuge in the castle of Canossa in Italy.
That same year, Heinrich secretly went to Canossa Castle and spent three days outside the fortress, kneeling in the snow, begging Gregorius for forgiveness. This is the so-called humiliation of Canossa. Gregorius pardoned Heinrich and rescinded his excommunication. Heinrich drove Gregorius to Rome. Therefore, Gregorius did not attend the Augsburg conference.
Confrontation with Gregory, again
But the papist German princes were not satisfied with this and revolted against Heinrich. They installed Rudolf of Swabia as King of Germany. He swore allegiance to Gregory. Gregory did not initially recognize him as the official king. Heinrich regained power and tried to regain it. The rivalry deepened again, and Gregory recognized Rudolf as king.
In 1080, Gregory again excommunicated Heinrich. Around that time, Rudolf was killed in battle. This weakened the German papacy. Heinrich saw this as an opportunity and made an expedition to Italy, capturing Rome in 1084. He imprisoned Gregory. But Gregory was rescued and went into exile. Gregory died at Salerno without leaving it.
Heinrich installed Clemens III as another pope. Heinrich held a coronation by Clement III in Rome to assert his legitimacy as emperor. He then returned to Germany.
Late Years
In 1088, Pope Urbanus II ascended the throne as successor on the side of Gregory VII. Urbanus was a famous pope as an advocate of the First Crusade. Urbanus promoted the Gregorian Reformation. The German papacy was reinvigorated. He continued to deny the emperor’s and king’s anointing authority over bishops.
In 1090, Heinrich made another expedition to Italy. This time, however, he was not successful and a revolt broke out. Heinrich began negotiations with the pope in an attempt to end the conflict. Heinrich IV died in 1106 during this battle.
Recommended References
オーギュスタン・フリシュ『叙任権闘争』野口洋二訳, 筑摩書房, 2020
Keith Sisson(ed.), A companion to the medieval papacy : growth of an ideology and institution, Brill, 2016
