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Zwiefalten Abbey ( German : Kloster Zwiefalten , Abtei Zwiefalten or after 1750, Reichsabtei Zwiefalten ) is a former Benedictine monastery situated at Zwiefalten near Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany . Zwiefalten is on the Upper Swabian Baroque Route .

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77-609: The monastery was founded in 1089 at the time of the Investiture Controversy by Counts Gero and Kuno of Achalm , advised by Bishop Adalbero of Würzburg and Abbot William of Hirsau . The first monks were also from Hirsau Abbey , home of the Hirsau Reforms (under the influence of the Cluniac reforms ), which strongly influenced the new foundation. Noker von Zwiefalten was the first abbot and led from 1065–90. Zwiefalten adopted

154-624: A duty to help the Church define and maintain orthodoxy . The emperor's role was to enforce doctrine, root out heresies , and uphold ecclesiastical unity. Both the title and connection between Emperor and Church continued in the Eastern Roman Empire throughout the medieval period ( in exile during 1204–1261). The ecumenical councils of the 5th to 8th centuries were convoked by the Eastern Roman Emperors . In Western Europe ,

231-505: A label they reserved for themselves. The title of emperor in the West implied recognition by the pope. As the power of the papacy grew during the Middle Ages, popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration. The best-known and most bitter conflict was that known as the investiture controversy , fought during the 11th century between Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII . After

308-403: A letter in which he withdrew his imperial support of Gregory as pope in no uncertain terms: the letter was headed "Henry, king not through usurpation but through the holy ordination of God, to Hildebrand, at present not pope but false monk". It called for the election of a new pope. His letter ends, "I, Henry, king by the grace of God, with all of my Bishops, say to you, come down, come down!", and

385-561: A new pope, 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 Pope 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. The reign of Henry IV showed

462-466: A number of dynasties. A period of dispute during the second half of the 13th century over the kingship of Germany led to there being no emperor crowned for several decades, though this ended in 1312 with the coronation of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor . The period of free election ended with the ascension of the Austrian House of Habsburg , as an unbroken line of Habsburgs held the imperial throne until

539-518: A papal banner and the distant blessing of Pope Alexander II upon his invasion, but had successfully rebuffed the pope's assertion after the successful outcome, that he should come to Rome and pay homage for his fief, under the general provisions of the Donation of Constantine . The ban on lay investiture in Dictatus papae did not shake the loyalty of William's bishops and abbots. In the reign of Henry I ,

616-671: A total of ten electors, a mere three years before the dissolution of the Empire. This list includes all 47 German monarchs crowned from Charlemagne until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806). Several rulers were crowned king of the Romans (king of Germany) but not emperor, although they styled themselves thus, among whom were: Conrad I and Henry the Fowler in the 10th century, and Conrad IV , Rudolf I , Adolf and Albert I during

693-589: Is Karolus Imperator Augustus . In documents, he used Imperator Augustus Romanum gubernans Imperium ("Emperor Augustus, governing the Roman Empire") and serenissimus Augustus a Deo coronatus, magnus pacificus Imperator Romanorum gubernans Imperium ("most serene Augustus crowned by God, great peaceful emperor governing the empire of the Romans"). The Eastern Empire eventually relented to recognizing Charlemagne and his successors as emperors, but as "Frankish" and "German emperors", at no point referring to them as Roman,

770-517: Is often quoted with "and to be damned throughout the ages", which is a later addition. The situation was made even more dire when Henry IV installed his chaplain, Tedald, a Milanese priest, as Bishop of Milan , when another priest of Milan, Atto, had already been chosen in Rome by the pope. In 1076 Gregory responded by excommunicating Henry, and deposed him as German king, releasing all Christians from their oath of allegiance. Enforcing these declarations

847-592: The Battle of Austerlitz . The emperor was widely perceived to rule by divine right , though he often contradicted or rivaled the pope , most notably during the Investiture controversy . The Holy Roman Empire never had an empress regnant , though women such as Theophanu and Maria Theresa exerted strong influence. Throughout its history, the position was viewed as a defender of the Catholic faith. Until Maximilian I in 1508,

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924-595: The Concordat of Worms . The agreement required bishops to swear an oath of fealty to the secular monarch, who held authority "by the lance" but left selection to the church. It affirmed the right of the church to invest bishops with sacred authority, symbolized by a ring and staff . In Germany (but not Italy and Burgundy), the Emperor also retained the right to preside over elections of abbots and bishops by church authorities, and to arbitrate disputes. Holy Roman Emperors renounced

1001-447: The German dukes , and it is not known precisely when the system of seven prince-electors was established. The papal decree Venerabilem by Innocent III (1202), addressed to Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen , establishes the election procedure by (unnamed) princes of the realm, reserving for the pope the right to approve of the candidates. A letter of Pope Urban IV (1263), in the context of

1078-567: The Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empire's final dissolution. The term sacrum (i.e., "holy") in connection with the German Roman Empire was first used in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa . The Holy Roman Emperor's standard designation was "August Emperor of the Romans" ( Romanorum Imperator Augustus ). When Charlemagne was crowned in 800, he was styled as "most serene Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, governing

1155-517: The interregnum of the late 13th century. Traditional historiography assumes a continuity between the Carolingian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, while a modern convention takes the coronation of Otto I in 962 as the starting point of the Holy Roman Empire (although the term Sacrum Imperium Romanum was not in use before the 13th century). On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne, King of the Franks,

1232-453: The "Hirsau Reforms" of abbot William of Hirsau . Starting around 1100, Zweifalten was, for a time, a double-abbey. Gertrude (†1160), daughter of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland was a nun at Zweifalten. Her mother, Salomea of Berg was a generous patron. The monk Ortlieb wrote a history of the monastery in the early 12th century. Berthold continued it to 1137–38. He served as abbot in 1139–1141, 1146/7–1152/6 and 1158–1169. During

1309-683: The 12th century Saint Ernest (died 1148) was abbot. Between 1145 and 1149 he participated in the Second Crusade to regain the Holy Land . Although Pope Urban VI granted special privileges to it, Zwiefalten Abbey was nevertheless the private monastery of the Counts of Achalm, later succeeded by the Counts of Württemberg . The abbey was plundered in 1525 during the German Peasants' War . Christoph Rassler

1386-509: The 18th century. Later a cadet branch known as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine passed it from father to son until the abolition of the Empire in 1806. Notably, from the 16th century, the Habsburgs dispensed with the requirement that emperors be crowned by the pope before exercising their office. Starting with Ferdinand I , all successive emperors forwent the traditional coronation. The interregnum of

1463-984: The Archbishop of York to collect and present all the relevant traditions of anointed kingship. On this topic, the historian Norman Cantor would note: "The resulting ' Anonymous of York ' treatises are a delight to students of early-medieval political theory, but they in no way typify the outlook of the Anglo-Norman monarchy, which had substituted the secure foundation of administrative and legal bureaucracy for outmoded religious ideology." Jus novum ( c.  1140 -1563) Jus novissimum ( c.  1563 -1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of

1540-674: The Church of Constantinople . Toward the end of the 8th century, the Papacy still recognised the ruler at Constantinople as the Roman Emperor, though Byzantine military support in Italy had increasingly waned, leading to the Papacy to look to the Franks for protection. In 800 Pope Leo III owed a great debt to Charlemagne , the King of the Franks and King of Italy , for securing his life and position. By this time,

1617-587: 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. The Investiture Controversy continued for several decades as each successive pope tried to diminish imperial power by stirring up revolt in Germany. These revolts were gradually successful. 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

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1694-505: The Eastern Emperor Constantine VI had been deposed in 797 and replaced as monarch by his mother, Irene . Under the pretext that a woman could not rule the empire, Pope Leo III declared the throne vacant and crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans ( Imperator Romanorum ), the successor of Constantine VI as Roman emperor, using the concept of translatio imperii . On his coins, the name and title used by Charlemagne

1771-524: The Emperor-elect ( Imperator electus ) was required to be crowned by the pope before assuming the imperial title. Charles V was the last to be crowned by the pope in 1530. Even after the Reformation , the elected emperor was always a Catholic . There were short periods in history when the electoral college was dominated by Protestants , and the electors usually voted in their own political interest. From

1848-580: The English term "Holy Roman Emperor" gained currency in the interbellum period (the 1920s to 1930s); formerly the title had also been rendered as "German-Roman emperor" in English. The elective monarchy of the Kingdom of Germany goes back to the early 10th century, the election of Conrad I of Germany in 911 following the death without issue of Louis the Child , the last Carolingian ruler of Germany. Elections meant

1925-452: The Great (936–72), the bishops had been princes of the empire, had secured many privileges, and had become to a great extent feudal lords over great districts of the imperial territory. The control of these great units of economic and military power was for the king a question of primary importance due to its effect on imperial authority. It was essential for a ruler or nobleman to appoint (or sell

2002-420: The Holy Roman Empire dates as far back as Charlemagne, some histories consider the Carolingian Empire to be a distinct polity from the later Holy Roman Empire as established under Otto I in 962. Nephew and adopted son of Charles III While earlier Frankish and Italian monarchs had been crowned as Roman emperors, the actual Holy Roman Empire is often considered to have begun with the crowning of Otto I , at

2079-466: The Holy Roman Empire is taken to have lasted from the deposition of Frederick II by Pope Innocent IV in 1245 (or alternatively from Frederick's death in 1250 or from the death of Conrad IV in 1254) to the election of Rudolf I of Germany (1273). Rudolf was not crowned emperor, nor were his successors Adolf and Albert . The next emperor was Henry VII , crowned on 29 June 1312 by Pope Clement V . In 1508, Pope Julius II allowed Maximilian I to use

2156-533: The Holy Roman Empire. Gregory VII was meanwhile still resisting a few hundred yards away from the basilica in the Castel Sant'Angelo , then known as the house of Cencius . Gregory called on his allies for help, and Robert Guiscard (the Norman ruler of Sicily, Apulia, and Calabria) responded, entering Rome on 27 May 1084. The Normans came in force and attacked with such strength that Henry and his army fled. Gregory VII

2233-658: The Imperial Crown and was free of the rule of Württemberg. Benedictine Ernest Weinrauch was a highly respected organ player and contrapuntist, who composed an oratorio at Zwiefalten. On 25 November 1802, however, it was secularised and dissolved and became a lunatic asylum and later psychiatric hospital, which it is today, as well as the site of the Württemberg Psychiatry Museum. The present buildings were constructed in German Baroque style from 1739–47 under

2310-597: The Lenten synod of 7 March 1080 excommunicated Henry IV again. In turn, Henry called a council of bishops at Brixen that proclaimed Gregory illegitimate. The internal revolt against Henry effectively ended that same year, however, when Rudolf von Rheinfeld died. Henry IV named Guibert of Ravenna (who he had invested as bishop of Ravenna) to be pope, referring to Clement III (known by the Catholic Church as Antipope Clement III ) as "our pope". In October 1080, troops raised by

2387-562: The Middle Ages, and also known as the Romano-German Emperor since the early modern period ( Latin : Imperator Germanorum ; German : Römisch-deutscher Kaiser , lit.   'Roman-German emperor'), was the ruler and head of state of the Holy Roman Empire . The title was held in conjunction with the title of King of Italy ( Rex Italiae ) from the 8th to the 16th century, and, almost without interruption, with

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2464-559: The Roman Empire," thus constituting the elements of "Holy" and "Roman" in the imperial title. The word Roman was a reflection of the principle of translatio imperii (or in this case restauratio imperii ) that regarded the (Germanic) Holy Roman emperors as the inheritors of the title of emperor of the Western Roman Empire , despite the continued existence of the Eastern Roman Empire. In German-language historiography,

2541-717: The Saxons after the First Battle of Langensalza, he wore a hair shirt and stood barefoot in the snow in what has become known as the Road to Canossa . Gregory lifted the excommunication, but the German aristocrats, whose rebellion became known as the Great Saxon Revolt , were not as willing to give up their opportunity and elected a rival king, Rudolf von Rheinfeld . Three years later, Pope Gregory declared his support for von Rheinfeld and then on

2618-638: The Staufen, also known as Hohenstaufen , and the heirs of Lothar III, paving the way for the rise to power of the Hohenstaufen Frederick I (1152–1190). At the time of Henry IV's death, Henry I of England and the Gregorian papacy were also embroiled in a controversy over investiture, and its solution provided a model for the eventual solution of the issue in the empire. William the Conqueror had accepted

2695-606: The boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire. Since 911, the various German princes had elected the King of the Germans from among their peers. The King of the Germans would then be crowned as emperor following the precedent set by Charlemagne, during the period of 962–1530. Charles V was the last emperor to be crowned by the pope, and his successor, Ferdinand I , merely adopted the title of "Emperor elect" in 1558. The final Holy Roman emperor-elect, Francis II , abdicated in 1806 during

2772-509: The coronation of Charlemagne, his successors maintained the title until the death of Berengar I of Italy in 924. The comparatively brief interregnum between 924 and the coronation of Otto the Great in 962 is taken as marking the transition from the Frankish Empire to the Holy Roman Empire . Under the Ottonians , much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia fell within

2849-399: The crowd erupted 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. Henry's victory was, however, 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

2926-711: The direction of Johann Michael Fischer (1692–1766) of Munich , who began overseeing the work in 1741. The interior, considered a model of Baroque design, is filled with ornate chapels and gilded balustrades , dominated by the high altar , which combines a Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary dating from 1430 with Baroque additions (dating from about 1750) by Johann Joseph Christian (1706–77). The elaborate frescoes are by Franz Joseph Spiegler (1691–1757). Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest ( German : Investiturstreit , pronounced [ɪnvɛstiˈtuːɐ̯ˌʃtʁaɪt] )

3003-543: The disputed vote of 1256 and the subsequent interregnum , suggests that by " immemorial custom ", seven princes had the right to elect the king and future emperor. The seven prince-electors are named in the Golden Bull of 1356 : the archbishop of Mainz , the archbishop of Trier , the archbishop of Cologne , the king of Bohemia , the count palatine of the Rhine , the duke of Saxony and the margrave of Brandenburg . After 1438,

3080-456: The elections of Pope Alexander II and Pope Gregory VII proceeded according to church rules, without the involvement of the Emperor. In 1075, Pope Gregory VII composed the Dictatus papae , though this was not published at the time, cataloging principles of his Gregorian Reforms . One clause asserted that the pope held the exclusive power to depose an emperor. It declared that the Roman church

3157-453: The emperors were considered primus inter pares , regarded as first among equals among other Catholic monarchs across Europe. From an autocracy in Carolingian times (AD 800–924), the title by the 13th century evolved into an elective monarchy , with the emperor chosen by the prince-electors . Various royal houses of Europe, at different times, became de facto hereditary holders of

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3234-474: The empire. This combination of factors forced Henry IV to back down, as he needed time to marshal his forces to fight the rebellion. In 1077, he traveled to Canossa in northern Italy, where the Pope was staying in the castle of Countess Matilda , to apologize in person. The pope was suspicious of Henry's motives, and did not believe he was truly repentant. As penance for his sins, and echoing his own punishment of

3311-561: The faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Election of the Roman Pontiff Academic degrees Journals and Professional Societies Faculties of canon law Canonists Institute of consecrated life Society of apostolic life Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor , originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( Latin : Imperator Romanorum ; German : Kaiser der Römer ) during

3388-584: The family may have established a proprietary church or abbey on their estate. Since a substantial amount of wealth and land was usually associated with the office of a bishop or abbot, the sale of church offices—a practice known as " simony "—was an important source of income for leaders among the nobility, who themselves owned the land and by charity allowed the building of churches. Emperors had been heavily relying on bishops for their secular administration, as they were not hereditary or quasi-hereditary nobility with family interests. They justified their power by

3465-509: 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. And finally, Henry V would be crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor by Paschal. When the concessions of land were read in St. Peter's, however,

3542-432: The heat of exchanges between Westminster and Rome induced Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury , to give up mediating and retire to an abbey. Robert of Meulan , one of Henry's chief advisors, was excommunicated, but the threat of excommunicating the king remained unplayed. The papacy needed the support of English Henry while German Henry was still unbroken. A projected crusade also required English support. Henry I commissioned

3619-530: The immediate one, received a papal coronation . The elector palatine's seat was conferred on the duke of Bavaria in 1621, but in 1648, in the wake of the Thirty Years' War , the elector palatine was restored, as the eighth elector. The Electorate of Hanover was added as a ninth elector in 1692, confirmed by the Imperial Diet in 1708. The whole college was reshuffled in the German mediatization of 1803 with

3696-402: The kingship of Germany was only partially hereditary, unlike the kingship of England , although sovereignty frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more male successors. The process of an election meant that the prime candidate had to make concessions, by which the voters were kept on his side, which was known as Wahlkapitulationen ( electoral capitulation ). Conrad was elected by

3773-527: The nobility would have no part in the selection of popes (though the Holy Roman Emperor might confirm the choice) and that electors would be cardinals (which would later evolve into the College of Cardinals ) assembled in Rome. The bull also banned lay investiture. In response, all the bishops in Germany (who supported the Emperor) assembled in 1061 and declared all the decrees of Nicholas II null and void. Nevertheless,

3850-408: The office to) someone who would remain loyal. Problems with simony became particularly unpopular as Pope Benedict IX was accused of selling the papacy in 1045. Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 to 1056, settled the papal schism and named several popes, the last emperor to successfully dominate the selection process. Six-year-old Henry IV became King of the Germans in 1056. Benedict X

3927-687: The old right of naming the pope. The Concordat of Worms in 1122 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 was received back into communion and recognized as legitimate emperor as a result. 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 Lothair III . A long civil war erupted between

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4004-478: 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, and nobles loyal to Rome seceded from Henry. The unrest and conflict in Germany continued, just as under Henry IV. And the controversy with respect to investiture dragged on for another ten years. Like his father before him, Henry V was faced with waning power. Ultimately, he had no choice but to give up investiture and

4081-650: The pro-Imperial bishops of Northern Italy clashed with the pro-papal forces of Countess Matilda in the battle of Volta Mantovana . The pro-Imperial forces were victorious, and in March 1081 Henry IV marched from the Brenner Pass into the March of Verona unopposed, entering Milan in April that year. He then attacked Rome and besieged the city with the intent of forcibly removing Gregory VII and installing Clement III. The city of Rome withstood

4158-476: The right to choose the pope. In the meantime, there was also a brief but significant investiture struggle between Pope Paschal II and King Henry I of England from 1103 to 1107. The earlier resolution to that conflict, the Concordat of London , was very similar to the Concordat of Worms. After the decline of the Western Roman Empire , investiture was performed by members of the ruling nobility (and

4235-450: The siege, but the Vatican and St. Peter's fell in 1083. On the outskirts of the city, Henry gained thirteen cardinals who became loyal to his cause. The next year the city of Rome surrendered and Henry triumphantly entered the city. On Palm Sunday , 1084, Henry IV solemnly enthroned Clement at St. Peter's Basilica ; on Easter Day, Clement returned the favour and crowned Henry IV as Emperor of

4312-417: The term Römisch-deutscher Kaiser ("Roman-German emperor") is used to distinguish the title from that of Roman emperor on one hand, and that of German emperor ( Deutscher Kaiser ) on the other. The English term "Holy Roman Emperor" is a modern shorthand for "emperor of the Holy Roman Empire" not corresponding to the historical style or title, i.e., the adjective "holy" is not intended as modifying "emperor";

4389-462: The theory of the divine right of kings . Many of the papal selections before 1059 were influenced politically and militarily by European powers, often with a king or emperor announcing a choice which would be rubber-stamped by church electors. The Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian dynasty believed they should have the power to appoint the pope. Since the ascendance of the first of that line, Otto

4466-528: The time Duke of Saxony and King of Germany . Because the King of Germany was an elected position, being elected King of Germany was functionally a pre-requisite to being crowned Holy Roman Emperor. By the 13th century, the Prince-electors became formalized as a specific body of seven electors, consisting of three bishops and four secular princes. Through the middle 15th century, the electors chose freely from among

4543-407: The time of Constantine I ( r.  306–337 ), the Roman Emperors had, with very few exceptions, taken on a role as promoters and defenders of Christianity . The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the position of the Christian emperor in the Great Church . Emperors considered themselves responsible to God for the spiritual health of their subjects, and after Constantine they had

4620-413: The title of Emperor in the West lapsed after the death of Julius Nepos in 480, although the rulers of the barbarian kingdoms continued to recognize the authority of the Eastern Emperor at least nominally well into the 6th century. While the reconquest of Justinian I had re-established Byzantine presence in the Italian Peninsula , religious frictions existed with the Papacy who sought dominance over

4697-431: The title of King of Germany ( Rex Teutonicorum , lit.   ' King of the Teutons ' ) throughout the 12th to 18th centuries. The Holy Roman Emperor title provided the highest prestige among medieval Catholic monarchs , because the empire was considered by the Catholic Church to be the only successor of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages and the early modern period . Thus, in theory and diplomacy,

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4774-403: The title of Emperor without coronation in Rome, though the title was qualified as Electus Romanorum Imperator ("elected Emperor of the Romans"). Maximilian's successors each adopted the same titulature, usually on becoming the sole ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Maximilian's predecessor Frederick III was the last to be crowned Emperor by the Pope in Rome, while Maximilian's successor Charles V

4851-468: The title remained in the House of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine , with the brief exception of Charles VII , who was a Wittelsbach . Maximilian I (emperor 1508–1519) and his successors no longer traveled to Rome to be crowned as emperor by the pope. Maximilian, therefore, named himself elected Roman emperor ( Erwählter Römischer Kaiser ) in 1508 with papal approval. This title was in use by all his uncrowned successors. Of his successors, only Charles V ,

4928-402: The title, notably the Ottonians (962–1024) and the Salians (1027–1125). Following the late medieval crisis of government , the Habsburgs kept possession of the title (with only one interruption ) from 1440 to 1806. The final emperors were from the House of Habsburg-Lorraine , from 1765 to 1806. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by Francis II , after a devastating defeat by Napoleon at

5005-499: The weakness of the German monarchy. The ruler was dependent upon the good will of 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

5082-577: Was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture ) and abbots of monasteries and the pope himself. A series of popes in the 11th and 12th centuries undercut the power of the Holy Roman Emperor and other European monarchies , and the controversy led to nearly 50 years of conflict. It began as a power struggle between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV (then King, later Holy Roman Emperor) in 1076. The conflict ended in 1122, when Pope Callixtus II and Emperor Henry V agreed on

5159-482: Was a different matter, but the advantage gradually came to be on the side of Gregory VII. German princes and the aristocracy were happy to hear of the king's deposition. They used religious reasons to continue the rebellion started at the First Battle of Langensalza in 1075, and to seize royal holdings. Aristocrats claimed local lordships over peasants and property, built forts, which had previously been outlawed, and built up localized fiefdoms to secure their autonomy from

5236-445: Was abbot from 1658–75 and Augustin Stegmüller was abbot in the 18th century. In 1739, work commenced on the abbey, which continued by Johann Michael Fischer until 1765 . It is considered a model of integrated Baroque design. Frescoes in the church by Franz Joseph Spiegler are considered his best work. In 1750 the abbey was granted the status of Reichsabtei , which meant that it had the status of an independent power subject only to

5313-408: Was crowned Emperor of the Romans ( Imperator Romanorum ) by Pope Leo III , in opposition to Empress Irene , who was then ruling the Roman Empire from Constantinople. Charlemagne's descendants from the Carolingian Dynasty continued to be crowned Emperor until 899, excepting a brief period when the Imperial crown was awarded to the Widonid Dukes of Spoleto . There is some contention as to whether

5390-422: Was elected under the influence of the Count of Tusculum , allegedly by bribing the electors. Dissenting cardinals elected Pope Nicholas II in 1058 at Siena . Nicholas II successfully waged war against Benedict X and regained control of the Vatican. Nicholas II convened a synod in the Lateran on Easter in 1059. The results were codified in the papal bull In nomine Domini . It declared that leaders of

5467-413: Was forced to abdicate and was succeeded by his son Henry V , who had rebelled against his father in favor of the papacy, and made his father renounce the legality of his antipopes before he died. Henry V realised 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

5544-503: Was founded by God alone—that the papal power (the auctoritas of Pope Gelasius ) was the sole universal power; in particular, a council held in the Lateran Palace from 24 to 28 February the same year decreed that the pope alone could appoint or depose churchmen or move them from see to see. By this time, Henry IV was no longer a child, and he continued to appoint his own bishops. He reacted to this declaration by sending Gregory VII

5621-470: Was known as lay investiture ) despite theoretically being a task of the church. Many bishops and abbots were themselves part of the ruling nobility. Given that most members of the European nobility practiced primogeniture , and willed their titles of nobility to the eldest surviving male heir, surplus male siblings often sought careers in the upper levels of the church hierarchy. This was particularly true where

5698-402: Was rescued, but Rome was plundered in the process, for which the citizens of Rome blamed him. As a result, Gregory VII was forced to leave Rome under the protection of the Normans, fleeing to Salerno, where he grew ill and died on 25 May 1085. The last words he uttered were, "I have loved justice and hated iniquity, and therefore I die in exile." Upon the death of Gregory, the cardinals elected

5775-592: Was the last to be crowned by the pope, though in Bologna , in 1530. The Emperor was crowned in a special ceremony, traditionally performed by the Pope in Rome . Without that coronation, no king, despite exercising all powers, could call himself Emperor. In 1508, Pope Julius II allowed Maximilian I to use the title of Emperor without coronation in Rome, though the title was qualified as Electus Romanorum Imperator ("elected Emperor of

5852-450: 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. On 31 December 1105, Henry IV

5929-516: 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 sacerdotium 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

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