What was the Investiture Struggle?
The Investiture Struggle, also called the Investiture Controversy, is the name for the power struggle between kings and popes (heads of the Roman Catholic Church) during the Middle Ages (A.D. c. 450–c. 1500). Popes presided over papal states, which played the same role in medieval society as the other states (fiefs and manors, which were held by kings). Over time, papal lords, who were members of the clergy (church officials), gave in to the same human weaknesses of greed and corruption that tarnished feudal lords and kings during the political and economic system known as feudalism. Popes came to see the power of worldly leaders as desirable and obtainable. In 1075 Pope Gregory VII (c. 1020–1085) tried to limit the power of European leaders and thereby protect the church from their influence. He issued a decree that restricted the investiture (naming) of bishops (heads of church…
