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cordal of Worms ends a bitter con–
test between Holy Roman Emperor
Henry V
( JI
06-1 125)- Henry IV's
son- and Pope Calixtus
ri (
1119-
11 24). l t settles t he lnvesti ture
Controversy by stipu lating t hat an
Emperor can st ill
nominate
bishops
and abbots, but the clergy will do
t he actual
choosing
and can refuse
approval of an Emperor's nominees.
Emperors are permitted to confer
upon new bishops only the
temporal
insignia of their offices, due t hem in
their posit ion as vassals of the
crown. The
spiritual
symbols- the
r ing and statT-can be bestowed
only by t he Church.
Even after t h is compromise, the
struggle for supremacy between
Empire and Papacy will con t inue
for centur ies. Bu t despite thei r
incessant rivalry, the Papacy and
Empire will remain closely asso–
ciated t h roughout the Middl e
Ages. T heir mut ual need for each
other will override d isagreements
of lesser importance.
Po pe Versus Emperor
The power and influence of the
Papacy at this time is evidenced by
t he popu lar reaction to t he Papal
call, late in 1095, for t he First C ru–
sade. Pope Urban 11 exhor ts Chr is–
t ians throughout Europe to come to
the aid of the Byzanti ne Emperor,
who is t hreatened by advancing
Turks, and to free holy J erusalem
from the "legions of Antichrist"–
the Moslems.
Reaction to Urban 's plea is
ext raordinary. The outpouring of
popular enthusiasm for t he cause
sets in motion a succession of mi li–
tary expeditions to the Holy Land
that will continue for two centuries
before ending in dismal fail ure.
And for a time, the prestige of t he
Papacy is greatly enhanced by this
wave of religious fervor .
But t he prestige and power of
the Holy Roman Emperor has tak–
en a tu rn for the worst. T he
Emperor's power has been seri–
ously weakened by the lay invest i–
ture struggle. With t he dea th of
Henry V in 1125, Germany and the
Empi re are beset by civil s trife and
chaos. Many fear the Empire wi ll
fall completely to pieces.
Two rival dynasties of German
nobles scramble to gain the imper–
ial throne-the Wel fs (or Guelphs}
12
and the Hohenstaufens. T he Ho–
henstau fens a re descended from
Henry IV in the female Iine.
Fi nally, in 1138, Conr¡,td 111
comes to· the German t brone. Con–
rad- a grandson of Henry IV and
nephew of Henry V- is t he first
king of the Hohenstaufen family .
T he Hohenstaufens will preside
over the Empire until I268.
Conrad is followed, in 11 52, by
his nephew Frederick, who wi ll be
known to history as Freder ick 1
Barbarossa ("Red Beard"). Freder–
ick is formally crowned H oly
Roman Emperor by Pope Ad rian
IV in Rome on June 18, 11 55. He
will reign for nearly four decades.
Frederick Barbarossa considers
himself t he hei r of his predecessors,
Charlemagne and Otto the Great,
and of the great imperial tradit ion.
His desi re is to restore the glory of
the Roman Empire. As a later
chronicler will observe, "Du ring all
his reign nothi ng was dearer to his
hear t tha n t he reestablishment of
t he Empire of Rome on its ancient
basis."
Freder ick imposes order on Ger–
many, and intervenes in Jtal ian and
Papal politics. T his sparks a renew–
al of the imper ial conflict with the
Papacy in the form of a bitter feud
with Pope Ad r ian.
As many of his predecessors,
Frede r ick seeks to make the
Church subord inate to the authori–
ty of the Empire. W hen asked from
whom his im perial office is
received, Frederick asserts, " From
God alone!" He declares to Papal
legates, " We hold our kingdom and
our empire not as a fief of t he Pope
but by elect ion of the princes from
God alone."
Pope Ad rian counters, "What
were the Franks ti ll Pope Zacharias
welcomed Pepin? T he chai r of
Peter has given and can wi thdraw
its gifts!"
Frederick realizes, however, t hat
a full-blown feud with Rome cou ld
have d isast rous consequences. In
1177 be publicly makes peace with
Adrian's successor , Pope Alexan–
der 111 .
But the peace is to be shor t–
lived.
" The Beast"
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa dies
by accidental drowning in 1190,
while leading the Third Crusade.
His son, Emperor Henry IV ( 1190-
1197), furt her strengthens the
Hohenstaufen Empire. But after
his death, civi l war erupts in Ger–
many.
In 1212 a new German king
finally emerges from the chaos. He
is Frederick 11 , Frederick Barba–
rossa's grandson. In 1215 Frederick
11 is crowned Holy Roman Emper–
or by Pope ln nocent
lll .
It
is under 1nnocent U1 (
J
198-
12 16} that the C hurch reaches the
height of its medieval power. Vir–
t ually every European nation feels
the power of this Pope.
[ nnocent seeks to red uce t he
Empire toa playth ing of the Pope.
He asserts t hat kings derive t heir
powers from t he Pope, just as the
moon derives its light from the sun.
1nnocent declares that the Pope is
"less than God bu t more than
man."
"No ki ng can reign happi ly,"
Innocent claims, " unless he devout–
ly serves C hr ist's vicar."
Emperor Freder ick
rr
does not
openly quarrel wi th l nnocen t 111.
He does, however , wage a fierce
struggle with later Popes, notably
Gregory IX ( 1227-1241 ).
Frederick's ambit ion is to rule
all of l taly, incl ud ing Rome. T h is
desi re for fu ll cont rol of lta ly
brings him into di rect conflict with
t he Papacy.
Frederick is finally excommuni–
cated by Pope Gregory, who calls
t he Emperor a heretic and t he per–
sonificat ion of An tichr ist.
" Out of t he depths of t he sea
rises the beast, " shouts Gregory in
a reference to Revelation \3 in the
Holy Bi ble, ' 'fi lled wttb the names
of blasphemy. ... Behold the head,
t he middle and the e nd of this
beast, F rederick, t hi s so-cal led
emperor."
Pope Gregory a lso speaks of
Frederick as "this scorpion spewi ng
poison from t he sting of his tail."
Frederick lashes back, label ing
Pope Gregory the Antichr ist.
"The Roman Chu rch has never
er red ," G rego ry coun ters. " T o
resist it is to resist God!"
T he Pa pacy and the "viper
brood" of Hohenstaufens are
locked in a mortal struggle. In its
wake, the last remnants of imperial
(Continued on page 35)
The
PLAIN TRUTH