Henry IV, 1056-1102
- became king at 6, when father died -
the nobles took much of the royal property, therefore was much weaker than his father - when
an adult took steps to try and recover the land - big problem was “lay investiture” -
bishops and archbishops not only important church officials, were also important officers of the
state - argument was over when and how the king should give them their secular
offices/income
- argument finally wound up with Pope
Gregory, upset with Henry’s position, deposed him (kicked him out as king) and freed
all citizens from their oath of allegiance to Henry - result was chaos and rebellion against the
king
- Henry hurried over Alps to stand
barefoot in the snow asking for forgiveness from the pope, who forgave and reinstated him as
king (seen as real important now, hardly noticed back then)
- Henry solidified his power, took
fight to Italy/Rome - the Pope’s army sacked Rome so thoroughly that he had to get out of
town - eventually Henry’s sons rebelled against him, trapped and imprisoned him, and
forced him to give up the throne - Henry did escape and died while trying to regain his throne
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