II.

The Reform Movement

By the middle of the 11th century a movement to reform the church had gained great momentum in parts of France and Germany. Recognizing that lay investiture was not in accord with the ancient laws of the church, the reformers attributed to that practice the low morals of the clergy of their day, especially their indulgence in simony—the purchase and sale of church offices—and concubinage.

The reform movement clearly took hold in Rome under Pope Leo IX, and the popes soon became the driving force behind reform. Lay investiture was condemned by Pope Nicholas II in 1059; at the same time, he excluded the emperor from effective participation in papal elections. When, in 1075, Pope Gregory VII expressly forbade all lay investiture, he provoked the wrath of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. Thus was unleashed the most violent episode in the whole controversy, as pope and emperor engaged in a series of mutual depositions and excommunications. This head-on clash ended with Gregory's death in exile in 1085 and with the seeming defeat of his campaign against lay investiture.