Henry IV summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Henry IV.

Henry IV, German Heinrich, (born Nov. 11, 1050, Goslar?, Saxony—died Aug. 7, 1106, Liège, Lorraine), Duke of Bavaria (1055–61), German king (1054–1106), and emperor (1084–1105/6). He succeeded to the German throne at age six; his pious and unworldly mother was regent until 1062, and Henry gained control of the government upon reaching his majority in 1065. His reassertion of royal rights provoked rebellion in Saxony (1073–75). He engaged in a long struggle with Pope Gregory VII over the issues of obedience to papal commands and lay investiture (see Investiture Controversy). Gregory excommunicated him and absolved his subjects of their oaths of loyalty. Seeking absolution, Henry was forced to cross the Alps in winter and, according to tradition, stand barefoot in the snow three days before the castle at Canossa, where the pope was staying, before the latter would rescind his order. The German princes deserted Henry (1077) and elected Rudolf I as king. In 1080 Gregory excommunicated Henry again and recognized Rudolf. Henry responded by conquering Rome (1084) and installing the antipope Clement III. In his last years his sons Conrad and Henry led rebellions against his rule.

emperor Summary

Emperor, title designating the sovereign of an empire, conferred originally on rulers of the ancient Roman Empire and on various later European rulers, though the term is also applied descriptively to some non-European monarchs. In republican Rome (c. 509–27 bce), imperator denoted a victorious

church and state Summary

Church and state, the concept, largely Christian, that the religious and political powers in society are clearly distinct, though both claim the people’s loyalty. A brief treatment of church and state follows. For full treatment of the separation of religion and politics, see secularism. For full

Investiture Controversy Summary

Investiture Controversy, conflict during the late 11th and the early 12th century involving the monarchies of what would later be called the Holy Roman Empire (the union of Germany, Burgundy, and much of Italy; see Researcher’s Note), France, and England on the one hand and the revitalized papacy

Pope Gregory VII, after his expulsion from Rome, laying a ban of excommunication on the clergy “together with the raging king” (Henry IV of Germany), drawing from the 12th-century chronicle of Otto of Freising; in the library of the University of Jena, Germany.

St. Gregory VII Summary

St. Gregory VII ; canonized 1606; feast day, May 25) was one of the greatest popes of the medieval church, who lent his name to the 11th-century movement now known as the Gregorian Reform or Investiture Controversy. Gregory VII was the first pope to depose a crowned ruler, Emperor Henry IV