The investiture controversy

Question

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The investiture controversy was a complex and multifaceted dispute that involved all of the choices listed. It was a clash between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire over the power to appoint and invest bishops and other church officials with secular power. At its heart, the controversy involved ideological differences over the relationship between church and state and who held ultimate authority on earth. The conflict weakened the Holy Roman Empire and strained relations between the papacy and the secular rulers of Europe. Ultimately, a compromise was reached in which the church retained the power to invest bishops with their spiritual authority while secular rulers could invest them with their temporal power. At the same time, efforts were made to improve the moral and intellectual caliber of the clergy throughout Europe.

The Investiture Controversy