The Investiture Controversy: Church and Monarchy from the Ninth to the Twelfth Century

By Uta-Renate Blumenthal

Book Overview

"This book describes the roots of a set of ideals that effected a radical transformation of eleventh-century European society that led to the confrontation between church and monarchy known as the investiture struggle or Gregorian reform. Ideas cannot be divorced from reality, especially not in the Middle Ages. I present them, therefore, in their contemporary political, social, and cultural context."--from the Preface

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812213866
• ISBN13: 9780812213867
• Release Date: April 1991
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Overall good, but needs more focus

Blumenthal starts out by describing the two tides of change that resulted in the opposing sides in the controvery and so one gets the sense of an impending conflict. The church was attempting to reform, and the kings were trying to increase their influence in the church. She goes on to describe the conflict that ensued, and then also some of the effects and other conflicts between church and state in England and France. It covers the topic fairly well, but more could have been said about the main conflict between Henry IV and Gregory VII, which was only covered in 15 pages.