Investitures et rapports de pouvoirs : réflexions sur les symboles de la querelle en Empire

Abstract

Starting from the observation that royal investiture, which was denounced towards the late 11th century, was considered quite natural towards the end of the Carolingian era, this article sets out to analyse the cristalisation, during the second half of the 11th century, of the critique of investiture by ‘staff and ring’, showing how the grant of these insignia came to be reduced to its purely spiritual dimension, whereas it was originally polysemic. Renunciation by the Emperor of the investitute of bishops by the Emperor, as it was proclaimed by the Gregorians, had as its corrollary the renunciation by the clergy of regalian rights. Because of the imbrication of powers in the Empire, this was unrealistic, as is illustrated by the failure of the agreement of 1111 which preceded the imperial coronation of Henry V (presented here in detail). It proved therefore necessary to negotiate, from both the institution and symbolic point of view, and to invent a new ritual, the basis of which lay in the symbolism of power associated with the staff, while avoiding any spiritual suggestion. This happened with the concordat of Worms (1122). The appendix contains two documents in French translation — the renunciation of the regalia by Pascal II (12 February 1111) and his ‘privilege’ for Henry V (12 April 1111).