Outbreak of the Investiture Controversy

Timeline

1. 1075Rome · LazioGregory VII convened a synod in Rome that forbade the granting of bishoprics by the emperor or secular lords with crozier and ring, and asserted the pope's supreme jurisdiction over the Church, directly touching Henry IV's control over the investiture of German bishops.
2. 1075–1076Holy Roman Empire · Holy Roman EmpireThe pope's hardline stance provoked a massive backlash in Germany; Henry IV and his supporters viewed it as an infringement on imperial authority, and diplomatic correspondence between the two sides grew increasingly heated, laying the groundwork for the open rupture the following year.