The Investiture Controversy - (Middle Ages) by Uta-Renate Blumenthal (Paperback)

About the Book

"Synthesis of a high order. . . . A praisworthy accomplishment."--

Book Synopsis

"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

Review Quotes

"Blumenthal . . . not only clarifies the course of the investiture controversy as such but also sets it satisfyingly in its wider and longer context."-- "American Historical Review"

"The best introduction in English to the historiography, history, and central interpretive problems of the investiture controversy."-- "The Catholic Historical Review"