The appointment of religious officials (commonly bishops) by secular subjects (commonly kings or nobles).
noun
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Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
lay-investiture
Plural:
lay investitures
Lay-investiture Sentence Examples
In the following year, however, a Lateran council repudiated this compact as due to violence, and a synod held at Vienne with papal approval declared lay investiture to be heresy and placed Henry under the ban.
The emperor renounced investiture by ring and staff, and permitted canonical elections; the pope on his part recognized the king's right to perform lay investiture and to assist at elections.
He took no pains to temper the zeal of his legates, but incited them to the struggle, and, not content with prohibiting lay investiture and simony, expressly forbade prelates and even priests to pay homage to the civil power.
When the schism of 1130 broke out he endeavoured to procure the cancellation of the clauses of the Concordat of Worms and to recover lay investiture by way of compensation for the support he had given to Innocent II., one of the competing popes.
In August 1087 he held a synod at Benevento, which renewed the excommunication of Guibert; banned Archbishop Hugo of Lyons and Abbot Richard of Marseilles as schismatics; and confirmed the prohibition of lay investiture.