Week 3

Summary of main features of chapter six of Jordan about the Investiture Controversy The main features which are outlined in chapter 6 by Jordan about the investiture controversy included contested and prized rights that were against security and inheritance confiscation and they were attached to benefices. Benefices are lands which were given to church lords by the church. Though the church expected services like protection and rent in exchange. The land was in addition shared between locals and lesser lords. This was the characteristic of European feudalism ( Jardon # 520).
Another important issue was inheritance because those even did not participate in church or were not great lords could also own land. The normal grant was in precaria, the tenants who stayed in these lands did so at the pleasure of the noble because any time they could be chased from them. Most of the counts benefices were inherited by mainly those people who were in the offices and ex officials and they had become family property at the time of breakup of counties.
For instance, in central Europe, counts and Kings were only willing to allocate small inheritance land parcels to the successors of those people had served in exchange of tenancy or as military. Churches in German allowed inheritance of land by peasants as this brought profit to the church and the lords through the fee which was charged. Also emperors from Germany had the right to resolve disputes among candidates during elections. Gregory VII and his successors and predecessors were too successful in accordance to celibacy of the priesthood ( Jardon 780).
Work cited
Jordan William. Europe in the high middle ages. 2003. Viking. print