During the Investiture Controversy beginning in the 1050's, the papacy sought to wrest control of churches from local lords. The struggle focused on who had the right to "invest," that is, nominate and install in office, the bishops and abbots who served as leaders of the Church. The stalemate which the papacy and the kings of Europe eventually reached was, in fact, a victory for the Pope who forced the political leaders of Europe to acknowledge his opinion in the "investiture" of church officials.

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