The Concordat of Worms

So had Henry IV gone through the motions of humbling himself before the pope, and so had the pope gone through the motions of absolving Henry, -- gone through the motions. This is stating the matter correctly; for, as we shall now see, neither the pope had truly forgiven Henry, nor had Henry actually submitted to the pope in the matter of lay investiture. Henry, by wringing an absolution from the pope, had frustrated the attempt of the nobles of Germany to permanently rid themselves of him. But...