Paschal II, << PAS kuhl >> (?-1118), was elected pope in 1099. Much of his troubled reign was occupied with the investiture controversy. The controversy was a quarrel over whether secular powers or the clergy had the right to invest (appoint) the clergy to religious offices.
In 1105, Paschal decided to support Henry V in Germany in a revolt against his father, Henry IV. In 1111, after his father’s death, Henry V promised to support Paschal’s plan for settling the investiture issue and, in return, the pope agreed to crown Henry as emperor. In Paschal’s plan, the clergy would give up their secular powers and influence in the hope that secular leaders would leave investiture to church officials.
Paschal’s plan collapsed in a storm of protest from the German clergy and nobility. Henry then kidnapped the pope and forced him to carry out the coronation. Henry also forced an agreement on investiture favorable to the imperial position. A few years later, Paschal renounced the agreement. Paschal was born in Italy. His given name was Rainerus. He died on Jan. 21, 1118.
