Pope Paschal excommunicates Henry's chief advisor (Robert…
1105 CE
Pope Paschal excommunicates Henry's chief advisor (Robert of Meulan) on March 26, 1105, for urging Henry to continue lay investiture, as well as prelates invested by Henry and other counselors, and threatens Henry with the same.
Anselm in April threatens to excommunicate Henry himself, probably to force Henry's hand in their negotiations.
In response, Henry arranges a meeting with Anselm on July 22, 1105, and they manage a compromise at Laigle.
Part of the agreement is that Robert's (and his associates') excommunication be lifted (given that they counsel the king to obey the papacy); Anselm lifts the excommunications on his own authority, an act which he later has to justify to Paschal.
Other conditions of the agreement are that Henry will forsake lay investiture if Anselm obtains Paschal's permission for clerics to do homage for their nobles; that the revenues of his see be given back to Anselm; and that priests not be allowed to marry.
Anselm then insists on having the Laigle agreement sanctioned by Paschal before he will consent to return to England.
By letter, Anselm also asks that the pope accept his compromise on doing homage to the king, because he had secured a greater victory in Henry's forsaking lay investiture.