Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor

Then in the 1040s, a series of popes were chosen by and from the members of a powerful Italian family from Tuscany.

The appointment of these men, who were considered totally unqualified, led to a reform in 1046, after which a series of respected German popes were chosen by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III.

Then in 1059, Pope Nicholas II issued an order that future popes should be chosen by an assembly of cardinals, which has been the practice ever since.

But for about fifty years during the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, a series of conflicts broke out between the emperors Henry IV and his son Henry V on one side, and Pope Gregory VII and his successors on the other, over the right to appoint bishops and abbots.