45 heart of Saxony , were not eligible to be conferred as fiefs . All were at the direct disposition of the king and intended to expand and solidify his power , both political and territorial . 96 “ Beginning in the early eleventh century , the kings had become even more insistent that a centralized , hierarchical command structure throughout the realm was a royal prerogative ; it was this principle that fueled Henry IV ’ s showdown with the Saxons … demanding unconditional recognition of his supreme royal authority .” 97
The Saxon response of Widerstandsrecht , or right of resistance , was legitimate against the crown under such circumstances and deemed necessary . 98
The Complicated Conflict with Reform
96 Weinfurter , 134-35 .
97 Ibid ., 138 .
98 Paul Joachimsen , “ The Issue of Government : Conflict of Church and Empire ,” in The Investiture Controversy : Issues , Ideals , and Results , ed . Karl F . Morrison ( New York : Holt , Rinehart and Winston , 1971 ), 20 .