When Hildegard was born in 1098, a deep conflict between the emperor and the Pope had already existed for more than 20 years. The root of the conflict was the question as to whether clergy can be put into office by lays or not. The Church reform movement of the 11th century, whose goal it was to re-establish the pure condition of the primitive Church, considered this practice as simonistic, i.e., as a purchase or sale of a Church Office. In another step, even the King, who saw himself as a representative of Christ on earth appointed by God, was considered a lay, which meant that his previous right to be appointed (Investiture) by bishops and Abbots was denied. For the monarchy, such a prohibition meant an extreme intervention into the organizational structure of the Empire, because the Imperial Church was an important pillar of royal authority. Since the time of Otto I (936-973), the Ottonian and Salian monarchs had transferred sovereignty such as market, coin or customs or even entire counties to episcopal sees or monasteries. Due to this, their leaders became powerful and confident authorities who could support the King. This is why he was reluctant to give up his influence in their election and their commitment to loyalty. For the previous King Henry IV, however, there was far more at risk: His father Henry III dismissed three Popes at the synods of Sutri and Rome and also had enough influence to bring his favourite into the office. By reducing the King to a common lay, this power was under threat, whereas the Papacy was on the way to be in a stronger position.

The Investiture Controversy finally broke out when Pope Gregory VII, in December 1075, wrote a threatening letter to the King, who had independently put several bishops into office in northern Italy, in order to persuade him to give in. However, the contrary was achieved. On 24 January 1076, the bishops of the Empire and Henry IV declared the Pope as dismissed: „I Henry, King by the grace of God, do say to you, together with all our bishops: Descend, descend!“ Gregory VII reacted immediately: During the Lenten Synod of 1076, he removed Henry from his office, excommunicated him and released his subordinates from their oath of allegiance. As it turned out, the Pope was on the stronger side and literally, the „Walk to Canossa“ followed, where Henry asked for forgiveness and readmission to the Church. However, peace lasted only a short time, because soon Gregory VII excommunicated the King again and within the Empire, Henry had to fight against an Antiking. A time of excessive fighting followed and for many of his opponents Henry, who made an Antipope appointed by him anoint him as Emperor in 1084, was considered the Antichrist. Hildegard was also of this opinion when she wrote about a ragalis nominis iudex (judge with royal dignity) in her Liber divinorum operum who had started this situation. Researchers frequently identified this iudex as Henry. When Hildegard was seven years old, dramatic incidents went on in her close proximity: Henry’s son, who had the same name and was Co-king, saw himself committed to the reform movement and in 1104, he allied with several earls against his father. Close to Bingen, he tricked his father by pretending reconciliation, imprisoned him at Castle Böckelheim and forced him to abdicate. Now, all hope was put in Henry V, but the differences were too big. In 1111, Henry V took Pope Paschal II as a prisoner and forced him to anoint him as an Emperor as well as the transfer of the right of investiture to Henry. The forced situation, however, did not result in the solution of the conflict. This was only achieved with the Concordat of Worms in 1122, with which Henry had to agree, because most of the earls in the Empire no longer supported him. The Emperor waived the investiture with ring and staff, but was allowed to be present during the election in Germany and award the Abbots and bishops the regalia connected with their office and demand their oath of fealty. The Investiture Controversy shows that Hildegard lived in a time in which both powers Papacy and Empires still fought for predominance in various power games. The Papacy increasingly gained the stronger position and, with the help of a common legal system that the papal authority recognized as the highest standard, established the central position that it still holds for the entire Catholic Church today. Even after the Concordat of Worms, conflicts and the nomination of Antipopes and Antikings frequently occurred. The dangers resulting herefrom for the believers, also concerned Hildegard and were one reason that she described her era as tempus muliebre, the era of women; a time in which faith was weak, the Church became too soft and the world was unjust – and it more than ever required a voice that directed people to change course.