The fright of Herod

Latin: Turbatio Herodise

The thundering Herod, grandly depicted with threatening seriousness, is equipped with the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire, sceptre and orb. However, the absence of the cross on the imperial orb gives pause for thought. Is it a hint that it is the pagan Herod or the godless Emperor Henry IV who drove Adalbero out of Regensburg?

A scowling regent with imperial insignia is at the mercy of the wrath of heaven. The sun darkens and an angel with threatening gestures approaches the ruler. Three stripes of rays separate ruler and people. Does this mean excommunication? Because by 1085 Henry IV had been banished three times.

On the same wall, his fall is depicted at the same time, the crown lies on the floor next to him. Herod - or rather Henry IV - raises his hand in resignation. The ambiguity of the scene depicted is another indication of the mixing of current secular and religious themes. It could also be the fright of Herod and the men of Jerusalem at the announcement of the newborn King of the Jews.

Bishop Adalbero was particularly adept at pushing through the disputes between the German Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII, which had been smouldering since 1073, in favour of the Pope's ideas. For this, he was expelled from his diocese several times by the emperor.

What were these disputes about? The investiture dispute is the term used to describe a period in the 11th and 12th centuries in which a dispute was fought between the Salians, in this specific case Henry IV, and the reform papacy, Pope Gregory VII, about the relationship between spiritual power and the empire, the temporal power. The fundamental question of investiture, i.e. the appointment of abbots and bishops, whether by the emperor or the pope, came to play a decisive role in the course of the dispute. However, it was not until after Henry IV's penitential journey to Canossa in 1077.

Because of Pope Gregory's importance for the church reforms of the 11th century, which are also called Gregorian reforms after him, he is considered one of the most important, but also - even during his lifetime - one of the most controversial popes in church history. Peter Damiani, a close comrade-in-arms, referred to him approvingly and at the same time censuringly as a holy Satan, God's rod of discipline and hellfire, compared him to a tiger, lion or ravening wolf and considered resistance to Gregory to be futile.

It can be assumed that Adalbero became acquainted with the Italo-Byzantine fresco painting of the time, which bears a strong resemblance to the Lambach fresco cycle, during his travels in Italy to visit Pope Gregory in the Lombard and Venetian regions. Pope Gregory VII, Adalbero's political role model, had died in Salerno in 1085 - banished from Rome. Adalbero himself had been forced to spend his twilight years in exile in Lambach, where he died of old age in 1090. His political ambitions seemed to have been unsuccessful around 1088. He did not live to see the victory of papal power over the Roman-German Empire.