investitura

Investitura is a formal ceremony in which a person is invested with authority, office, or rights. The term comes from Latin investitura, derived from investire, meaning to clothe or dress, used metaphorically to signify conferring insignia of office and the accompanying authority. The concept appears in both secular and ecclesiastical contexts and emphasizes the formal transfer of power or tenure.

In feudal Europe, investiture referred to the act by which a lord granted a vassal a fief, symbolically investing him with the rights of tenancy. The ceremony often included the presentation of insignia such as a staff, a ring, or a sword, and was accompanied by swearing fealty. In the ecclesiastical sphere, investiture also described the appointment of bishops and other clerics, sometimes by secular rulers and sometimes by the pope. This gave rise to the Investiture Controversy of the 11th and 12th centuries, a struggle over whether secular authorities or church authorities should invest bishops with temporal powers. The conflict culminated in arrangements such as the Concordat of Worms (1122), which separated spiritual investiture from temporal investiture.

Today, investiture generally denotes the ceremonial aspects of assuming an office or role, often accompanied by an oath and the bestowal of symbols of office. In many contexts the term is used interchangeably with inauguration or installation, though usage varies by legal tradition and domain. In addition to state offices, the term can appear in academic or religious settings to denote formal installation or appointment rituals.