Temporalities

History

In the Middle Ages, the temporalities were usually those lands that were held by a bishop and used to support him. After the Investiture Crisis was resolved, the temporalities of a diocese were usually granted to the bishop by the secular ruler after the bishop was consecrated.

If a bishop within the Holy Roman Empire had gained secular overlordship to his temporalities imperially recognised as an imperial state, then the temporalities were usually called a Hochstift, or an Erzstift (for an archbishop). Sometimes, this granting of the temporalities could take some time. Other times, a bishop-elect gained his temporalities even before or without his papal confirmation by an imperial act called "liege indult" (Lehnsindult). The temporalities were often confiscated by secular rulers to punish bishops.