Within their ancient boundaries not only bishops but also lay lords succeeded in eluding the authority of the dukes.
To possess them as widely as possible became the first goal of the abler bishops and lay lords.
Throughout these years the crown, the churches, and the lay lords had to enfeoff more and more ministeriales in order to raise mounted warriors for their forces.
In the 11th century bishops and abbots conducted the affairs of the Reich much more than the lay lords, even in war.
Priests, including bishops and abbots, who accepted their dignities from lay lords and emperors at a price, according to the reformers, committed the sin of simony (the buying and selling of church office).
Not only the king but also the German bishops and lay lords thus entered into a permanent connection with an empire won on the way to Rome and bestowed by the papacy.
Following papal bans against lay lords investing churchmen with their lands and against churchmen rendering homage to laymen, Anselm refused to consecrate bishops whom Henry had invested and declined to do homage to Henry himself.
This would have brought their tribes under German control and exploitation in the long run, but the ruthless methods of the Saxon lay lords led to a rebellion that forced Otto to scale back his plans.
Louis IV d'Outremer granted coinage rights to the archbishop of Reims as early as 850, and the system was swiftly developed in the 10th century, concessions being made to a large number of ecclesiastical foundations and even in a few cases to lay lords as well.
He took steps to return the expenses incurred by his nephews in their combat with Frederick II, distributed the bishoprics of England and the East to cousins, and supported the creation of a strong family estate at the foot of the Ligurian Apennines, provoking opposition from bishops and lay lords in that area.
In the wake of conquest, bishops in both Tortosa and Lleida often negotiated with lay lords who seized tithes on their lands in order to found and foster parishes.
