The extent to which the papacy asserted dominance over the Western Church has been greatly disputed amongst historians. Certain historians would argue that there is little to suggest that the pope had control from inside other than papal reform to prevent unrest and, would argue that in fact the real conflict was between him and individual states and that he had to deal with multiple reforms and claims that failed. However, there are Historians who would suggest that, in fact, the papacy was successful in asserting its authority over the Western Church due to the religious significance of the Pope’s position which on occasions caused individual kings to submit to his power. Furthermore, it can be argued that although the Pope was the figure head of the Church and had power, he had to rely on the support and co-operation of Kings if he was to be able to keep control over the Western Church and therefore it could be said that he was not as dominant as one would think.…
The oldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, Charlemagne became king in 768 following the death of his father. He was initially co-ruler with his brother Carloman I. Carloman's sudden death in 771 under unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the undisputed ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. Charlemagne continued his father's policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy, and leading an incursion into Muslim Spain. He also campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianizing them upon penalty of death, leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden. Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas…
The first to be crowned by the pope as Holy Roman Emperor, of Medieval Europe, was Otto I. His descendant, Otto III, was also appointed as the Holy Roman Emperor. With the Christian pope’s blessing already given with their new found title, the Holy Roman Emperor had an abundance of power. Otto III appointed his own pope. This wasn’t a new concept though. Lords of estates had been appointing clergy into monasteries and churches long before then. By appointing clergy, the Holy Roman Emperor undermined the religious authority of the church, making the new pope and its papacy loyal to him. The only way to maintain some power and religious authority was through excommunication & simony.…
During the Middle Ages the struggle of power between the monarchy and the church was an ongoing battle from the time of Charlemagne until the time of the Renaissance. I believe the Pope or high up church officials had more power over the king and in the eyes of the people.…
John XXIII was 76 years old when he came to the papal throne, and his age. Inevitably his reign was brief, but in terms of its significance and its effects upon religious and world history it was perhaps the most important pontificate since the middle Ages.…
“From this account and from his work a remarkably vivid picture can be formed of a dignified, majestic figure, striving to make the transition from warlord to ruler of a great Christian empire, and having remarkable success” (Roberts). Soon after his death, Charlemagne’s empire collapsed. However, he left in place a structure that allowed Christianity to flourish in Europe. Charlemagne’s empire cemented Christianity as the dominant religion in Europe because of his efforts in forming a strong alliance between the church and government, his success in teaching through the scriptures, and his military success in conquering and converting pagan territories. Charlemagne’s alliance between the church and state ingrained and spread Christianity by creating a lasting political structure which involved both counts and bishops. These alliances also legitimized the Pope’s position. Additionally, Charlemagne provided the church with land, which gave it power. Furthermore, Charlemagne combined education with learning Christianity by creating a center of learning where priests would read and teach the Holy Scriptures. These educated bishops and priests were appointed to key positions throughout the empire. During his rule, Charlemagne’s military campaigns helped spread Christianity by forcing people to obey the Christian Church and by eliminating any competition the church had at that time.…
It is important however to remember that the pope had never had much direct political power in England. He had no army and no proper tax base therefore he could not invade except through an alliance with secular allies. Indeed he blocked Henry 's dispensation to divorce Catherine of Aragon, but a king who was less worried about his soul and his wife’s nephew, the emperor, invading would probably just have ignored his commands. The king had also always had lots of power over the church. Political partnerships between kings, their bishops and abbots had always been a feature of the church, and this war true throughout the period 1485-1529. Henry VII enjoyed a very close relationship with the church through Cardinal John Morton, who was not only Archbishop of Canterbury but enjoyed secular power too as Lord Chancellor. Bishop Richard Foxe was also important to Henry Tudor and these senior figures of the clergy helped Henry develop his tax policies, while at the same time, Benefit of Clergy and other privileges of the church were untouched by the king. This close relationship between church and crown continued for the first twenty years of Henry CIII’s reign, as demonstrated by his long reliance and trust for Cardinal…
After the fall of Rome, no single state or government united the people who lived on the European continent. Instead, the Catholic Church became the most powerful influence of the medieval period. Kings, queens…
Inversely, the effects seen on religious groups and cities allow for the change into to current state of the Christian Church, Islamic religion, and the Holy Land itself. Impacted by the Crusades, the Christian Catholic Church witnessed the temporary power of the papacy and wealth of the Church, while allowing unbiblical doctrines to seep into practices of the Church. As the need and interest for the Crusades grew, likewise, the head of command for the Crusade, the papacy also grew in power. Looked up to by the peasants and volunteers for the holy war cause, as Bollinger notes, “they [the papacy] were able to extend their powers in both secular and sacred matters” (200). Similar to years before with the European kings, the papacy readily went…
After the fall of Rome a man named Charlemagne tried to build back the empire. At the end of his life raids of people Scandinavia called Vikings started to come in and raid. This made the holy roman empire think of new ways to defend and try to keep the vikings out. These hit and run raids helped shift power to nobles and away from kings.…
They were believed as the “mediators” between God and men. They were the group below the nobles on the hierarchical social structure. Within the group of clegry, the pope was the head of the clegry. Followed by bishops, priests, monks and nuns. In the latter part of the the Middle Ages, the pope, being the head of the church had much influence over the king and total control of the clegry. When the Black Death hit Europe in 1347, priest, monks and nuns cared for the sick and buried the dead. In Venice, priest remained to give what ministrations they could. After the year 1350, the German clegry suffered a severe decline in personnel. With the ablest killed off, the German church fell in hands of the weak and incompetent. In 1409, Europe have three popes- Urban VI (1378-1389), Clement VII (1378-1394) and Martin V (1417-1431). Once Urban VI was elected as pope in 1378, he worked in a tactless and bullheaded manner. Urban’s actions lead to cardinals to elect a second pope, Clement VII, cousin of King Charles V of France. Thus, began the Great Schism, which divided Western Christendom until 1417. The third pope, Martin V, was elected to began the conciliar movement which goals were- to end the schism, to reform the church and to wipe out…
Bishop Burchard of Wurzburg and the chaplain Fulrad approached Pope Zacharias and questioned whether the Frankish kings should possess royal power. Pepin was then commanded by virtue of Pope Zacharias' apostolic authority to be made king of the Franks in the city of Soissons.…
The Church was extremely respected making them more powerful than the kings. The Pope and bishops were thought to be close to…
476 - The fall of the Roman Empire. Rome had ruled much of Europe. Now much of the land would fall into confusion as local kings and rulers tried to grab power. This is the start of the Dark Ages or the Middle Ages.…
Pepin the Short, or Pepin III, started off as a Mayor of the Palace in the Frankish Kingdom, however seeing that the real king, Childeric III, was unfit to rule, Pepin forced him off the throne. In order to gain the title of King of the Franks, Pepin made a deal with Pope Stephen II that if he attacked the Lombards and forced them to abandon Ravenna, he would receive papal approval of this new title of king. In doing so, Pepin gave a portion of the conquered land to the pope, known as The Donation of Pepin. As a result, the new alliance between the pope and the Franks marked the end of the papal dependence upon the…