Pope Gregory Vii and Pope Innocent Iii: a Comparative Study

The first letter we will consider is dated 27 September 591, one year after Gregory assumed his post as the Pope. Gregory is writing to Velox, a junior military commander of the Roman army united against the Duke of Spoleto, Ariulf. The conflict Gregory is involved in is the struggle between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Lombard Kingdom, a Germanic race originated from Sweden that controlled much of present day Italy, for a strip of land called Via Flaminia that separated Ravenna from Rome. The purpose of the first half of the letter is for Gregory to explain that he has not yet sent any promised troops for help because Velox’s last letter indicated that they might be needed “here also”, which supposedly means in Gregory’s own lands. In the second half of the letter Gregory promises to send some troops and encourages Velox to instruct them to fight well. He then gives some strategic

2. Pope Gregory XI brought the papacy back to Rome in 1377, but then Urban VI alienated

During the late 14th century and the early 15th century there was a great division in the Catholic Church. The Papacy was becoming blurred. The center of the Roman Catholic Church had been moved from Rome to the city of Avignon during the reign of Pope Clement V; and there was now a movement to return the center of power back to Rome. This movement was first truly seen under Pope Gregory XI and his successor Pope Urban VI. Earlier Pope Urban V had moved the center to Rome but it had been proven to be no more than a temporary idea; he had gone back to Avignon to die and there his replacement, Pope Gregory XI was elected . This along with other political problems and circumstances created a split in the loyalty among

He proclaimed a jubilee year, in which thousands of pilgrims came to Rome, leaving massive amounts of money behind. Then the papacy began to unravel; Pope Boniface VIII excommunicated Philip IV, King of France, who in turn kidnapped the Pope and held him hostage. As a result of his captivity, Pope Boniface VIII died miserably. His successor, Benedict XI, lived for only a short while, and after his death the papal election was deadlocked. The College of the Cardinals finally elected Clement V, a Frenchman, as pope. He then moved to Avignon, which was essentially in France. Seven successive popes ruled out of Avignon; their reigns lasting almost 70 years. Pope Gregory XI then moved to Rome, ending the Avignon papacy. The College of Cardinals then selected Pope Urban VI as pope, but then they regretted it and elected another pope, Pope Clement VII, who moved back to Avignon. The rival popes and their successors continued to rule separately until Pope Martin V was elected by an ecunemiel council. The events of the 14th century weakened the papacy, and some started to see its hypocrisy. The stage was set for an attack on papal power, but not merely its temporal power, as before. The spiritual authority of the Pope as the Vicar of Christ, was about to be under

How did the kings attack the church in this period? Contrast these events with ones in earlier ones in which the pope dominated rulers.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

Pope Boniface VIII and King Phillip IV of France were leaders of a large conflict during the middle ages. The issues between church and state were very prominent. Both authoritative figures believed that the other was asserting too much power. Boniface passed his final papal bull, Unam Sanctam, in 1302 which would led to the end of the dispute.

In 1095, Emperor Alexius I Comnenus appealed to Pope Urban II for help in defending the Byzantine Empire. The Pope eager to secure his

The Holy Roman Empire was an empire in central Europe consisting of many territories and ethnicities. Once very powerful, the empire’s authority slowly decreased over centuries and by the Middle Ages the emperor was little more than a figurehead, allowing princes to govern smaller sections of the empire. Though the various ruling princes owed loyalty to the emperor, they were also granted a degree of independence and privileges. The emperor, an elected monarch, needed the allegiance of the princes and other aristocracy to support him, in turn giving them power or money. This tenuous allegiance between powers was greatly strained in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as religious reform dominated Europe and religious tensions

Hundreds of clergy and representatives of many of the great leaders of Europe answered Innocent III's summons and attended the Fourth Lateran Council . Innocent put to work his knowledge of law to begin implementing changes that would shape Europe from then on. Canon 13 produced at the great council states that "we strictly forbid anyone in the future to found a new order, but whoever should wish to enter an order, let him choose one already approved." Unlike the great emperors of Rome, who had continuously looked farther and hungered for more which had eventually led them to being unable to control and maintain that which their greed had brought them. Innocent and the council believed it would be better for the church to solidify the holdings that

Since Berthold beyond a doubt wrote this right after it occurred he would not have been aware of the papal election decree of 1059, therefore he would have considered Honorius II the real pope as elected by Henry IV. Therefore, when Berthold records the event he doesn’t regard Bishop Anselm as the real pope, accusing him of illegally taking control of the papacy. This account of the papal schism would therefore lean towards the favor of Henry IV. In Berthold’s second version of the account he changes his opinion, “Bishop Cadalus of Parma was elected pope by an act of simony, since many bribes were given to certain persons”. Berthold directly links the appointment of Cadalus by Henry IV to the act of simony. Simony was something not even mentioned

The decline of church power became even more apparent during the Babylonian Captivity (1309-1376). Pope Clement V’s agreement on King Philip’s request of settlement in Avignon in southwestern France first signified the Pope’s leadership and authority had been weakened. Furthermore, after Gregory XI’s death, Urban VI (1378-1389) had been planning on church reform, but his endorsement of opposition among the hierarchy had triggered a serious of disaster. As a result, Cardinal Robert of Geneva was elected to be Pope and took the name Clement VII. The situation became two popes in office: Urban at Rome and the anti-pope Clement VII at Avignon, hence marked the beginning of the Great Schism. France immediately recognized the antipope Clement while Aragon, Castile and Portugal follow suit. For England, they recognized Urban VI and the

A pope is elected to lead a generation. This means that their whole lives they are serving christ. This means to be elected you must either be elected after the pope has resigned, such as Pope Benedict XVI was the first ever to resign since Pope Gregory XII. The more traditional way to be elected is when the current Pope dies. The first step in becoming the Pope, is cardinals. The primary role of the cardinals is to elect a new pope when the existing pope retires or dies. When a new pope must be elected, cardinals from around the globe gather in the Vatican City to elect “The Bishop of Rome” or commonly known as the “Pope”. So when the cardinals gather they must elect a new Pope. This tradition is believed to date back all the way to the 14th

During the period in Europe commonly known as The Middle Ages, economic reforms took place, as well as social, political, and religious changes. One common theme throughout The Middle Ages was the relationship between the Church and the State. The Catholic church during this era held a prominent role in society, and it had an abundant amount of power and authority. The Catholic Church exercised its authority in many different stages, and the people responded to the way that the Church exercised her power. Bernard Guenee in The Lives of Four French Prelates In the Late Middle Ages reflects on this controversy between church and state power throughout the Middle Ages by focusing on the lives of four distinguished French church authorities: Bernard Gui (1261-1331), Gilles Le Muisit (1272-1353), Pierre D 'Ailly (1351-1420), and Thomas Basin (1412-1490), all of whom rose from modest circumstances to the dignity of office. Guenee argues that the ambition these men displayed may be considered honorable to some, but he sees their advancement in the Church and their participation in the state as counteractive. He fails to distinguish between the good and immoral sides of ambition as a virtue and claims the cause of the separation between the church and the state comes down to an inevitable fight for the acquisition of higher power. His position only deals with the practicalities of the situation, and is

St. Gregory’s use of lofty diction is apparent when he describes their mother’s character. By using lofty diction such as “extremely virtuous,” “exceptionally pure,” and “spotless,” it is obvious St. Gregory holds his mother in high esteem, even though she was not a handmaid for the church like Macrina (77). Moreover, if these are the words he chooses when describing his mother, we can see why his word choice is also lofty for Macrina, who held the respected position of Superior later in her life. Nonetheless, due to Macrina’s mother being a model of Christianity,