Popes & Kings

Learning Goal

• Students will…– Analyze the growing power of Medieval Popes

and their use of excommunication

A. The Pope

• The Pope is the traditional leader of the Catholic (“Universal”) Church, which was the only group of Christians in Europe in the Middle Ages.

• The Pope lives in Rome, in a place called the Vatican City (sort of like the Forbidden City in China)

• Since most people could not read—and did not own a Bible—the Pope was regarded as the ultimate authority on Religious matters.

• From time to time, the Pope would write a letter, called a Papal Bull, which explained a religious teaching or new Church policy.

B. The Papacy• The Papacy—the position

(“office”) of the Pope—also had Political power.

• If the Pope felt someone was working against the Church (either in a Religious or Political way), he could punish the person.

• The worst punishment was called Excommunication.

• If the Pope excommunicated someone, that person was kicked out of the Church. This means:

• Their marriage was made invalid

• Their children were made illegitimate

• They could not be buried in the Church cemetery

• They would not go to heaven when they died.

• One part of Europe that refused to respect the authority of the Pope was the Byzantine Empire—especially in Constantinople.

• Here, the Byzantine Emperor was the head of the Orthodox Church.

• In 1054AD, Pope Leo IX decided to excommunicate the Bishop of Constantinople, causing a permanent split in the Church.

• Christians who respected the authority of the Pope were called Roman Catholics.

• Even Kings could be excommunicated, so everyone had to respect the Pope’s power, especially after Charlemagne was crowned by the Pope.

• Many Popes were humble men trying to live like Jesus, but others were power-hungry, and this brought them into conflict with the Kings of Europe.

C. Kings of Europe

• In 1000AD, there were many small kingdoms in Europe, of which England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire (Germany) were the strongest.

• Muslims still ruled Spain.

• The main conflict occurred over who had the power to appoint Church leaders, called Bishops.

• Some Kings believed that, in their own Kingdoms, they should be able to choose their Bishops—the Pope disagreed.

D. Pope Gregory VII

• In 1073, a new Pope named Gregory VII came into conflict with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV about a Bishop.

• Henry tried to have the Bishops revolt against the Pope and replace him, but instead, Pope Gregory excommunicated the Holy Roman Emperor.

• Desperate to remain Emperor, Henry traveled to Rome to beg forgiveness.

• The Pope made the Holy Roman Emperor stand barefoot in the snow for three days before forgiving him.

• This showed that the Pope was more powerful than earthly Emperors.