The Medićval Church

The Papacy at its Height

In 1073, Hildebrand was crowned as Pope Gregory VII. He was determined that the Church, and in particular the Pope, should have complete power in all Christian countries. This included power over kings and princes as well as over Church and Clergy. Shortly before Hildebrand became Pope, the system for electing a new Pope had been changed. Previously the popes were selected by a committee which included both churchmen and high ranking laymen including the German emperor. Now they were to be elected by the college of Cardinals - the same method of election as is used today. Hildebrand had played his part in this change of system, believing that it was wrong for emperors and other laymen to choose God's servants.

There were certain practices within the Church at that time which Gregory saw as abuses - which, indeed, they were. He saw the marriage of the clergy as a problem because, through it, priesthood was becoming hereditary. He rightly abhored simony, which is the buying of spiritual power. He rightly believed that it was wrong for secular princes to invest priests and bishops with spiritual authority.

He was soon able to ban the marriage of clergy, which was already generally frowned upon. He had some success in his fight against simony. The investiture problem, though, was a different matter entirely. In this respect he was not battling against priests or even wealthy families, he was arrayed against the most powerful world leaders, including the emperor himself.

Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV fought this endless battle against each other with now one and then the other achieving temporary victory.

Themes in the Medićval Church

The period from 1073 until the early 16 ^th century was, perhaps, the height of the Catholic era. Unlike previous times it is difficult to work through century by century. This whole period is better studied thematically. The themes that will need to be covered are: