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Ch. 10 The Late Middle Ages
I. Popes & Kings
Learning Goal
• Analyze the power of Catholic Popes and
European Kings in Medieval Europe
• Analyze the power of excommunication in
Medieval Europe
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 powerhungry, 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.