The Power of the Church
Chapter 13, Section 4
Far-Reaching Authority of the Church

The Structure of the Church
◦ Power within the Church is organized by
status; the pope is the supreme authority
◦ Clergy--religious officials—includes bishops,
priests, and others
◦ Bishops supervise priests and settle Church
disputes
Church Structure
Pope
Bishops
Priests
Rise of Religious Importance
• Feudalism
and the
Manor
System
created
division
among
people.
• Political
turmoil and
warfare
• Church
teachings
bonded
people
together.
• Church
provided a
sense of
security that
gave people a
sense of
belonging.
• Middle Ages
was also
known as the
Age of Faith.
•Religion took
center stage.
Far-Reaching Authority of the Church

Religion as a Unifying Force
◦ Religion is important in the Middle Ages;
shared beliefs bond people
◦ Clergy administers the sacraments—rites to
achieve salvation
◦ Village church is a place of worship and
celebration
Sacraments – important religious ceremonies (rites) in the Church.
The Sacraments were meant to follow a person’s life from beginning to end.
Baptism – initiation rite into the Christian community.
Confirmation – people of their own will acknowledge
their belief.
Holy Communion - a meal of bread and wine that
(Eucharist)
Christians share in remembrance
of Jesus’ last meal.
Marriage – ceremony blessing the union of a couple
Ordination – ceremony to initiate new priests into the
priesthood
Penance / Confession – repenting of sins;
(Reconciliation)
asking of forgiveness
Last Rites – prayer service priest provides the dying
or over the dead.
Sacraments in Western Christianity
Roman Catholic
Baptism
Confirmation
Holy Communion
Reconciliation
(confession)
Anointing of the Sick
Matrimony
Holy Orders
Protestant
Baptism
The Lord’s Supper
(Holy Communion)
Far-Reaching Authority of the Church

The Law of the Church
◦ The Church has a system of justice to guide people’s
conduct
◦ All medieval Christians expected to obey canon
law—Church law
◦ Canon law governs marriages and religious practices
◦ Popes have power over political leaders through
threat of:
 Excommunication—banishment from Church, denial of
salvation
 Interdiction—king’s subjects denied sacraments and services
◦ Kings and emperors were expected to obey pope’s
commands.
CH 13 Sec. 4, “Church Justice”
canon law – the laws of the Church.
Church courts tried people
for breaking canon law / heresy.
Two types of punishment:
Of an individual = Excommunication
Of a community / region = Interdict
Popes often used the “threat”
of these two types of punishment
to force kings into obedience.
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
The Church and the Holy Roman Empire

Otto I Allies with the Church
◦ Otto I (Otto the Great) is crowned king of
Germany in 936
◦ Limits strength of nobles with help of clergy
◦ Gains support of bishops and abbots (heads
of monasteries)
◦ Invades Italy on pope’s behalf; pope crowns
him emperor in 962
The Church and the Holy Roman Empire

Signs of Future
Conflicts
◦ Otto’s German-Italian
lands become Holy
Roman Empire
◦ Holy Roman Empire is
the strongest
European power until
about 1100
The Emperor Clashes with the Pope

Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII
◦ Pope Gregory VII bans lay investiture—kings
appointing Church officials
◦ Henry IV orders pope to resign; Gregory VII
excommunicates Henry
Showdown at Canossa
◦ Henry goes to
Canossa, Italy, to
beg Gregory
forgiveness (see
primary source)
◦ Gregory forgives
Henry, buy lay
investiture
problem is not
solved
CH 13 Sec. 4, “H.R.E. Clashes with the Pope
One of the things Popes began to resent most was kings who
Remember:
exercised power over clergy and their church offices.
The main focus of
Lay investiture –
Kings are
considered
this resentment was the practice known as “Lay” –
they are not
a ceremony in which kings appointed
ordained
church officials within their own kingdom. “Clergy”
CAUSES
Pope Gregory VII
resents the power
that emperors have
over the church
clergy.
ACTIONS
2. Pope Gregory bans
lay investiture
OUTCOMES
H.R.E. Henry IV calls a
meeting of bishops in
the H.R.E. and orders
Pope Gregory to step
down from the papacy.
The Showdown at Canossa
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
The Emperor Clashes with the Pope

Concordat of Worms
◦ Concordat of Worms is 1122 compromise
win Worms, Germany
◦ Compromise: pope appoints bishops, emperor
can veto appointment
CH 13 Sec. 4, “H.R.E. Clashes with the Pope”
CAUSES
ACTIONS
OUTCOMES
Pope Gregory
3. Henry IV travels
Henry is forgiven by the
excommunicates
to Canossa.
pope, returns home,
H.R.E. Henry IV;
and then punishes his
German bishops &
German nobles for
princes side with the
siding with the pope.
pope (fearing an
interdict);
Henry must seek the
Pope’s forgiveness.
The Concordat of Worms is signed in 1122.
The issue of lay
investiture would remain
undecided for another
century.
4. Representatives
of Church and the
emperor meet in
Worms.
Compromise is reached:
Only the pope could now
promote priests to be
bishops in any kingdom;
but the emperor would be
given veto power over any
selection he didn’t like.
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
This is an illustration of
the concept of “lay
investiture.”
In this picture a king from
the Middle Ages is
handing a bishop his
“shepherd’s crook” a
symbol of the office of
bishop.
The Catholic Church
insisted that bishops
were chosen by the
Pope, not by kings.
Disorder in the Empire

The Reign of Frederick I
◦ In 1152, Frederick I becomes king; dominates
German princes
◦ Disorder breaks out whenever he leaves
Germany
◦ Frederick invades Italy, meets defeat at
Legnano in 1176
◦ Empire collapses after Frederick’s death in
1190
Disorder in the Empire

German State’s Remain Separate
◦ German kings after Frederick try to revive
empire
◦ German princes, who elect kings, prefer to
keep them weak
Primary Source

“There, having laid aside all the belongings of
royalty, wretchedly, with bare feet and clad in
wool, he [Henry IV] continued for three days to
stand before the gate of the castle. Nor did he
desist from imploring with many tears the aid
and consolation of the apostolic mercy until he
had moved all of those who were present
there.”
POPE GREGORY, in Basic Documents in
Medieval History