UNIDAD EDUCATIVA PARTICULAR “SAN JOSÉ DE CALASANZ”

Name:………………………………………………………………… Date: ……….

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Grade: 1ro bachillerato Subject: History and Social Sciences

PART III: LEGACY OF THE MIDDLE AGES

The Power of the Church
Amid the weak central governments in feudal Europe, the Church emerged as a
powerful institution. It shaped the lives of people from all social classes. As the
Church expanded its political role, strong rulers began to question the pope’s
authority. Dramatic power struggles unfolded in the Holy Roman Empire, the scene of
mounting tensions between popes and emperors.
The Structure of the Church
Like the system of feudalism, the Church had its own organization. Power was based
on status. Church structure consisted of different ranks of clergy, or religious officials.
The pope in Rome headed the Church. All clergy, including bishops and priests, fell
under his authority. Bishops supervised priests, the lowest ranking members of the
clergy. Bishops also settled disputes over Church teachings and practices. For most
people, local priests served as the main contact with the Church.
Religion as a Unifying Force
Feudalism and the manor system created divisions among people. But the shared
beliefs in the teachings of the Church bonded people together. The church was a stable
force during an era of constant warfare and political turmoil. It provided Christians
with a sense of security and of belonging to a religious community. In the Middle
Ages, religion occupied center stage.
The Law of the Church
The Church’s authority was both religious and political. It provided a unifying set of
spiritual beliefs and rituals. The Church also created a system of justice to guide
people’s conduct. All medieval Christians, kings and peasants alike, were subject to
canon law, or Church law, in matters such as marriage and religious practices. The
Church also established courts to try people accused of violating canon law. Two of
the harshest punishments that offenders faced were excommunication and interdict.
Popes used the threat of excommunication, or banishment from the Church, to wield
power over political rulers. For example, a disobedient king’s quarrel with a pope
might result in excommunication. This meant the king would be denied salvation.
Excommunication also freed all the king’s vassals from their duties to him. If an
excommunicated kingcontinued to disobey the pope, the pope, in turn, could usean
even more frightening weapon, the interdict.
Under an interdict, many sacraments and religious services could not be performed in
the king’s lands. As Christians, the king’s subjects believed that without such
sacraments they might be doomed to hell. In the 11th century, excommunication and
the possible threat of an interdict would force a German emperor to submit to the
pope’s commands.
The Church and the Holy Roman Empire
When Pope Leo III crowned
Charlemagne emperor in 800, he
unknowingly set the stage for future
conflicts between popes and emperors.
These clashes would go on for
centuries.
Otto I Allies with the Church
The most effective ruler of medieval
Germany was Otto I, known as Otto
the Great. Otto, crowned king in 936,
followed the policies of his hero,
Charlemagne. Otto formed a close
alliance with the Church. To limit the
nobles’ strength, he sought help from
the clergy. He built up his power base by gaining the support of the bishops and
abbots, the heads of monasteries. He dominated the Church in Germany. He also used
his power to defeat German princes. Following in Charlemagne’s footsteps, Otto also
invaded Italy on the pope’s behalf. In 962, the pope rewarded Otto by crowning him
emperor.
Signs of Future Conflicts
The German-Italian empire Otto created was first called the Roman Empire of the
German Nation. It later became the Holy Roman Empire. It remained the strongest
state in Europe until about 1100. However,Otto’s attempt to revive Charlemagne’s
empire caused trouble for future German leaders. Popes and Italian nobles, too,
resented German power over Italy.
The Emperor Clashes with the Pope
The Church was not happy that kings, such as Otto, had control over clergy and their
offices. It especially resented the practice of lay investiture, a ceremony in which
kings and nobles appointed church officials. Whoever controlled lay investiture held
the real power in naming bishops, who were very influential clergy that kings sought
to control. Church reformers felt that kings should not have that power. In 1075, Pope
Gregory VII banned lay investiture.
The furious young German emperor, Henry IV, immediately called a meeting of the
German bishops he had appointed. With their approval, the emperor ordered Gregory
to step down from the papacy. Gregory then excommunicated Henry. Afterward,
German bishops and princes sided with the pope. To save his throne, Henry tried to
win the pope’s forgiveness.
The Pope was obligated to forgive any sinner who begged so humbly. Still, Gregory
kept Henry waiting in the snow for three days before ending his excommunication.
Their meeting actually solved nothing. The pope had humiliated Henry, the proudest
ruler in Europe. Yet, Henry felt triumphant and rushed home to punish rebellious
nobles.
Concordat of Worms
The successors of Gregory and Henry continued to fight over lay investiture until
1122. That year, representatives of the Church and the emperor met in the German city
of Worms (wurms). They reached a compromise known as the Concordat of Worms.
By its terms, the Church alone couldappoint a bishop, but the emperor could veto the
appointment. During Henry’s struggle, German princes regained power lost under
Otto. But a later king, Frederick I, would resume the battle to build royal authority.
Disorder in the Empire
By 1152, the seven princes who elected the German king realized that Germany
needed a strong ruler to keep the peace. They chose Frederick I, nicknamed
“Barbarossa” for his red beard.
The Reign of Frederick I
Frederick I was the first ruler to call his lands the Holy Roman Empire. However, this
region was actually a patchwork of feudal territories. His forceful personality and
military skills enabled him to dominate the German princes. Yet, whenever he left the
country, disorder returned. Following Otto’s example, Frederick repeatedly invaded
the rich cities of Italy. His brutal tactics spurred Italian merchants to unite against him.
He also angered the pope, who joined the merchants in an alliance called the Lombard
League.
In 1176, the foot soldiers of the Lombard League faced Frederick’s army of mounted
knights at the Battle of Legnano. In an astonishing victory, the Italian foot soldiers
used crossbows to defeat feudal knights for the first time in history. In 1177, Frederick
made peace with the pope and returned to Germany. His defeat, though, had
undermined his authority with the German princes. After he drowned in 1190, his
empire fell to pieces.
German States Remain Separate
German kings after Frederick, including his grandson Frederick II, continued their
attempts to revive Charlemagne’s empire and his alliance with the Church. This policy
led to wars with Italian cities and to further clashes with the pope. These conflicts
were one reason why the feudal states of Germany did not unify during the Middle
Ages. Another reason was that the system of German princes electing the king
weakened royal authority. German rulers controlled fewer royal lands to use as a base
of power than French and English kings of the same period, who, as you will learn in
Chapter 14, were establishing strong central authority.

UNIDAD EDUCATIVA PARTICULAR “SAN JOSÉ DE CALASANZ”

Name:………………………………………………………………… Date: ……….…………………………….
Grade: 1ro bachillerato Subject: History and Social Sciences
PART III: LEGACY OF THE MIDDLE AGES WORKSHEET
#5

1. Which of the events werepower struggles between the Church and rulers?
Explain.

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2. What were some of the matterscovered by canon law?

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3. How did Otto the Great make the crown stronger than the German nobles?
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4. Why did lay investiture cause astruggle between kings and popes?
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5. Why didmedieval peasants support the Church?

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6. Define.
Holy Roman
Empire:________________________________________________
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lay investiture: ________________________________________________
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 Canon law: ________________________________________________
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clergy: _____________________________________________________
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sacrament: _____________________________________________________
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7. Was the Concordat of Worms a fair compromise for both the emperor and the
Church? Why or why not?
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8. Why did German kings fail to unite their lands?

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HOMEWORK:
Research the ruling structure of the modern Roman Catholic Church and then create a
chart showing the structure, or hierarchy.