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Church and state in medieval Europe was therelationship between theCatholic Church and the variousmonarchies and other states inEurope during theMiddle Ages (between theend of Roman authority in the West in the fifth century totheir end in the East in the fifteenth century and the beginning of theModern era).
Church gradually became a defining institution of the Roman Empire.[1]Emperor Constantine issued theEdict of Milan in 313 proclaiming toleration for the Christian religion and summoned theFirst Council of Nicaea in 325 whoseNicene Creed included belief in "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church".Emperor Theodosius I madeNicene Christianity thestate church of the Roman Empire with theEdict of Thessalonica of 380.[2]
Pope Leo the Great defined the role of the state as being a defender of the church's cause and a suppressor of heresies in a letter to theEastern Roman Emperor Leo I: "You ought unhesitatingly to recognize that the Royal Power has been conferred to you not only for the Rule of the world, but especially for the defense of the Church, so that by suppressing the heinous undertakings you may defend those Statutes which are good and restore True Peace to those things which have been disordered".[3]
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, there emerged no single powerful secular government in the West. There was however a central ecclesiastical power in Rome, the Catholic Church. In this power vacuum, the church rose to become the dominant power in theWest. The church started expanding in the 10th century, and as secular kingdoms gained power at the same time, there naturally arose the conditions for a power struggle between church and state over ultimate authority.
The earliest vision of Christendom was a vision of aChristian theocracy, a government founded upon and upholdingChristian doctrine, whose institutions upholdChristian values. In this period, members of theChristian clergy wieldpolitical authority. The specific relationship between thepolitical leaders and the clergy varied but, in theory, the national and political divisions were at times subsumed under the leadership of theCatholic Church as an institution. This model of Church–State relations was accepted by various Church leaders and political leaders in European history.[4]
The classical heritage flourished throughout the Middle Ages in both the Byzantine Greek East and the Latin West. In the Greek philosopher Plato's ideal state there are three major classes, which was representative of the idea of the "tripartite soul", which is expressive of three functions or capacities of the human soul: "reason", "the spirited element", and "appetites" (or "passions").Will Durant made a case that certain prominent features of Plato'sideal community were discernible in the organization, dogma and effectiveness of "the" Medieval Church in Europe:[5]
... For a thousand years Europe was ruled by an order of guardians considerably like that which was visioned by our philosopher. During the Middle Ages it was customary to classify the population of Christendom into laboratores (workers), bellatores (soldiers), and oratores (clergy). The last group, though small in number, monopolized the instruments and opportunities of culture, and ruled with almost unlimited sway half of the most powerful continent on the globe. The clergy, like Plato's guardians, were placed in authority... by their talent as shown in ecclesiastical studies and administration, by their disposition to a life of meditation and simplicity, and ... by the influence of their relatives with the powers of state and church. In the latter half of the period in which they ruled [800 AD onwards], the clergy were as free from family cares as even Plato could desire [for such guardians]... [Clerical] Celibacy was part of the psychological structure of the power of the clergy; for on the one hand they were unimpeded by the narrowing egoism of the family, and on the other their apparent superiority to the call of the flesh added to the awe in which lay sinners held them.... In the latter half of the period in which they ruled, the clergy were as free from family cares as even Plato could desire.[5]
TheCatholic Church's peak of authority over all European Christians and their common endeavours of the Christian community — for example, theCrusades, the fight against theMoors in theIberian Peninsula and against theOttomans in theBalkans — helped to develop a sense of communal identity against the obstacle of Europe's deep political divisions. This authority was also used by localInquisitions to root out divergent elements and create a religiously uniform community.
The conflict between Church and state was in many ways a uniquely Western phenomenon originating inLate Antiquity (seeSaint Augustine'sCity of God (417)). ThePapal States inItaly, today downsized to theState of Vatican, were ruled directly by theHoly See. Moreover, throughout the Middle Ages thePope claimed the right todepose the Catholic kings of Western Europe, and tried to exercise it, sometimes successfully (see the investiture controversy, below), sometimes not, as withHenry VIII of England andHenry III ofNavarre.[6] However, in theEastern Roman Empire, also known as theByzantine Empire,Church and state were closely linked and collaborated in a "symphony", with some exceptions (seeIconoclasm).
Before the Age ofAbsolutism, institutions, such as the Church, legislatures, or social elites,[7] restrained monarchical power. Absolutism was characterized by the ending of feudal partitioning, consolidation of power with the monarch, rise of the state, rise of professional standing armies, creation of professional bureaucracies, codification of state laws, and the rise of ideologies that justify the absolutist monarchy. Hence, absolutism was made possible by new innovations and characterized as a phenomenon ofEarly Modern Europe, rather than that of the Middle Ages, where the clergy and nobility counterbalanced as a result of mutual rivalry.
When theHoly Roman Empire developed as a force from the tenth century, it was the first real non-barbarian challenge to the authority of the Church. A dispute between the secular and ecclesiastical powers emerged known as theInvestiture Controversy, beginning in the mid-eleventh century and was resolved with theConcordat of Worms in 1122. While on the surface it was over a matter of official procedures regarding the appointments of offices, underneath was a powerful struggle for control over who held ultimate authority, the King or the Pope.
Pope Boniface VIII put some of the strongest claims to temporal as well as spiritual supremacy of any Pope and intervened incessantly in foreign affairs. He proclaimed that it "is necessary for salvation that every living creature be under submission to the Roman pontiff", pushing Papal Supremacy to its historical extreme. Boniface's quarrel withPhilip the Fair became so resentful that he excommunicated him in 1303. However, before the Pope could lay France under an interdict, Boniface was seized by Philip. Although he was released from captivity after three days, he died of shock one month later. No subsequent popes were to repeat Boniface VIII's claims.
Although initially close toKing Henry II, as Archbishop of CanterburyThomas Becket became an independent figure. King Henry devoted his reign to the restoration of the royal customs of his grandfatherKing Henry I, as part of this he wanted to extend his authority over the Church and limit its freedoms. TheBecket dispute revolved around theConstitutions of Clarendon, a document which Becket and thePope largely condemned. Becket eventually fled England and went into exile in France; during these six years there were a number of attempts at restoring peace. The fourth meeting at Fréteval ended in an agreement and Becket decided to return to Canterbury. However the King reneged on his promises made at Fréteval and in response Becket produced a number of censures on royal officials and clergymen. Four barons of the King sought to gain the King's favour and therefore proceeded toCanterbury Cathedral to confront Becket; some claim that they intended to scare and possibly arrest Becket rather than to kill him. Nonetheless after a heated argument the four barons murdered Becket on the steps of the altar in Canterbury Cathedral. The King publicly expressed remorse for this killing, but took no action to arrest Becket's killers. He attended Canterbury in sackcloth and ashes as an act of public penance. Later in 1174 he submitted himself before the tomb of Thomas Becket, thus recognizing St. Thomas's sanctity.
The conflict between theGuelphs and Ghibellines began as part of the secular-papal struggle. Guelf (also spelled Guelph) and Ghibelline, were members of two opposing factions in German and Italian politics during the Middle Ages. The split between the Guelfs, who were sympathetic to the papacy, and the Ghibellines, who were sympathetic to the German (Holy Roman) emperors, contributed to chronic strife within the cities of northern Italy in the 13th and 14th centuries.
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There was some uncertainty about what would happen toJerusalem after it was conquered in 1099.Godfrey de Bouillon refused to take the title "king", and was instead called "Defender of theHoly Sepulcher".Dagobert of Pisa was namedPatriarch in 1100, and attempted to turn the new state into atheocracy, with a secular state to be created elsewhere, perhaps inCairo. Godfrey soon died however and was succeeded by his brotherBaldwin, who did not hesitate to call himself king and actively opposed Dagobert's plans. By Dagobert's death in 1107, Jerusalem was a secular kingdom.
The whole issue had, in fact, become confused with the confusion of functions of the Church and State. In the view of the Church of England the ultimate governance of the Christian community, in things spiritual and temporal, was vested not in the clergy but in the "Christian prince" as the vicegerent of God.
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