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The popes were the leaders of the Catholic Church, with the spiritual and moral authority that entails. If a pope said something was true, there were very few people who would question him.
There was one thing in particular, however, that gave the popes power other people did not have. This was the power to free people from oaths they had taken. It could be exercised as a punishment for kings and emperors.
If a pope wanted to dispute the authority of a monarch, he could excommunicate that monarch. This might sound to people of the 21st century like a purely personal and religious matter, but it was in fact a matter with profound effects. When a king was excommunicated, the pope very often freed the kings followers from all their oaths of allegiance to the king, giving them freedom to rebel or invade at will, and taking away the right of the king to resist. More than one king or emperor found himself in grave difficulty because he decided to enter into a dispute with a pope.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoPopes in the Middle Ages
The Popes of the Middle Ages became powerful and highly influential. This was the period of the crusades where thousands of Medieval people from all walks of life travelled nearly three thousand miles to the Holy Land. The Militant religious zeal of the popes and the promise of redemption from sins made the crusades popular. The Catholic church became the universal and unifying institution. The religious fervour of the Popes of the Middle Ages transferred into medieval culture. A centralized Catholic church was realized under Pope Innocent III. The church and the power of the Popes was eventually weakened by quarrels between church and state. The Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses led to the end of the Feudal system and the emergence of the modern nation state. The reformers of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance culminated in the Protestant Reformation.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoKasey Hamersmith
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Did Popes fight in the Middle Ages?
Yes, they had many differences on matters of authority and doctrine. Some Popes were even excommunicated by Church Synods (or Councils) and other rival Popes were elected in their place, called Ante-Popes.
Who opposed warfare during the middle ages?
There were times in the Middle Ages that popes tried to stop wars. The Church also tried to regulate wars so as to make them more humane.
Who had power during the Middle Ages and why?
The church had the most power in the middle ages because it was the one thing that united people.
Who were the rulers in the middle ages?
The feudal lord or king who provided the peasants protection in exchange for a portion of their crops or benefits.
Did bishops have more power than lords in the middle ages?
Yes, the Church was very powerful during the Middle Ages.
At the end of the Middle Ages power shifted from Feudal Lords to?
Kings and Popes... I believe. (:
What were the duties and powers of the popes during the middle ages?
They had religous and chruch power also their duties to lead the chruch and be preist
Are the crusades and middle ages the same thing?
No. The Middle Ages is the period of Western European history from 500 - 1500 A.D. The Crusades were a series of invasions of the Middle East by Europeans, instigated by various Popes during the Middle Ages.
Did Popes fight in the Middle Ages?
Yes, they had many differences on matters of authority and doctrine. Some Popes were even excommunicated by Church Synods (or Councils) and other rival Popes were elected in their place, called Ante-Popes.
When did they eat middle age food?
in the middle ages kings ,popes,knights and more ate fish and vegtables that the peasant's grew
Who opposed warfare during the middle ages?
There were times in the Middle Ages that popes tried to stop wars. The Church also tried to regulate wars so as to make them more humane.
Who had power during the Middle Ages and why?
The church had the most power in the middle ages because it was the one thing that united people.
What have Niccolo Machiavelli's book The Prince has become famous today for?
Its heartwarming portrayal of saintly popes during the Middle Ages
Who lost power in the Middle Ages?
The nobles of the Middle Ages gave way to the power of the Monarchies as this period of history in Europe was coming to an end.
What was power based on in the middle ages?
Property
Who were the rulers in the middle ages?
The feudal lord or king who provided the peasants protection in exchange for a portion of their crops or benefits.
Did the nobility have the most power in the middle ages?
The church had higher power
