Super gentes et regna: Papal ‘Empire’ in the Later Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries

Papal relations with monarchs in the later eleventh and twelfth centuries have often been characterized as ‘feudal’, as indicative of some sort of papal dominium mundi, or as an effort to advance papal ‘empire’ over the kingdoms of Christendom. More recent scholarship has drawn a distinction between...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wiedemann, Benedict G.E. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2018
In: Studies in church history
Year: 2018, Volume: 54, Pages: 109-122
Further subjects:B investiture contest
B Papacy
B Aragon
B Norman Sicily
B protectio
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:Papal relations with monarchs in the later eleventh and twelfth centuries have often been characterized as ‘feudal’, as indicative of some sort of papal dominium mundi, or as an effort to advance papal ‘empire’ over the kingdoms of Christendom. More recent scholarship has drawn a distinction between ‘protection’ and ‘feudal’ relationships with kings. However, the supposed distinction between the papacy's temporal overlordship of rulers and its spiritual protection may have obscured more than it has revealed. It was only after the disputes over lay investiture of bishops in the period 1078-1122 that a distinctive protective relationship began to emerge. Previously, rulers had been willing to ‘accept their kingdom from the pope's hand’ or to participate in ceremonies of investiture. In the twelfth century these relationships became more codified and any suggestion that the papacy actually gave kingdoms to kings faded. Thus, the nature of papal ‘empire’ - or, at least, temporal authority over kings - changed markedly during this period.
ISSN:2059-0644
Contains:Enthalten in: Studies in church history
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/stc.2017.7