Charles the Fat, the successor of Charles the Bald, took control of the empire in 885 CE when he reunited the Carolingian Empire once again. While they entered a brief revitalization period, it was not enough to save the empire as the issues, namely size and outside pressure, that governed the old empire still proved powerful. Charles the Fat paid a ransom to allow invaders to continue to fight, just in a different location. This action simply put the end of the empire on hold, not removed the threat of collapse. In 887, the nephew of Charles the Fat, Arnulf, deposed him and the Carolingian Empire was officially over.
The alliance between the government and the papacy fell with the Carolingian Empire. The loss of power within the centralized
…show more content…
When the Roman empire split apart and, later, fell apart, the Pope became the main source of power in the West. However, in the East, the Patriarch was subordinate to the Emperor and followed his commands. Because of this, the Pope had more freedom to increase power and standing than the Patriarch. Photius rose to the position of Patriarch in a period of five days during the Iconoclastic Controversy. Pope Nicholas I refused to recognize Photius as Patriarch after his hasty entrance into the position, and excommunicated him, essentially cutting the final remaining ties between the East and the West. To further destroy the relationship, in 867 CE, Photius held a synod that condemned the actions of Pope Nicholas I, and went as far as to depose and excommunicate him. Pope Nicholas I died before the news reached him, and due to the shattered idea of reconciliation, the newly chosen Pope was subordinate to a powerful Italian noble family, and marked the beginning of noble control of the Papacy. The development of power in the ninth and tenth centuries, led to families who ruled for hundreds of years.
As the power of both parties increased, they became increasingly intertwined. For example, the Lateran Palace, a noble-owned and built property, was the home of the church for 400 years before the Vatican. With the addition of land and payment to the advantages of being pope, the nobles
…show more content…
Although the position of Archbishop of Bulgaria became available to him, he was unable to take it due to the issue of translation-- a bishop can transfer from one diocese to another, an issue that would haunt him, even after his death. He helped excommunicate Photius, although he found himself excommunicated in 876 for conspiracy and papal ambitions. His followers, called Formosiani, became traitors in the eyes of Rome, and it was not until Pope Marinus I erased his charges and reinstalled him as the Bishop of Porto, that they began to gain their reputation back. In 891, the title of Bishop of Rome, or Pope, fell to Formosus, once again bringing up the issue of translation. During his time as Pope, he crowned both Guy III’s son, Lambert and Arnulf as emperors and in the process, made enemies of the Spoleto family, who opposed Arnulf. He died in 896 and placed to rest in St. Peter’s Basilica, though he would people exhumed and reburied him twice more before returning to his final resting
In 476 AD the Eastern Roman Empire also known as the Byzantium Empire was reinventing themselves from the old dynasty, forming a new nation more analogous to a “Middle Eastern State” (Rosenwein 54). This era in history would experience many events that would shape its society. One important event in Europe’s history was the Treaty of Verdun, which in 843 ended the three year Carolingian Civil War. According to Rosenwein “after Louis death a peace was hammered out in the Treaty of Verdun (843). The empire was later divided into three parts, an arrangement that would roughly define the future political contours of Western Europe” (Rosenwein 123). Charles the Bald, Louis the Pious son, would inherit what is now France, while Louis the German would be bequeathed Germany, and the “Middle Kingdom” would become Lothar’s half what is now Italy. The agreement would end the struggle for power within Charlemagne grandsons and a violent war (Rosenwein 123).
In 768 A.D., Charlemagne at the age of 26, along with his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of Franks. However, in 771 A.D. Carloman died, making Charlemagne the sole ruler of the kingdom. At this time the northern part of Europe was out of order and unruly. In the south, the Roman Catholic Church was asserting itself alongside the Lombard kingdom in Italy. While in Charlemagne’s own kingdom, the people were becoming and acting as barbarians and neglecting education and faith.
Throughout the middle ages, many empires were working on expanding their territory, but it was not always a success unless they had the appropriate leadership to guide them in the right direction. The main empire that grew to extraordinary lengths is that of the Roman Empire. Through many conquests and battles and with an amicable government, it attained its fortune. However, on the other hand, there was another government that shared similarities with that of Rome; this was the empire of Charlemagne, otherwise known as the Carolingian Empire, but it failed to have a prosperous eternity.
When the last Carolingian, Louis the Child, died in 911, the dukes decided to elect one of their own to lead the German people. They choose the weakest of them Conrad of Franconia. He ruled for about eight years and when he was on his deathbed he asked for the strongest of the dukes Henry the Fowler to be his successor. Henry the Fowler ruled until 1024, under him the German empire became the most powerful western state in Europe. When Henry the Fowler died his son Otto I took over as the king of Germany. Through an alliance with the church, Otto constructed a German monarchy. He eventually made his way to Italy and proclaimed himself the king of Italy as well. On his second trip to Italy the Pope crowned him Emperor. Otto also put an end to the Magyar invasions, thereby enhancing his claim that the king, and not the dukes, was the true defender of the German people. Otto’s plan was to model the great government that he was in the process of building after the Roman Empire; he wanted to be like the imperial Caesars or even Charlemagne.
Charlemagne was born between 742 and 748, and died on January 28th 814 at age 71. His father was Pepin the Short who had become King of the Franks in 751. After the death of his father, Charlemagne became King of the Franks himself, with his brother Carloman, splitting the empire in half. The brothers were not fond of having to split the empire in half for three years. The way they would communicate would be through their mother. Carloman mysteriously died one day, and to this day in history, no one knows for sure whether or not Charlemagne was involved with it. Once his brother died, Charlemagne would take over the whole empire in 771 at age 24. He was now the emperor of the largest single kingdom in Europe.
Government of the medieval society was impacted greatly by the rise of the church. As time passed after Jesus’s crucifiction, preaching’s of his heroic sacrifice for human’s sins intrigued many people including leaders from different places. “In the latter part of the Middle Ages, the pope, as head of the church, had much influence over the king and total control of the clergy” (The Middle Ages). Knowing the belief that common folk had in Christianity, many leaders seemed to take advantage or work with religious role models like popes, bishops, priests, etc. for ways of taking control of people or simply being crowned emperor. In 800, Charlemagne “was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day” (Charlemagne). The pope was appealed to Charlemagne (also known as Charles the Great) for protection against the Lombards. Though this appeared to be a mutual trade, it is interesting as to how Pope Leo III had the power to crown someone to be e...
Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, reigned during a time of much turmoil and upheaval in Europe during middle ages. Charlemagne’s background and family history contributed much to his rise to power. The triumphs of his past lineage prepared him to take on the task of governing the Frankish Empire, and defending it from invaders. Charlemagne accomplished much during his supremacy. He not only brought education back into medieval Europe, but also invented an efficient way to govern his people. His conquests against the many adversaries of the Holy Roman Empire expanded his empire across the majority of Europe. His conquests also formed strong ties between the Catholic Church and the State. Charlemagne’s drive to convert Europe’s primitive and pagan tribes to Christianity nearly effaced the Saxons, whom he battled with for the majority of his reign. The crowning of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor created a turning point in history. Within years after his death, however, his once great empire amounted to nothing. Charlemagne’s reign as King of the Franks and as Holy Roman Emperor greatly influenced the course of Europe during the middle ages.
St. Francis of Assisi was born in Umbria in the year 1182. He was a child every father hoped for, he was filled with life, a determined and courageous individual. He was gifted with rather good looks, qualities that attracted friends and a gift of leadership. His father was an extremely wealthy merchant in Assisi. But this son, his favourite, was the one who broke Peter Bernardone’s heart. The boy turned on his father, and in a vicious event that eventually resulted into a public scene. St. Francis of Assisi stepped away from his father, his business and left his father in a state of immense emotional suffering.
Another major dividing issue between the two churches was the possession of power.Traditionally, the Pope was the top leader of the church and all matters of divinity were his concerns, but this changed when Eastern Europe adopted Caesaropapism. With this practice there was no separation of church and government. The emperor in the east began controlling the church through his newly appointed eastern Pope, and therefore controlled all divine and earthly matters. An example of this can be seen through Constantine's influence at the Council of Nicaea, around 325 C.E.
Nelson, Lynn. “The Collapse of the Carolingian Empire” Lectures University of Kansas. November 18, 1999. http://www.ukans.edu/kansas/medieval/108/lectures/carolingian%5Fempire%5Ffall.html
When he had been released he was eager to take on a miliitary career. He was ready to face the emperor of the Neapolitan States along with a friend. It was then that he had a dream. He saw a hallway with armour hanging on the walls that had the cross on them. He heard a voice that said “These are for you and your soldiers”. In 1205, he continued on his quest but was struck by illness once again. During the course of this, he had another dream. He heard the same voice he had heard in his previous dream and this time it told him to return back to Assisi.
In 1519 Charles was elected German King and Holy Roman Emperor. So after his visit to Spain he went to Germany to be officially crowned king. But, he would have to wait until 1530 to become the Holy Roman Emperor. Charles was going through a lot and he soon started feeling the pressures of his obligations and to add to his pressures, he would soon be going into war with France, a big competitor and persistent enemy.
The next strong and effective rulers to come after Pulcheria are Justinian and Theodora who reigned from 527 to 565. Of all the Emperor following Constantine, Justinian is arguable the most accomplished of reinforcing the idea of “One God, One Empire, One Emperor” through his acts that bolstered the Church and the Empire and inseparable entities while also solidifying his power and making the Emperor more of an absolute ruler. Justinian and Theodora’s persona as rulers was like that of Constantine and his mother especially in was advantageous to promoting power and linking themselves to the Church. Like their predecessors, Justinian and Theodora acted as co-rulers, with Justinian as the senior ruler (“The Byzantine Empire…” 2017). Theodora,
After Charlemagne's death, the Carolingian Empire was divided in three parts by the Treaty of Verdun in 834. This division weakened the Empire, many battles took place and it allowed the Viking's invasions from the north. It was around that time that the hereditary character of feudalism and the power of the fiefs, in...
Perhaps no other event was as influential to the rise of papacy in Rome as the decline of the Roman empire. With the decline of the empire, the church became the last refuge of stability. Without the protection of the empire, Rome was subject to poverty, disrepair, and attack from enemies.1 The rise of the papacy was a response to this situation. It was further cemented by the leadership of such men as Leo I and Gregory I, the latter sometimes referred to as the father of the medieval papacy.2 Finally, the granting of lands and authority to the bishop of Rome greatly increased the power of the Roman church.3