Pope's Power In Italy During The Middle Ages

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During the 5th century, the Middle Ages believed religion was very powerful. With that being said, the Roman Papal Monarchy affected the people positively when Popes gained total control of all religious situations. The Papal states or Republic of Saint were created, these states consisted of central Italy and Rome.The monarch system consisted of Popes (head of power), bishops (assists a pope with religious problems), abbots (father/friend of the church) , and monks (devotes all time to religion). When the Papal Monarchy came about the Pope took control of multiple territories in Italy turning them into the papal states, a Pope also had all of the religious power. Not only did a Pope have all religious power, they also had the power to tell …show more content…

This did help the people because, “Beginning in the 5th century when the Western Empire officially came to an end and the influence of the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire in Italy weakened, the power of the bishops...and popes increased as the populace turned to them for aid and protection”(Snell). Based on that statement the people could trust and benefit from the Pope’s gaining power. The reason the people needed protection was because the Byzantine Empire raised their imperial taxes. Citizens looked for the pope’s help because the pope was always there to give advice. During the Middle Ages the Popes had many roles, this caused there to be a lot of disagreements between the Popes and Kings of the Empire. In the the article Middle Ages Popes vs Kings the Pope and kings fought over power because they each wanted complete control of the empire. That is because the Pope wanted to have control so the people could look to them for protection and help with life choices. The King was there to tell the people what they need to abide by to live correctly. King Henry challenged the Pope by appointing the bishops and trying to have them vote the Pope out of rule (Middle Ages Popes vs …show more content…

The people studied Canon law and had a say in which proposals became laws because the popes saw it as a political matter and the people need to have a say in political issues. “Canon Law became the object of specialized study in the new universities of Western Europe”(Sigmund). According to the most current form of Canon Law there are 1,752 Canons in seven books (IntraText). The books are as follows, General Norms, The People of God, The Teaching Function of the Church, Function of the Church, The Temporal Goods of the Church, Sanctions of the Church, and Processes (Sigmund). Code of Canon law basically explains how you live your life under the church. Canon Laws are similar to Hammurabi's Code however, these laws aren’t harmful and gruesome they are peaceful like, “§3. Proper law must determine the manner of probation and formation, especially doctrinal, spiritual, and apostolic, adapted to the purpose and character of the society, in such a way that the members, recognizing their divine vocation, are suitably prepared for the mission and life of the society” (IntraText/Sigmund). This code is apart of Canon 735 which is 3 parts and they all have to do with the people’s impact on

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