The Catholic Church

Religion played one of the most dominant roles in Europe during the Middle Ages. Therefore, Catholic Church represented an extremely powerful institution and dominated nearly all aspects of life of the medieval Europeans. The church's "sacramental rituals" marked the significant events in a person's life including baptism, marriage and funeral. The beliefs espoused by the church on religion, ethics and philosophy were enforced on the people. People who disagreed with the church faced torture and execution. Although the Catholic Church ruled Europe with an iron fist for much of the Middle Ages, its power started to decline during the Late Middle Ages (1301-1500 A.D.) which gave birth to the Renaissance. The Catholic Church gained an immense amount of economic power in medieval Europe. Many kings and powerful feudal lords gave gifts to church in the form of land. The church came to own as much as a third of the land in medieval Europe. By 1050 A.D., it had become the largest landholder in Europe. The church also added money to its treasury by taxing people a tenth of their income. There were times when the church clashed with the emperors. One notable example involved the conflict between Pope Gregory VII and the Holy Roman emperor named Henry IV. Gregory VII became the pope in 1073 A.D., and he enacted a series of reforms. One of his reforms allowed only the pope the right to appoint church officials. This decree infuriated Henry IV, and he declared that Gregory VII was no longer the pope. The pope retaliated by stating that the emperor's subjects should no longer obey him. Pope Gregory VII also excommunicated the emperor from the church which meant that Henry IV could no longer to Heaven after death. Then, Henry IV went to Rom...

... middle of paper ...

...s

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN MEDIEVAL WESTERN EUROPE 5 crucial in helping it maintain its power for such a long period of time. The church leaders used their power to silence anyone who disagreed with the beliefs established by them. Some scientists who disagreed with the church's beliefs were Copernicus and Galileo. Copernicus was not tortured because he published his book On the Revolutions of Heavenly Bodies shortly before his death. However, the church placed his book in the Index of Prohibited Books. But Galieo was tortured and forced to recant his beliefs. Another person who disagreed with the church was a German priest named Martin Luther. His theological disagreement with the church set off a revolution that divided Christendom into two camps and eventually led to a significant decrease in the power of the Catholic Church.