Western Civilization.p

councils legislated so profusely that five new compila-
tions were added in less than a century.
By the pontificate of Innocent III (served
1198–1216) the papacy had established itself as the le-
gal arbiter of all matters, a speculatoror overseer working
in the best interests of the entire Christian common-

wealth. The church had developed a legal bureaucracy

that was the envy of secular princes. Appeals from both

secular and ecclesiastical authorities were referred to

the Papal Tribunal, which included the Penitentiary (for

matters of faith and morals) and the Court of the Sa-

cred Palace. Cases were prepared by a corps of Audi-

tors who in 1322 were organized into the Rota Romana

with appellate jurisdiction of its own. Difficult or im-

portant issues were referred to the pope, who might

choose to decide them in consultation with the cardi-

nals. Their role was purely advisory, for no earthly

power exceeded his own. Papal decisions were then

handed down as decretals that formed the evolving ba-

sis of canon law. In theory, popes could overrule legal

precedent, though they rarely did so.

The claims of the papacy had reached their peak.

Innocent, like his predecessors, believed that all earthly

power was based upon God’s grace and that grace was

administered by the church. When he argued that a

pope could dethrone those who were ruling improp-

erly, he did no more than carry the ideas of Gregory

VII to their logical conclusion. Such theories were of-

ten difficult to implement, but the case of King John of

England showed that he was fully prepared to intervene

in the affairs of a sovereign kingdom.

The New Monastic Orders and the Building

of the Great Cathedrals

Though dramatic and politically controversial, the ex-

alted notion of papal authority did not define the Clu-

niac program or the Hildebrandine or Gregorian

reformation that arose from it. At the heart of the

movement was a profound attachment to the monastic

ideal and the belief that celibacy was essential to a truly

Christian life. For this reason the reformers were suspi-

cious of priests who lived in the world without monas-

tic vows. The distinction between the “secular” clergy

who serve bishops and parishes and the “regular” or

monastic clergy dates from this period, with the regu-

lars quickly gaining an advantage in the pursuit of high

ecclesiastical office. This inevitably caused resentment

among the seculars, but the monastic ideal continued to

spread. Several new orders of both men and women

were created, including the Carthusians in 1084 and

the Premonstratensians in 1134. The Cistercians,

founded in 1119, expanded under the leadership of St.

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) to include 338

monasteries at the time of his death. Secular priests

were also forced for the first time to take a vow of

160Chapter 9

DOCUMENT 9.2

Henry IV to Gregory VII

This excerpt is from a letter sent by the emperor Henry IV to

Pope Gregory VII in 1076. It sets out the basis of Henry’s

case and, in its mastery of invective, shows something of the

heat generated by the argument over papal authority.

Henry, king not through usurpation but through

the holy ordination of God, to Hildebrand, at

present not pope but false monk. Such greeting as

this hast though merited through thy disturbances,

inasmuch as there is no grade in the church which

thou hast omitted to make a partaker not of honor

but of confusion, not of benediction, but of male-

diction. For, to mention few and special cases out

of many, not only hast thou not feared to lay

hands upon the rulers of the holy church, the

anointed of the Lord—the archbishops, namely

bishops and priests—but thou hast trodden them

underfoot like slaves ignorant of what their master

is doing.... As if we had received our kingdom

from thee! As if the kingdom and the empire were

in thine and not in God’s hands! And this although

our Lord Jesus Christ did call us to this kingdom,

did not, however, call thee to the priesthood. For

thou has ascended by the following steps. By

wiles, namely, which the profession of monk ab-

hors, thou hast achieved money; by money, favor;

by the sword, the throne of peace. And from the

throne of peace thou hast disturbed peace.... Let

another ascend the throne of St. Peter, who shall

not practice violence under the cloak of religion,

but shall teach the sound doctrine of St. Peter. I

Henry, king by the grace of God, do say unto

thee, together with all our bishops: Descend, de-

scend, to be damned throughout all the ages.

“Dictatus Papae.” In O. J. Thatcher, and E. H. McNeal, eds.

A Source Book of Medieval History,pp. 136–137. New York:

Scribner’s, 1905.