Pastoral Regulations, Moralia in Job, sermons, letters, and the
Dialogues) were widely read and studied in the Middle Ages.
He richly deserved the title “the Great.”• Other notable popes of the early medieval period helped secure the
Catholic character of the West, as well as the real independence of
Roman-led Catholicism from the hegemony of Byzantium. Four
highly capable popes who ruled for some 60 years across a single
century deserve at least a mention.
o Gregory II (715–731) supported the missionary work of
Boniface, excommunicated the Byzantine emperor Leo III the
Isaurian for his support of iconoclasm, and denied the right of
the emperor to interfere with the church in matters of doctrine.o Pope Zachary (741–752)—the last Greek pope—had good
relations with the Franks and also supported Boniface; he, too,
condemned iconoclasm in the East.o Hadrian I (772–795) strengthened the city of Rome by his
building and administration; he had good relations with
Charlemagne, who helped the papacy by conquering the
Lombards in Italy, though differing with him on the iconoclasm
issue (Charlemagne supported it). Hadrian sent the Gregorian
Sacramentary to Charlemagne between 785 and 795, which
the king then used to unify liturgical observance throughout
his dominions.o The link between the Merovingians and the papacy grew even
stronger because Leo III (795–816) needed Charlemagne’s
support against opponents of his papacy; in turn, he crowned
Charlemagne emperor on Christmas Day, 800.Missionary Monks
• The careers of two great monk-missionaries reveal the complex
dynamics of the relationships we have been sketching. These
missionaries were the ones who risked their lives, and spent their
lives, in the most arduous sort of efforts for the gospel. Their work