Part 82 (2/2)
That Innocent's claims were not idle boasts is shown by what he accomplished. When Philip Augustus, king of France, divorced his wife and made another marriage, Innocent declared the divorce void and ordered him to take back his discarded queen. Philip refused, and Innocent, through his legate, put France under an interdict. From that hour all religious rites ceased. The church doors were barred; the church bells were silent, the sick died unshriven, the dead lay unburied. Philip, deserted by his retainers, was compelled to submit.
INNOCENT AND KING JOHN OF ENGLAND
On another occasion Innocent ordered John, the English king, to accept as archbishop of Canterbury a man of his own choosing. When John declared that he would never allow the pope's appointee to set foot on English soil, Innocent replied by excommunicating him and laying his kingdom under an interdict. John also had to yield and went so far as to surrender England and Ireland to the pope, receiving them back again as fiefs, for which he promised to pay a yearly rent. This tribute money was actually paid, though irregularly, for about a century and a half.
FREDERICK II, EMPEROR, 1212-1250 A.D.
Innocent further exhibited his power by elevating to the imperial throne Frederick II, grandson of Frederick Barbarossa. The young man, after Innocent's death, proved to be a most determined opponent of the Papacy.
He pa.s.sed much of his long reign in Italy, warring vainly against the popes and the Lombard cities. Frederick died in 1250 A.D., and with him the Holy Roman Empire really ceased to exist. [38] None of the succeeding holders of the imperial t.i.tle exercised any authority outside of Germany.
INTERREGNUM, 1254-1273 A.D.
The death of Frederick II's son in 1254 A.D. ended the Hohenstaufen dynasty. There now ensued what is called the Interregnum, a period of nineteen years, during which Germany was without a ruler. At length the pope sent word to the German electors that if they did not choose an emperor, he would himself do so. The electors then chose Rudolf of Hapsburg [39] (1273 A.D.). Rudolf gained papal support by resigning all claims on Italy, but recompensed himself through the conquest of Austria.
[40] Ever since this time the Hapsburg dynasty has filled the Austrian throne.
OUTCOME OF THE CONFLICT
The conflict between popes and emperors was now ended. Its results were momentous. Germany, so long neglected by its rightful rulers, who pursued the will-o'-the-wisp in Italy, broke up into a ma.s.s of duchies, counties, archbishoprics, and free cities. The map of the country at this time shows how numerous were these small feudal states. They did not combine into a strong government till the nineteenth century. [41] Italy likewise remained disunited and lacked even a common monarch. The real victor was the Papacy, which had crushed the Empire and had prevented the union of Italy and Germany.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Map, GERMANY AND ITALY During the Interregnum 1254-1273 A.D.]
168. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH
THE CHURCH AND WARFARE
Medieval society, we have now learned, owed much to the Church, both as a teacher of religion and morals and as an agency of government. It remains to ask what was the att.i.tude of the Church toward the great social problems of the Middle Ages. In regard to warfare, the prevalence of which formed one of the worst evils of the time, the Church, in general, cast its influence on the side of peace. It deserves credit for establis.h.i.+ng the Peace and the Truce of G.o.d and for many efforts to heal strife between princes and n.o.bles. Yet, as will be shown, the Church did not carry the advocacy of peace so far as to condemn warfare against heretics and infidels. Christians believed that it was a religious duty to exterminate these enemies of G.o.d.
THE CHURCH AND CHARITY
The Church was distinguished for charitable work. The clergy received large sums for distribution to the needy. From the doors of the monasteries, the poor, the sick, and the infirm of every sort were never turned away. Medieval charity, however, was very often injudicious. The problem of removing the causes of poverty seems never to have been raised; and the indiscriminate giving multiplied, rather than reduced, the number of beggars.
THE CHURCH AND SLAVERY AND SERFDOM
Neither slavery nor serfdom, into which slavery gradually pa.s.sed, [42] was ever p.r.o.nounced unlawful by pope or Church council. The Church condemned slavery only when it was the servitude of a Christian in bondage to a Jew or an infidel. Abbots, bishops, and popes possessed slaves and serfs. The serfs of some wealthy monasteries were counted by thousands. The Church, however, encouraged the freeing of bondmen as a meritorious act and always preached the duty of kindness and forbearance toward them.
DEMOCRACY OF THE CHURCH
The Church also helped to promote the cause of human freedom by insisting on the natural equality of all men in the sight of G.o.d. ”The Creator,”
wrote one of the popes, ”distributes his gifts without regard to social cla.s.ses. In his eyes there are neither n.o.bles nor serfs.” It was not necessary to be of n.o.ble birth to become a bishop, a cardinal, or a pope.
Even serfs succeeded to the chair of St. Peter. Naturally enough, the Church attracted the keenest minds of the age, a fact which largely explains the influence exerted by the clergy.
THE CLERGY AS THE ONLY EDUCATED CLa.s.s
The influence of the clergy in medieval Europe was also due to the fact that they were almost the only persons of education. Few except churchmen were able to read or write. So generally was this the case that an offender could prove himself a clergyman, thus securing ”benefit of clergy,” [43] if he showed his ability to read a single line. It is interesting, also, to note that the word ”clerk,” which comes from the Latin _clericus_, was originally limited to churchmen, since they alone could keep accounts, write letters, and perform other secretarial duties.
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