Kings Vs Popes
In the Middle Ages, Popes and Kings had the most power. The Popes had great spiritual power. The pope was the head of the Christian Church in Western Europe. Nearly everyone in the Middle Ages belonged to this church. The people looked to him for guidance on how to live and pray. People saw the pope as God’s representative on Earth.
Some popes also had great political power also. After the Roman Empire collapsed, the people looked to the pope as their leader. As a result, they were treated as loyalty and they built huge palaces. They also came into conflict with Europe’s other political leaders, the king.
As popes worked to increase their power, often times they made conflicts with the king. For example, kings thought that they should be able to pick the bishops in their own countries. On the other hand, Popes thought that they should choose the religious officials.
In 1073, a new pope came to power in Rome. His name was Pope Gregory VII. Trouble arose when Gregory declined a bishop chosen by the Emperor, Henry IV. The king being angry, he convinced German’s bishops to remove Gregory as Pope. In response, the Pope excommunicated Henry IV. King Henry IV still wanted to be in power, so he went to Italy to ask for forgiveness. Gregory refused. King Henry stood barefoot in the snow for 3 whole days outside the castle until eventually the Pope forgave the King. Gregory had proven that the Pope had more power then the emperor. Even after Gregor and Henry’s death, their were still complications between the Pope and the King.