WORLD HISTORY

HISTORY

MEDIEVAL CHRISTIAN EUROPE

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
____ is the claim of medieval popes that they had authority over all secular rulers.
A
Papal supremacy
B
canon law
C
Either A or B
D
None of the above
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -The Pope claimed Papal Supremacy, the authority or power of the Pope over all secular rulers (non religious rulers, including kings and emperors). The Church used the canon laws, threat of excommunication and interdicts to force rulers to obey them.

Detailed explanation-2: -During the Middle Ages, the popes of Rome claimed both spiritual authority and worldly powers, vying with emperors for supremacy, ruling over the Papal States, and legislating the norms of Christian society.

Detailed explanation-3: -The doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church that the pope, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ and as pastor of the entire Christian Church, has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole church.

Detailed explanation-4: -The pope became one of Italy’s most important secular rulers as well as the head of the Church, signing treaties with other sovereigns and fighting wars. In practice, though, most of the Papal States were still only nominally controlled by the pope, and much of the territory was ruled by minor princes.

Detailed explanation-5: -Dictatus papae is a compilation of 27 statements of authority claimed by the pope that was included in Pope Gregory VII’s register under the year 1075.

Detailed explanation-6: -Over time, the papacy accrued broad secular and political influence, eventually rivaling those of territorial rulers. In recent centuries, the temporal authority of the papacy has declined and the office is now largely focused on religious matters.

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