Church and State in the Holy Roman Empire

Key Figures of the Holy Roman Empire

• Leo III: The Pope who took the papacy in 795 and crowned Charlemagne on December 25, 800, restoring the Holy Roman Empire of the West.
• Charlemagne: The Holy Roman Emperor of the West in the 9th century, in whom all political authority of the empire resided.

Political and Social Foundations

Christian Politics and Governance

Christian Politics: A policy based on the good order of the Church and society.

De Civitate Dei: A work by St. Augustine, who proposed a government of public affairs based on the Gospel, justice, and good governance.

Feudalism and Social Order

Feudalism: A system and management of properties based on the feudal contract, where individuals yielded services, land, or money (the enfeoffed) in return for protection and social order from feudal lords.

Religious Institutions and Practices

Ecclesiastical Structures

Religious Institutions: Institutions among whom were monasticism, professors, convent schools, and assistance to the faithful.

Donations: Testamentary dispositions left by nobles to the Church for prayers to ensure favor after death. These are the source of the major European monasteries.

Liturgy and Music

Roman Rite: The Roman rite is the liturgical rite of Rome, which was generalized in Latin throughout Christendom.

Gregorian Chant: The official liturgical chant of the Catholic Church that developed during the Middle Ages and is characterized by monotony and free rhythm.

The Era of Reform and Conflict

The Investiture Controversy

• Investiture Controversy: Disputes caused by the intrusion of feudal lords in the appointment of secular powers and other ecclesiastical charges.
• Simony: The buying and selling of ecclesiastical crafts, services, and domains.
• Lay Investiture: The provision of ecclesiastical offices by emperors, various kings, and feudal lords.

Papal Reforms

• Gregory VII: The Pope who conducted the Gregorian Reform, based on the establishment of a society under the Gospel.
• Nicholas II: He was the first of the reformer popes who convened the Ecumenical Lateran Council in 1059.
• First Council of the Lateran: A council in which the papal election was set by the College of Cardinals, without external political intervention.

Monastic Evolution and Secularization

Monastic Reform Movements

• Monastic Secularization: A process whereby Church property passed to state power, which was initiated by King Philip.
• Cluny: The entity that started the monastic reform in 910 AD.
• St. Bruno: Founder of the Carthusian Order in the 11th century.
• The Carthusian Order: An order which was based on the synthesis of solitude and monastic life.
• Cistercian Order: An order founded in the 12th century by St. Robert in 1098, which marked the peak of the reform.

The Legacy of St. Bernard

St. Bernard: The promoter of the Cistercian Order who founded the Monastery of Clairvaux.

Monastery of Clairvaux: A monastery founded by St. Bernard in 1115 AD.