In studying leadership protocol during medieval times, it is easy to note that political leaders who were represented by the royal rulers worked hand in hand with religious leaders in ruling and consulting. This paper is intended to
When reviewing medieval history, the two-sword theory stated by Pope Gelasius in 494 is useful in understanding how power was divided as it states that there are two powers by which the world is ruled, and this is through the sacred authority of priests and through the royal power. This theory further explains how power was distributed between the two, as it was the first divine then political. The authority of priests was considered to be above that of the royal family and this is justified by the fact that they were responsible for accounting for divine judgment. The Pope, who was the head of ministers of religion was highly regarded in comparison with the Emperor and held so much power. He was considered to be the custodian of salvation and their judgment was final. The Emperor ruled over men but was subordinate to the Pope as divine life was more revered.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Charlemagne, also referred to as King Charles, took over power from his father, Pepin in 768 after his death and ruled over the Franks. He tried to maintain peace between his kingdom and that of his brother’s, despite the constant fights that the various attempts by his brother’s men to disrupt the peace and understanding that existed between the two kingdoms. He took part in the Aquitanian war which has been started by his father and also brought it to its end, forcing Hunold to run to Gascony as a fugitive for attempting to take over Aquitania. Upon request by the Bishop of Rome, he was engaged in the Lombard war where he besieged King Desiderius of Lombard and forced him to surrender and restore properties of the Romans that he had taken. He won the war and made his son King of Lombard. His power involved conquering other nations.
The strengths of Charlemagne as a king are as a result of his characteristic patience at war. This ensured that he won each war and obtained favorable results, making him a powerful king. His firmness ensured that he was able to drive kings and nations to submit to him. His bravery at war and skill in military strategies ensured that his kingdom was constantly under protection from invasion. Through this, he was considered a great King. Unlike other kings, Charlemagne had no evident weaknesses as he was able to expand his kingdom and foster good relations with other foreign nations, a strategy that ensured that his kingdom had several alliances whenever it needed help.
In relation to foreigners, Charlemagne was kind and hospitable to them and even went as far as housing them in his palace in order to be known as a generous King. Regarding his relationship with the church, Charlemagne had close relationships with the church leaders and is still remembered for promoting Christianity in his Kingdom. He ensured that the church leaders were clothed well with robes and he also provided decorations for the church. He occasionally sent gifts to the Popes situated in Rome. He particularly enjoyed and encouraged the study of liberal arts, especially grammar, rhetoric and dialectics, since he studied foreign languages such as Greek and Latin. This was because liberal arts would help promote literacy in his kingdom. T
The King was crowned Emperor in Rome after he went there to sort out issues that had caused the people to hurt Pontiff Leo. This coronation occurred after he spent time in Rome, trying to fix the issues in the church. His coronation was consistent with the two-sword theory as he was appointed by a divine ruler. His coronation strengthened the Pope and the Catholic Church as he was able to revive religion in Western Europe and helped spread Christianity in the region.
Pope Gregory VII made a list of powers that medieval papacy had claimed to, further increasing the power that was held by religious leaders during medieval times. The Pope’s feet would only be kissed by the Princes and that only the Pope’s name would be mentioned in churches. This was a cause for conflict between secular rulers and Catholic bishops as they felt that the church was taking all the power. These claims were inconsistent with the two-sword theory which claims that divine rule by church leaders is above the power of the royalty.
The First Crusade contains five accounts that were a record of Pope Urban’s speech at Clermont. Fulcher of Chartes portrays Urban as God’s ambassador who uses Biblical decrees to maintain peace and persuade them to help the Greeks, saying that it is a decree from God. Robert the Monk suggests that Urban sought help from the crowd by referring to the captured territory as the land promised to their forefathers that required rescuing from the Lord’s enemies. The Gesta version implies that the Franks were persuaded through scripture to follow the Lord and His decrees while the Balderic of Dol suggests that Urban appealed to human emotion stating how Turks had enslaved fellow Christians. He used the war against Muslims as a way of convincing Christians to attend the crusade. His appeal was inconsistent with the two-sword appeal as being the Pope; he was able to pass divine judgment to the people based on his divine knowledge. These events affirmed the view of Jerusalem by
With regards to Roger Bacon, experience through experiment helps to attain certainty of facts and this helps to prove everything. He explains that those able to draw conclusions do so from pure reasoning and are thus more experienced and perfect in their knowledge and understanding. He ascertains that pure argument without experience is likely to be false. Using mathematics, he supports his view with demonstrations and experiments to confirm conclusions. He also gives an example where authors base their writings on arguments and people tend to believe them without experimenting. His argument is based on religious aspects that allow individuals to understand scientific aspects he claims that divine inspiration is important to other spiritual and corporate world. His view is consistent with the view of Mappa Mundi since his argument on religious aspects such as the world maps which are systematic projections and which follow God’s creation.
According to Vasari, The most important skills for a Renaissance artist to have were the ability to have self-drive and passion for pursuing their love for art, very hardworking, free to learn and interact with others and allow room for competition. Vasari praised Michael Angelo by associating him with values such as being faithfulness, being a wise man who was willing to offer advice when he could. He also had great friendship qualities as he made friends with learned people. Vasari evidenced the role of political leaders as patrons in renaissance art by using duke Alphonso who after ordering the presence of Michael Angelo and his pupil Antonio shows him his riches and treasures, the duke treats Michael Angelo with much respect and honor and rewards him greatly for his good work. Angelo’s work increased the prestige of papacy by creating various masterpieces of art using a various material such as marbles. Such great levels of art have not been achieved since then making the papacy place to be admired by the world. Patronage of art was consistent with Pope Gelasius two sword theory which states that although the religious leaders are superior and that the rest are subordinate.one should obey their own laws so as not to obstruct their goals with thoughtless considerations. The popes sought to help and promote Michael Angelo’s career, but by forcefully making him work for them and commanding him against his wishes, the various popes discouraged him and acted as a limitation to expand his career and make him work for his own passion.
Martin Luther’s critics of the Roman Catholic Church included the power of the pope to remit sin and guilt; he also criticized against paying of indulgences. He challenged the power of the Roman Catholic Church by making it clear that the pope had no power whatsoever to forgive sin or give penalties unless they were of his own conviction. He says the only god has the ultimate and most of the papal powers were self-inflicted and not base upon the scriptures. Martin Luther proposed measures to reform the church. He suggested that the pope with his great wealth should be able to build so many basilicas and not use money from believers. He should not grant contrition to those who already have it; he should also suspend indulgences and pardons to be granted equally.
Pope Leo X should have taken into consideration building of the basilica and spent his own wealth on it rather than the congregation; he should have abolished payment of indulgences to then church, he should have warned the priests and the bishops against talks of blasphemy. Martin Luther’s religious philosophy can be compared to that of Roger Bacon in that they both believe that religion and good values are the guidance to how people live in harmony with each other. He challenged the popes to be more supportive to growing talents and support its artist rather than use their clergy powers to exploit them.
In conclusion, as the years progressed, various changes were witnessed in terms of historical development. Between 700 and 1563 the role of the Church reduced as people discovered that they were being exploited by the papacy yet they had other benefits. The power of the Pope was reduced and he was not able to play God as he initially did. His power was greatest between 700 and 1200 and weakest after 1200. The Roman Catholic Church was responsible for educating people and promoting arts. The Europeans valued intellect as they were involved in arts and education. This grew as the years progressed since the arts were used to promote their culture. The transition between the medieval and Renaissance period was justified as it showed the evolvement of mankind over the years, and their ability to understand their roles as part of the society. The crusades, medieval philosophy and Renaissance art promoted research and experimenting that helped in the scientific revolution. Martín Luther King’s challenge to the Roman Catholic was consistent with Renaissance Italy as it condemned the popes who coerced artists into working for them without actually promoting their work.
