Events That Led To The Rise And Fall Of Papacy

There had been many major events that led to the rise and fall of the papacy. These major events have demonstrated the church’s rise to power and descent. The rise, peak, and fall started with the Showdown at Canossa, the Great Schism, and the Church control during the Middle Ages.
The Church and Charlemagne’s relationship had helped demonstrate the rise of power for the church. This is because before a battle, Charlemagne had prayed to God for a successful win. Charlemagne had won the battle and immediately brought his army and himself to the pope so they could all be baptized and convert to Christianity. Throughout Charlemagne’s journey of expanding the kingdom, he did not only conquer more land, but he also helped spread Christianity. By …show more content…
This is because the crusades had weakened the church and the papacy’s power. Pope Boniface VIII attempts to enforce papal authority on kings. This didn’t turn out very well. Phillip IV, King of France, declared his authority over French Bishops. Pope Boniface VIII responded with a “Unam Sanctum.” A unam sanctum is a document that states that the king has to obey the pope. This didn’t turn out to well. This is because Philip IV had responded with many attacks and threats. The first threat had been by Philip IV’s minister. His minister responded with “My master’s sword is made up of steel, the pope’s is made up of word’s.” This quote states that Philip IV can easily kill Pope Boniface VIII with his sword, but Pope Boniface VIII’s words cannot do any harm to Philip IV. The next response had been an attack. King Philip IV had sent his army of men to hold Pope Boniface VIII captive for three days. During these three days, King Philip IV’s army had demanded that Pope Boniface VIII resigned as pope. They also were hoping that they could bring Pope Boniface back to trial. Pope Boniface VIII refuses to resign as pope. After Pope Boniface VIII refuses to step down, Sciarra Colonna slaps Pope Boniface VIII in the face. Pope Boniface is later then released. About a month after this event, Pope Boniface dies from a high fever. After this incident, popes never again had tried to enforce monarchs to obey them. Philip IV convinces the College of Cardinals to chose a French archbishop as the new pope. The College of Cardinals obeyed King Philip IV’s wish and elected Clement V as the new pope. Pope Clement V moves from Rome to Avignon. Avignon is a city in France. The next few popes stayed in Avignon for the next 69 years. A pope named Gregory XI dies while visiting Rome. The College of Cardinals had to select a new pope. During the College of Cardinal’s meeting, a mob of people had been outside and demanded that they elected a