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From Hutton Webster's, Early European History (1917); edited for this on-line publication, by ELLOPOS
XXIV. THE REFORMATION AND THE RELIGIOUS WARS, 1517-1648 A.D.
» Contents of this Chapter
Decline of the Papacy * Heresies and Heretics * Martin Luther and the Beginning of the Reformation in Germany, 1517-1522 A.D. * Charles V and the Spread of the German Reformation, 1519-1556 A.D. * The Reformation in Switzerland: Zwingli and Calvin * The English Reformation, 1533-1558 A.D. * The Protestant Sects * The Catholic Counter Reformation * Spain under Philip II, 1556-1598 A.D. * Revolt of the Netherlands * England under Elizabeth, 1558-1603 A.D. * The Huguenot Wars in France * The Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648 A.D.
DECLINE OF THE PAPACY
THE PAPACY IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY
The Papacy, victorious in the long struggle with the Holy Roman Empire, reached during the thirteenth century the height of its temporal power. The popes at this time were the greatest sovereigns in Europe. They ruled a large part of Italy, had great influence in the affairs of France, England, Spain, and other countries, and in Germany named and deposed emperors. From their capital at Rome they sent forth their legates to every European court and issued the laws binding on western Christendom.
FRICTION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE
The universal dominion of the Church proved useful and even necessary in feudal times, when kings were weak and nobles were strong. The Church of the early Middle Ages served as the chief unifying force in Europe. When, however, the kings had repressed feudalism, they took steps to extend their authority over the Church as well. They tried, therefore, to restrict the privileges of ecclesiastical courts, to impose taxes on the clergy, as on their own subjects, and to dictate the appointment of bishops and abbots to office. This policy naturally led to much friction between popes and kings, between Church and State.
THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY: Table of Contents
url: www.ellopos.net/politics/european-history/default.asp
Cf. The Ancient Greece * The Ancient Rome
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) * Western Medieval Europe * Renaissance in Italy
