Medieval Age Gregory the Great (c 540604) who established medieval themes in the Church in a !

ainting by Carlo "araceni c# $6$0 %ome# A&ter the &all o& %ome the !o!e served as a source o& authority and continuity# Gregory the Great (c 540604) administered the church with strict re&orm# 'rom an ancient senatorial &amily Gregory wor(ed with the stern )udgement and disci!line ty!ical o& ancient %oman rule# *heologically he re!resents the shi&t &rom the classical to the medieval outloo(+ his !o!ular writings are &ull o& dramatic miracles !otent relics demons angels ghosts and the a!!roaching end o& the world#,5-. Gregory/s successors were largely dominated by the 01arch o& %avenna the 2y3antine em!eror/s re!resentative in 4taly# *hese humiliations the wea(ening o& the em!ire in the &ace o& Muslim e1!ansion and the inability o& the em!eror to !rotect the !a!al estates against the 5ombards made 6o!e "te!hen 44 turn &rom 0m!eror Constantine 7# 8e a!!ealed to the 'ran(s to !rotect his lands# 6e!in the "hort subdued the 5ombards and donated 4talian land to the !a!acy# 9hen 5eo 444 crowned Charlemagne (:00) he established the !recedent that in the 9est no man would be em!eror without being crowned by a !o!e#,5-. 'rom the -th century it became common &or 0uro!ean monarchies and nobility to &ound churches and !er&orm investiture or de!osition o& clergy in their states and &ie&doms their !ersonal interests causing corru!tion among the clergy#,5:.,5;. *his !ractice had become common because o&ten the !relates and secular rulers were also !artici!ants in !ublic li&e#,60. *o combat this and other !ractices that had corru!ted the Church between the years ;00 and $050 centres emerged !romoting ecclesiastical re&orm the most im!ortant being the Cluny Abbey which s!read its ideals throughout 0uro!e#,5;. *his re&orm movement gained strength with the election o& 6o!e Gregory 744 in $0-< who ado!ted a series o& measures in the movement (nown as the Gregorian %e&orm in order to &ight strongly against simony and the abuse o& civil !ower and try to restore ecclesiastical disci!line including celibacy#,5=. *he con&lict between !o!es and secular autocratic rulers such as the 8oly %oman 0m!eror 8enry 47 and 8enry 4 o& 0ngland (nown as the >uestion o& investiture was only resolved in $$== by the Concordat o& 9orms in which the !o!e decreed that clerics were to be invested by clerical leaders and tem!oral rulers by lay investiture#,5:. "oon a&ter 6o!e Ale1ander 444 began re&orms that would lead to the establishment o& canon law# ,5-. "ince the beginning o& the -th century the Cali!hate had con>uered much o& the southern Mediterranean and re!resented a threat to Christianity#,6$. 4n $0;5 the 2y3antine em!eror Ale1ios 4 ?omnenos as(ed &or military aid &rom 6o!e @rban 44 against the Muslim invasions#,6=. @rban at the council o& Clermont called the 'irst Crusade to assist the 2y3antine 0m!ire to regain the old Christian territories es!ecially Aerusalem#,6<. *he low !oint o& the !a!acy was :6-$04;#,64. *he !a!acy came under the control o& vying !olitical &actions# 6o!es were variously im!risoned starved (illed and de!osed by &orce# *he &amily o& a certain !a!al o&&icial made and unmade !o!es &or &i&ty years# *he o&&icial/s greatB grandson 6o!e Aohn C44 held orgies o& debauchery in the 5ateran !alace# 0m!eror Dtto 4 o& Germany had Aohn accused in an ecclesiastical court which de!osed him and elected a layman as 6o!e 5eo 7444# Aohn mutilated the 4m!erial re!resentatives in %ome and had himsel& reinstated as !o!e# Con&lict between the 0m!eror and the !a!acy continued and eventually du(es in league with the em!eror were buying bisho!s and !o!es almost o!enly#,64. 4n $04; 5eo 4C became !o!e at last a !o!e with the character to &ace the !a!acy/s !roblems# 8e traveled to the ma)or cities o& 0uro!e to deal with the church/s moral !roblems &irsthand notably simony and clerical marriage and concubinage# 9ith his long )ourney he restored the !restige o& the !a!acy in the north#,64.