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2 - Church and state

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

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Summary

The medieval problem of church and state was a version of the perpetual question facing a religion which claimed to be in the world but not of it, which preached about morals and social order yet refused to be identified with any particular such order. The medieval-European church–state relationship was unique, and ‘the West’ had a problem not so acutely felt elsewhere, because of the particular way Christianity had become institutionalised there, and the sort of polities which, partly as a consequence of this, had developed there. On the one hand, the church was in theory and largely in practice coterminous with society as ‘the association of the faithful’ (universitas fidelium), ‘Christian society’ (societas Christiana), ‘the Roman church’ or ‘the Christian republic’. On the other hand, both secular and ecclesiastical authorities were deemed to be of divine institution. The papacy was credited with the moral and spiritual leadership of a community of peoples in which kingdoms, duchies, city-states and other bodies were the actual units of government. Incidentally, this sometimes meant that it was possible for political, and on occasion religious, dissenters to find a haven.

In the form in which we find it in the middle of the thirteenth century, the debate went back to the late eleventh century, and lasted until, with the Reformation, the church ceased to be coterminous with society. The papacy's spiritual authority and actual power had been expanded by the reform movement associated with pope Gregory VII (1073–85).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1992

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  • Church and state
  • Antony Black
  • Book: Political Thought in Europe, 1250–1450
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139170178.004
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  • Church and state
  • Antony Black
  • Book: Political Thought in Europe, 1250–1450
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139170178.004
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Church and state
  • Antony Black
  • Book: Political Thought in Europe, 1250–1450
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139170178.004
Available formats
×