level,the church developed along a different line. It became more organized, morebureaucratic, more legal,more centralized and basically more powerful on a European scale. Thisprocess was spearheadedby the papacy and reached its pinnacle under Pope Innocent III in the early13th Century. He embodiedwhat became known as the 'papal monarchy' - a situation where the popesliterally were kings in theirown world. The relative importance of spiritual and secular power in theworld was a constant question inthe middle ages with both secular emperors and kings, and the popesasserting their claims to rule bydivine authority with God's commands for God's people proceeding out oftheir mouths. The power of thechurch is hard to exaggerate: its economic and political influence was huge,as its wealth, movementslike the crusades, and even the number of churches that exist from thisperiod truly show its greatness.By the early 10th century, a strange malaise seems to have entered theEnglish church. There arecomments from this time of a decline in learning among churchmen and anincrease in a love forthings of this earthly world. Even more of these lax standards had begun adecline in the power structureof the church which included a decrease in acceptable behavior amongstchurchmen and a growing useof church institutions by lay people as a means of evading taxes.Christianity affected all men in Europe at every level and in every way.Such distances however, ledto much diversity and the shaping of Medieval religion into a land ofcontrasts. One can also see howman's feelings of extreme sinfulness and desire for God are quite evidentin these tales.Still, we are told that history repeats itself because nobody listens to it,but more realisticallyhistory repeats itself because man is essentially the same from onegeneration to the next. He hasthe same aspirations, fears and flaws; yet the way that these are expresseddiffers from age to age.This is why each period of ...
