of Europe, with the pope as the head of the Church and therefore the ruler of Europe. Machiavelli was vehemently opposed to the control the Church possessed of state affairs. In fact, he believed the Church to be one of the princes prime opponents. Machivelli declares the Church to be a strong entity but the short lives of the pope tend to slow down any attempts at gaining power for the state. Not only that but the foundation of a papacy allows officials to be secure and happy because they are ruled by a higher power (Machiavelli 36), which basically means that since they are ordained by God they can feel free to neglect their subjects because they know they cannot lose their princely status. The state does not benefit from the Churchs relationship to the State because of the uncertainty of this relationship. Tension was always present between the two sects and has historically caused problems over and over again. One such instance was the controversy over the lay investiture in the eleventh century and the conflict between Pope Gregory and Henry IV of Germany. In short, lay investiture undermined imperial power and sought to make papal authority supreme, a common conflict between the Church and the State. Machiavelli urged a good prince to maintain some control over the Church and the pope at all costs.In contrast to Machiavellis ideas about the Churchs role in everyday life was Christine de Pisans work The Treasure of the City of Ladies. De Pisan gave numerous instances of how a woman should live her life for God and follow in His footsteps. One of these examples included the repeated idea that the main goal in a womans life was to accept the Savior so that she would be rewarded with salvation. De Pisan firmly believed that a womans most important societal role was being a servant of God. She told women to live with the hope of serving only God, as women of the greatest perfection have done (de Pisan 45). While de Pisan ...
