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The papacy: the popes and medieval Christendom
Gregory I 590–604; papal power peaked c. 1200· Church or tradition· Church, doctrine & the world
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
The bishops of Rome, whom Catholics regard as Peter's successors, grew into medieval Europe's highest spiritual and often political authority.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
'Pope' comes from the Greek for 'father'. Leo I (440–461) argued that Peter's authority lived on in Rome's bishop. Gregory I (590–604) ran Rome's food supply, bargained with Lombard invaders and sent missionaries to England (597). Land given by the Frankish king Pepin (756) created the Papal States. Under Innocent III (1198–1216), popes could humble kings. The 267th pope, Leo XIV, the first from the United States, was elected in 2025.
Why it matters
For a thousand years the papacy was the West's main unifying institution; disputes over its authority fed the 1054 East–West split and the Reformation.
Think of it like
Like a property manager who keeps a building running after the owner leaves town, and gradually takes on the owner's authority.
Sources and history
About 850 of Gregory I's letters survive. The Liber Pontificalis lists popes back to Peter, though its early entries are legendary; the 'Donation of Constantine' was exposed as a forgery in 1440.
Questions and debates
Many historians think Rome's church was led by a council of elders, not one bishop, until about 150. Orthodox see the pope as 'first among equals', not supreme.
Inside this (6)
Connections (11)
▸Simon Peter, leader of the apostles is honored by Catholics as founder of The papacy: the popes and medieval ChristendomFaith & scripture
The connection
Catholics point to Jesus's words, 'You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church... I will give you the keys of the kingdom' (Matthew 16:18–19). By early tradition Peter died in Rome, whose bishops claim his authority. Orthodox and Protestants honor Peter's leadership but read 'the rock' as his faith, or deny a line of supreme authority.
When and where
Matthew 16, set at Caesarea Philippi; Peter's death in Rome around AD 64–68; the claim was pressed by popes like Leo I (440–461).
How do we know?
Early tradition that Peter died in Rome is strong (1 Clement, c. 96). Digs under St Peter's (1939–1949) found a 2nd-century shrine; whether bones there are his divides scholars.
Questions and debates
Whether Matthew 16 implies successors, and how early Rome's bishops claimed authority over other churches, are debated; Rome's bishop Victor I (c. 190) already tried to impose its Easter date on Asian churches.
▸Fall of the Western Roman Empire raised the authority of The papacy: the popes and medieval ChristendomMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
With no Western emperor after 476 and Constantinople far away, Rome's bishop filled the gap. Leo I met Attila in 452 and the Huns withdrew; he negotiated with the Vandals in 455. Gregory I (590–604) fed the city from church estates, ransomed captives and made terms with the Lombards. The pope became the West's leading figure.
When and where
Rome and northern Italy, 452–604; key popes Leo I, Gelasius I and Gregory I.
How do we know?
Gregory's register of about 850 letters documents his civic role; the chronicler Prosper of Aquitaine recorded Leo's meeting with Attila.
Questions and debates
Whether Leo turned Attila back, or famine, disease and eastern troops did, is debated; so is how much papal power came from the vacuum versus claims of Peter's authority.
▸The papacy: the popes and medieval Christendom revived the Western empire through Charlemagne crowned emperor by the popeHistorical record
The connection
Threatened by the Lombards and estranged from Constantinople, popes turned to the Franks. Pope Stephen II anointed Charlemagne's father Pepin in 754; Charlemagne crushed the Lombards in 774. When rioters attacked Leo III in 799, Charlemagne restored him, and at Christmas 800 Leo crowned him emperor, implying that popes make emperors.
When and where
St Peter's Basilica, Rome, December 25, 800; Leo had fled to Charlemagne at Paderborn in 799.
Historical evidence
The Royal Frankish Annals, the papal Liber Pontificalis (life of Leo III) and Einhard's biography all describe the coronation.
Questions and debates
Whether the forged 'Donation of Constantine', probably written in the 700s, shaped these papal–Frankish deals is debated, as is how much Leo, facing charges from Roman rivals, needed the coronation himself.
▸The papacy: the popes and medieval Christendom pressed claims that helped cause Great Schism: East and West splitHistorical record
The connection
From the 1050s reforming popes claimed authority over the whole church, East included. The East granted Rome first place in honor but not the right to rule. Leo IX's envoys demanded Constantinople accept Roman supremacy, and the dispute ended in mutual excommunication.
When and where
Rome and Constantinople, 1053–1054: Pope Leo IX, Cardinal Humbert and Patriarch Michael Cerularius.
Historical evidence
Letters sent in Leo IX's name asserting Roman primacy survive, as do Eastern replies rejecting it.
Questions and debates
How the early church understood the bishop of Rome's role is still debated by Catholic and Orthodox scholars in official dialogues, such as the Ravenna document of 2007.
▸The papacy: the popes and medieval Christendom launched The CrusadesHistorical record
The connection
Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade at Clermont in 1095, offering forgiveness of sins to those who went. Popes kept calling crusades, granting indulgences, taxing clergy to pay for them, and aiming them at Muslims, pagans and heretics. Crusading showed that the papacy could mobilize Europe's armies.
When and where
Council of Clermont, France, November 27, 1095; later crusades called by Eugenius III (1145), Gregory VIII (1187) and Innocent III (1198, 1208).
Historical evidence
Papal bulls such as Quantum praedecessores (1145) survive, and several chroniclers recorded Urban's sermon.
Questions and debates
What Urban actually said at Clermont is uncertain: the five main accounts were written years later and differ in emphasis.
▸The papacy: the popes and medieval Christendom established The InquisitionHistorical record
The connection
Pope Gregory IX began commissioning inquisitors in 1231, mostly Dominican friars answerable to Rome, to combat heresy. Innocent IV allowed torture in 1252. Sixtus IV approved the Spanish Inquisition in 1478, and Paul III created the Roman Inquisition in 1542, ancestor of today's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
When and where
Southern France and Italy from 1231; Spain under Ferdinand and Isabella from 1478; Rome from 1542.
Historical evidence
The founding papal bulls survive, including Ad extirpanda (1252) and Licet ab initio (1542).
Questions and debates
How much control popes had is debated: the Spanish Inquisition answered to the crown, and popes sometimes protested its methods.
▸Gothic cathedrals (Notre-Dame, Chartres) expressed the confidence of The papacy: the popes and medieval ChristendomMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Gothic cathedrals rose during the peak of papal power and church wealth, around 1150–1300. Bishops, cathedral clergy and towns built them, not popes, but they expressed the same confidence: a unified Christian society with the church at its center.
When and where
France first, at Saint-Denis (c. 1140), Paris and Chartres, then across Europe; the peak years match popes like Innocent III (1198–1216).
How do we know?
This is historians' interpretation. The timing is clear, but cathedrals were local projects; Rome itself has only one Gothic church, Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
Questions and debates
Historians debate whether cathedrals express papal Christendom, civic pride, royal power, or rivalry among bishops and towns.
▸The papacy: the popes and medieval Christendom issued Sale of indulgencesHistorical record
The connection
Only the pope could grant plenary (full) indulgences. Popes used them to recruit crusaders from 1095, then for jubilee pilgrims and building funds. Julius II in 1507 and Leo X in 1515 issued indulgences to pay for rebuilding St. Peter's Basilica, which Tetzel then sold in Germany.
When and where
Rome: Urban II at Clermont, 1095; Boniface VIII's first Jubilee, 1300; Leo X's St. Peter's indulgence, 1515.
Historical evidence
Papal bulls and certificates survive; Clement VI's 1343 bull Unigenitus set out the theology of a 'treasury of merit' the pope dispenses.
Questions and debates
How far popes knew of or encouraged abusive sales is debated, though Leo X's deal with Albrecht of Mainz and the Fugger bank is documented.
▸John Wycliffe and the first English Bible attacked the wealth and power of The papacy: the popes and medieval ChristendomHistorical record
The connection
Wycliffe argued that sinful clergy lose their right to property and power, that the pope is not head of the church by divine right, and that the true church is the company of the saved. After rival popes appeared in 1378 he called the papacy Antichrist. Pope Gregory XI condemned 19 of his propositions in 1377.
When and where
Oxford, 1370s–1384; Gregory XI's bulls of May 1377; the Blackfriars Council in London condemned his teachings in 1382.
Historical evidence
His Latin treatises, such as On Civil Dominion (1376), and the papal bulls condemning him survive.
Questions and debates
Historians debate how much English politics, including John of Gaunt's protection and quarrels over papal taxes, mattered compared with theology.
▸First Vatican Council: papal infallibility declared the infallibility of The papacy: the popes and medieval ChristendomHistorical record
The connection
Vatican I capped centuries of growing papal authority by defining two things: the pope's full, direct jurisdiction over every diocese, and his infallibility when he speaks ex cathedra on faith and morals. It came just as the popes lost the Papal States to Italy, trading earthly power for spiritual authority.
When and where
St. Peter's Basilica, Rome; the decree Pastor Aeternus passed on July 18, 1870, under Pope Pius IX, who had called the council.
Historical evidence
The decree's text and the 533–2 final vote are recorded in the council's acts; diaries record the opposition, led by German, Austrian and French bishops.
Questions and debates
How the dogma fits with bishops' authority was left unfinished when the council was cut short; Vatican II (1964) added a balancing teaching on bishops' shared, 'collegial' authority.
▸Henry VIII and the Church of England broke with The papacy: the popes and medieval ChristendomHistorical record
The connection
When Pope Clement VII would not annul Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, whose nephew Emperor Charles V dominated Rome, Henry had Parliament cut the ties: appeals to Rome were banned in 1533 and the king was made Supreme Head in 1534. Pope Paul III excommunicated Henry in 1538, and Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth I in 1570.
When and where
London and Rome, 1527–1534: Henry sought an annulment from 1527, married Anne Boleyn in January 1533, and the Act of Supremacy passed in November 1534.
Historical evidence
The Acts of Parliament, papal bulls and the dispatches of the imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys record the break step by step.
Questions and debates
Whether the break was inevitable or a personal accident is debated. Catholics and Anglicans have held formal unity talks (ARCIC) since 1970, but the split persists.