Popes and Antipopes: The Politics of Eleventh Century Church Reform

Download or read book Popes and Antipopes: The Politics of Eleventh Century Church Reform written by Mary Stroll and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2011-12-09 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A revolution shook the Christian world in the second half of the eleventh century. Many eminent historians point to Hildebrand, later Gregory VII (1073-1085), as the prime mover of this movement that aspired to free the Church from secular entanglements, and to return it to its state of paleochristian purity. I see the reform from the perspective of much wider developments such as the split between the Greek and the Latin Churches and the Norman infiltration of Southern Italy. Contentrating on the popes and the antipopes I delve into the character and motivations of the important personae, and do not see the movement as a smooth line of progress. I see the outcome as reversal of power of what had been a strong empire and a weak papacy.