King Joseph II, The Enlightened Despot

Both Enlightened rulers sought to strengthen their state, but had a different approach in order to achieve it. Frederick the Great implemented his reforms unhurriedly and steadily, whereas Joseph II emphasized his reforms more radically and at a more rapid pace. Frederick the Great trusted the nobility and thought of them as the foundation of the social structure. Thus, granting the nobility more power over the serfs. On the other hand, Joseph II believed that allowing serfs to have greater power would, in turn, strengthen the country. By cause of this, Joseph II abolished serfdom. The critical thinking of the Enlightenment greatly influenced the revived changes that were emphasized in Prussia and Austria. However, not all of the policies adhered to the standards of the Enlightenment.

During this time, feudalism developed. In the feudal system, weak kings granted lands to greater lords in return for military aid. Greater lords in turn granted lands to lesser lords below them. These nobles governed all people, including clergyman to whom they granted a ‘fief” of land. When a clergyman, who were to pay their loyalty to the pope, became a vassal, or under the charge of a lord who granted him land, it gave the nobles and kings power. But because the papacy had the unified support of the larger peasant class and there were no strong kings to challenge him, the pope gained greater secular power than the nobility in addition to religious influence. Not only could he banish people from the Church through religious excommunication, but he could establish secular decrees like the Peace and Truce of God, which limited the appropriate locations and days for war. Secular powers such as these were previously reserved to kings, and illustrate that the pope due to the weakening of kings in the feudal system, held greater authority.

These ideas of progression for people, but keeping a absolute ruler can be seen in an Enlightenment thinker known as Thomas Hobbes. Thomas Hobbes believed that man could not be trusted to rule over themselves and that a strong central government was key. In the same thought Napoleon believed in the equality of people but was still taking power and becoming more and more absolute.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

Roles of the Catholic Church in Western civilization has been scrambled with the times past and development of Western society. Regardless of the fact that the West is no longer entirely Catholic, the Catholic tradition is still strong in Western countries. The church has been a very important foundation of public facilities like schooling, Western art, culture and philosophy; and influential player in religion. In many ways it has wanted to have an impact on Western approaches to pros and cons in numerous areas. It has over many periods of time, spread the teachings of Jesus within the Western World and remains a foundation of continuousness connecting recent Western culture to old Western culture.-

The development of christianity under the empire undoubtedly changed the relation between the political and spiritual spheres in following centuries. In fact, this transpires in how often emperors and empresses played dominant roles in the Eastern church after Constantine I's reign. In many

The Holy Roman Empire was an empire in central Europe consisting of many territories and ethnicities. Once very powerful, the empire’s authority slowly decreased over centuries and by the Middle Ages the emperor was little more than a figurehead, allowing princes to govern smaller sections of the empire. Though the various ruling princes owed loyalty to the emperor, they were also granted a degree of independence and privileges. The emperor, an elected monarch, needed the allegiance of the princes and other aristocracy to support him, in turn giving them power or money. This tenuous allegiance between powers was greatly strained in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as religious reform dominated Europe and religious tensions

When the Roman Empire collapsed, the Catholic Church was the only powerful authority not complete disrupted by the attack by barbarians. In fact, the work of great Popes is what helped their power increase even more. The newly christened barbarians, done by the Pope Gregory the Great, inaugurated a new age in Jesus Christ called Christendom. All culture in Christendom conformed to that of the Church’s, and, with its headquarters in Rome, the powerful “papal monarchs”, as they were called, controlled the machine that was the Catholic Church.

The ideals of the Enlightenment were pretty straightforward. They involved the change of speculation, to experimentation thanks to the help of Galileo (1564-1642, Buckler, J., Crowston, p.592 para. 6), the hope of religious tolerance regardless of the type of religion, individual freedom, as well as secular Education for man to better understand their world and that of their surroundings. Napoleon very charismatically ruled over his empire and actually did advocate the ideals of the Enlightenment. He was a supporter of religious tolerance, believed in individual freedom,

While many sought change in the church's hierarchical system, others sought change in the governing system that was in place at the time. “This necessity of government over people equal by their nature… makes it clear that government arises from His will.” Jean Domat saw the government

These secular rulers were always seeking to broaden their authority over people living within their lands, including the clergy. The pope resisted such efforts from these powers, specifically King Phillip IV because the pope believed that he had exclusive jurisdiction over clerical matters (Boniface III). In regards to religion this contest of power had a big impact. The main reason Pope Boniface III and King Phillip had conflict was the taxation of church lands in France. The church lands had never been subject to taxes but with wars raging in the surrounding areas kings need money to support their armies. Pope Boniface viewed this taxation levy as a challenge to the church’s power. Boniface viewed the church as the supreme power on earth. The pope also threatened that any king, emperor, or anyone else who attempted to tax the church lands would be excommunicated from the church. This also affected government because of the pope’s refusal to pay taxes from the church lands would weaken the surround armies because of the loss of revenue. In regards to social classes these secular powers affected the different ranks differently. The higher ranking classes were not as affected by the conflicts between these powers because lower class people during this time were not able to pay the higher taxes. The lower classes faced very tough times during these

During the reign of Constantine I, the Roman Empire experienced great strides in religious tolerance. While meeting together in Milan during February 313 AD, Constantine I and Licinius, Roman emperors, came up with the religious policy for the future of the empire. This policy became known as the Edict of Milan and forever changed the future of religion, especially Christianity. Over 1600 years later, in January 1925, a historian named John R. Knipfing wrote an essay analyzing the religious tolerance during Constantine’s reign. This essay focused not only on the Edict of Milan, but also on the outlook on Christianity and religion that led up to it. It is evident through the comparison of these two documents how important primary sources such

Before the 16th century, the only form of government in most parts of the world is under some type of monarchy or church. Churches and the King are almost inseparable elite God followers as they hold the central power in their territory. However, the church’s strength soon begins to weaken when Martin Luther posts his Ninety-Five theses on a church’s door in 1517. What made it stand out and supportive by the public is the essays are discussing about the Pope’s not doing what God appointed him to do. The church is abusing their power to perform unethical and ungodly acts such as the sale of indulgences under the name of God, “…the pope coins money out of everything—indulgences, ceremonies, dispensations,

Hi Matt, I agree that Joseph II was the most enlightened ruler of the time period. He did not agree with a lot of the policies that went against Enlightenment ideas and did his best to put a stop to them. I like how you pointed out that many people were confused and distraught with the radical changes he made, no matter the fact that he was trying to make life better for Austria. The changes were too overwhelming and even the Austrian serfs were unhappy.

Tension grew between the Catholic Church and France during the French Revolution, leading to a schism, which deeply devastated the Church’s economy. Pope Pius VII and Napoleon Bonaparte came into power as the French Revolution was ending. For different reasons they both saw the importance of restoring Roman Catholicism’s position in France. The Catholic Church’s initial support of Napoleon greatly affected both parties (O’Dwyer 12-14, 43, 49). This statement has led me to ask the following question: To what extent did the support of Napoleon affect the Church’s role as a political and economic power in France? In this paper I will argue against the traditional view that Napoleon’s contract with the Catholic Church was solely beneficial to