Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

top of the rest of the population. The two most important disputes between the Church and secular authority over these issues were between King Henry II of England (1154 – 1189) and Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170, and that between King Philip IV of France (1285 – 1314) and Pope Boniface VIII (1294 – 1303). Both Henry II and Philip IV wanted to be able to better control crime in their kingdoms due to the separate church courts for clergy that led to issues of criminous clerks

In the year 476 A.D, the Christian era of the Western Roman empire came to a close. What followed would be a series of Germanic Kingdoms such as the Visigoths, Angles, and Saxons. These kingdoms, like most budding nations, founded their own unique political systems, laying the groundwork for future European nations. Although these kingdoms were deemed “independent”, they still found themselves under the jurisdiction of the Church. This subjected them to the political model of the Church, and by extension

crusades were fought by the Muslim and Christians over the “Holy land” of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is where the founder of the Muslim, Muhammad, lived. It is also where the Christian, Messiah, spent most of his life, and where he was crucified. The Crusades may have been called the “Holy Wars”, but there was nothing holy about them. There were thousands of people killed in this pointless war that probably would not have even happened if not for Emperor Constantine’s “vision” of a cross in the sky. The crusades

excommunicated. The pope punished Philip Augustus in this way for the sin of adultery. Boleslaus of Poland and Henry II of England were disciplined for the murders of St. Stanislaus and St. Thomas A. Becket. The pope could release a ruler’s subjects from their oath of allegiance, and could even dispose the king. Pope Gregory VII did this in the case of Henry IV in 1080. Innocent IV did it against Frederick II in 1245. The Council of Lyons in 1274 laid down definite rules about the role of Cardinals

and sacking Rome due to the Huns taking over their homelands, and other feuds between Roman leaders and the Germanic representatives. After Rome’s fall, certain tribes such as the Franks and

When she turned eighteen, in 1469, they got married, officially sealing the commitment. This situation aroused the ire of Henry IV, who decided to disinherit his sister, after being recognized as the heir of the Kingdom, in the pact Bulls of Guisando in 1468 by Enrique IV, and rehabilitated in succession to his daughter Juana. Once King Henry IV died in 1474, an arduous succession dispute arose. The nobility was divided into two sections, one faction recognized Isabel and the other

government and religious authority have been heavily intertwined, resulting in many issues that arise from conflicting religious and political interests. Kings, Emperors and others often used their religious influence to advance their political agendas, at the cost of what may have been best for the Church. In the case of Henry IV, King of the Holy Roman Empire, he used his ability to appoint bishops to elevate his allies to positions of power and authority. Pope Gregory VII, sensing a diffusion of power

crowned him “Holy Roman Emperor” in 800 A.D. When he died in 814 A.D. the kingdom fell apart. His three grandsons split the kingdom into three parts. This caused internal feuding which weakened European Kingdoms. New waves of invaders plundered and looted Europe, the Muslims from North Africa, the Magyars from Asia, and the Vikings from Scandinavia. The result of these raids led to

Peters in Rome. Leo IV offered a heavenly reward to those who joined the call to action and died in battle. Al- Hakim bi-Amr Allah destroyed the Church of the Holy Selpulchre in Jerusalem in A.D. 1009, fueling the fire of the Christians and continuing the flame of hatred amongst the Christians toward the Muslims. The papacy thought it to be in their authority to fight the enemy because of the spiritual nature of the aggressor. These

“feed my sheep” (John 21:16) and teach His gospel to the world. And that is precisely what they did, empowered by priesthood authority from Christ Himself and with personal testimonies of Christ’s Atonement and Resurrection. They fanned out from the Holy Land, teaching and converting people to Christ’s Church, meeting with great success but also suffering tremendous persecution in the process. The Apostles’ first converts were other Jews, and indeed many practices of Christ’s church mirrored some of