What power did the pope claim over medieval rulers and on what basis did he claim this?
Medieval society had a very different view of authority, society, church and state than our own. In medieval thought, the state existed not only to provide for the common good in this life, but also to provide conditions that would promote its members living holy lives and attaining to eternal life. Attaining Heaven was considered the ultimate goal of life in medieval thought. People believed that all authority came from God and devolved to the Pope in matters spiritual and to the lords temporal in earthly matters. Since, ultimately the lords temporal ruled by God’s own authority, they answered to the Pope for this authority. If a lord temporal were to abuse or lead astray the civil population by deed or by example, all Christendom believed that the Pope would rightly step in. The Pope had the power to counsel, advise, or rebuke the temporal leaders all the way to excommunicating them. To be excommunicated in a leader was very serious – it meant that although God’s authority still flow
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- What power did the pope claim over medieval rulers and on what basis did he claim this?
