So this is my first history theme (that I turned in about a month ago) of junior year!!! YAY! Sorry this is so late but I have had a concussion for the past 3 weeks. Oh and guess what? I edited this theme with a concussion and still got an A.
The Temporal Train
During the time leading up to the Protestant Reformation, the Renaissance popes’ influence in politics fluctuated as the Italian Renaissance movement secularized Europe. Embracing the secular attitude of the Renaissance, politics turned away from focusing on religion. In order to regain their wealth and power after the Babylonian Captivity, the papacy became secular and involved in politics. The popes during the Babylonian Captivity had lost their good reputation, wealth and omnipotent authority, falling from their height during the Great Schism. Then, with the influence of the Italian Renaissance, the Renaissance popes increased their secular influence in politics, neglecting their papal duties but regaining their wealth and power.
During the time leading up to the Italian Renaissance the papacy was at its height of unrivaled political influence and wealth. Then the states of England and France, under the rule of Edward the I and Philip the Fair, attempted to tax land belonging to the church. This resulted in pope Boniface VIII issuing the papal bull, the Unum Sanctum, declaring that the church held the most power. Boniface attacked the state, clarifying that the church held power over the state, in an attempt to assert papal authority. Instead of showing the omnipotent power of the church, Boniface’s plan backfired. He was captured and shortly afterwards, killed. Then a new French pope was elected that remained under the state’s power and abide in Avignon. Under the heavy influence of the French state, papal authority diminished and their respect was lost. This led to a seventy year span of the popes remaining at Avignon, referred to as the Babylonian Captivity (Papacy in the Renaissance, 4), which is the cause of The Great Schism and the deterioration of the church’s prestige.
Despite the oncoming “Great Schism”, the papacy’s wealth had never been greater. “The papal court at Avignon surpassed the courts of kings in splendor... Papal revenues mounted, and new papal taxes were devised” (Palmer, Colton, Kramer, 53). Despite the appearance of wealth and security, there were whispers of disapproval. Many people refused to acknowledge the pope in Avignon as the secularization of the church became unmistakable. Many lower class citizens were appalled by the church’s outward presentation of wealth when countless were left poor and destitute. The College of Cardinals met in hopes of remedying the distrust that resulted from the Babylonian Captivity, but instead worsened the situation. This left the Catholic church with two separate papacies, which split the church and its followers. In 1409 the Council of Pisa met and worsened the Schism even further by electing a third pope. Eventually in 1414 the Council of Constance met and ended of The Great Schism by forcing the three popes to step down, replacing them with Martin V and devising ways to rebuild papal trust. Attempts at reforming the church and the formation of regular general councils were made to help balance out the popes authority. Despite the councils, the pope’s power prevailed, and the papacy’s authority started to rise again under the era the Renaissance popes.
The attempts made by the Council of Constance to eliminate the corruption and secularization of the church were forgotten with the Renaissance popes because of the Italian Renaissance. “This multi-faceted project coincided with what is known as the Renaissance papacy and led to a series of abuses that eventually resulted in an even greater schism in the church- the Reformation” (Papacy in the Renaissance, 5). Often characterized by their secular and corrupt nature, the Renaissance popes were the reason the church’s authority did not completely disappear. Rarely attending to their papal duties, the Renaissance Popes’s concern with the secular world were what helped secure the church’s authoritative position and wealth. Their overt concern with worldly affairs were brought about by the new Italian Renaissance worldview. Europe was picking itself back up and a new way of life appeared. Machiavelli’s book The Prince was the first completely secular, political book, reshaping politics. The focus had shifted from the heavenly realm to the tangible world. This shift became apparent everywhere in Europe, especially in the papacy and the state. Before, the church was considered above the state, ruling over everything with Petrine Supremacy, but then the church had taken a different approach. “Religion was closely interwoven with politics during most of the Renaissance, making popes - as well as other church leaders, such as cardinals and bishops - key players in both religion and politics” (Papacy in the Renaissance,1-2). Instead of controlling the state’s affairs by ruling over it, the church, headed by the Renaissance Popes, became interwoven with the worldly affairs of politics in hopes of gaining power and wealth. The papacy had once considered themselves above being involved closely with the state affairs. This changed during the Italian Renaissance and the church gained authority, influence and wealth by mixing with political and other secular affairs. The first of these Renaissance Popes was Pope Nicholas V, who began construction on the Vatican. He also sponsored other architectural endeavors and was a patron of the arts, starting the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica. He expanded the papacy’s authority, “removing mercenaries from the Papal States, renewing allegiance of other Italian cities to the Papal States, and restoring order to Rome” (Pope Nicholas V, 1). He also passes the Concordat of Vienna, which pulled Germany under papal authority (Pope Nicholas V, 1). The first of the Renaissance Popes, Nicholas V greatly expanded the power of the papacy and as the Renaissance Popes continued, they became further interlocked with the state’s politics and secularization.
Alexander VI further drove the church into the Italian Renaissance’s secularization. He was the first pope to acknowledge his children, and was involved in simony and nepotism (Alexander VI, 1-2). “He disregarded celibacy and preferred political machinations to spiritual leadership” (Alexander VI, 1). He had his daughter married three times, all for political reasons (Alexander VI, 2). Alexander VI created political alliances for the benefit of his own family and “ one of Alexander’s political acts was issuing a papal bull, or decree, titles Inter caetera in 1493, dividing possessions of the recently discovered Western Hemisphere between Portugal and Spain, that greatly favored Spain” (Papacy in the Renaissance, 6).
With the popes of the Renaissance becoming increasingly involved in temporal politics, they also had an interest in war. Julius II, after being elected pope, immediately focused on the expansion of territory: “His immediate goal was to restore to papal control the regions of Romagna, Perugia, and Bologna in central Italy after they had been seized by Venice, one of the wealthiest city-states” (Papacy in the Renaissance, 6). He also organized other alliances and leagues for the express purpose of expanding his territory. What once were political duties fulfilled by kings and princes were being taken over and adopted by the church. The Renaissance Popes had become a major political influence, controlling and participating in the political sphere. They were now forming alliances, creating political marriages, leading wars, expanding territories, becoming patrons of the arts and altogether dismissing their spiritual duties. Spiritual obligations had been traded out for political and Renaissance pleasures. Though the papacy was at the height of its wealth and influence, they were setting themselves up for the downfall of the Catholic church and the loss of their political influence.
Pope Leo X, was the second son of Lorenzo di Medici, became pope in 1513. (Papacy in the Renaissance, 7). Leo X was notorious for his selling of indulgences in an attempt to raise money for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica. He was, first and foremost, a Renaissance man, worldly and focused on pleasure and politics. Yet compared to what many of the other popes during the Renaissance had done, Leo X would not have stood out as being one of the terrible Renaissance Popes. Had it not been for Tetzel, who decided to exploit the use of indulgence and take advantage of uneducated laymen by telling them they could essentially “buy God’s grace and forgiveness”, Pope Leo X would not have stood out. (Papacy in the Renaissance, 7). Other than the selling of indulgences to raise money to build St. Peter’s, Leo X was “normal”. Thanks to Martin Luther, Pope Leo would go down in history. Many people started to notice the secularization of the church and the abuse of its authority, but until Martin Luther, no one had spoken out and gotten such an explosive reaction. (PCK 82-83). After the nailing of the 95 Theses, the papal prestige fell from its comfortable place of power. Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther in 1521 but the damage had already been done. (Papacy in the Renaissance, 7). Luther had set off a chain reaction that eventually caused the Reformation and the church’s loss of it’s political leverage.
The papacy in the Renaissance lived a life of luxury, power and unrivaled authority. Deeply involved in politics, they had grown accustomed to having control. Before the Renaissance, the papacy’s prestige was slipping and they had lost their trust because of the Babylonian Captivity. Then the Italian Renaissance happened, changing how the world was viewed. The Renaissance popes took advantage of this opportunity and involved themselves in politics, secularizing the papacy but regaining control and authority. The papacy fell from the height of their power during The Great Schism, but used the Italian Renaissance to their advantage, regaining their position of power. Up until the 95 Theses, the Renaissance Popes had been living a life of luxury, without worrying about losing anything. They had set themselves up for the Reformation, peaking just before the ultimate division of the church.
