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The tendencies of the later part of the medieval period were reflected in the doctrines of John Wycliffe (1320-1384) in England and Jan Hus (1369-1415) in Bohemia, and in the national, anti-papal, and democratic movements for which their teachings were held responsible. While both Wycliffe and Hus devoted themselves mainly to theological questions, they were … Read more
General Tendencies during the Middle Ages. The period of European history extending from about 500 to 1400–1500 CE is traditionally known as the Middle Ages. The term was first used by 15th-century scholars to designate the period between their own time and the fall of the Western Roman Empire. General Tendencies during the Middle Ages:- … Read more
In the third part of his Dialogus, William of Ockam briefly dealt with Marsilius of Padua’s theory of conciliar infallibility. By contrast, none of the contemporary papalist responses to the Defensor pacis discussed Marsilius anti papal conciliar programme. Marsilius of Padua The greatest and most original political treatise of the Middle Ages was the work … Read more
The most logical and systematic statement of the imperial theory was that of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321 ). Dante had considerable experience in the politics of his own city (Florence); and in his wanderings from city to city and from court to court during his long exile he gained valuable knowledge and experience. He was interested … Read more
The Fourteenth Century Controversies. The controversy between ecclesiastical and secular authority at the opening of the fourteenth century centered around the dispute between Pope Boniface and Philip the Fair, king of France. Unmindful of the growth of national states and of the popular support of royal power, the pope tried unsuccessfully to extend the ideals … Read more
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Italian Dominican theologian and Roman Catholic saint, the foremost medieval Scholastic. He was responsible for the classical systematization of Latin theology, and, as a poet, he wrote some of the most gravely beautiful Eucharistic hymns in the church’s liturgy. Saint Thomas Aquinas The thirteenth century was marked by the culmination of papal … Read more
St. Bernard and John of Salisbury. Two of the leading writers of the twelfth century who dealt with the relations of church and state were St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153) 32 and John of Salisbury (1115-1180). St. Bernard was the most influential churchman of the period, although he declined all ecclesiastical honors and never became … Read more
Arguments for Secular Supremacy. The secular rulers opposed the theory of ecclesiastical supremacy on the grounds that political society was as divine in origin as the church, and that kings, as agents of divine purpose, were responsible to God alone. In spite of St. Augustine’s dissent, most medieval writers, both secular and ecclesiastical, believed that … Read more
During the period from the ninth to the fourteenth century, the leading exponents of the doctrine Arguments for ecclesiastical supremacy were Agobard, Bishop of Lyons, Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, Pope Nicholas I, Pope Gregory VII, Manegold of Lutterbach, St. Bernard, John of Salisbury, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Pope Innocent III, Pope Gregory,and his school emphasized … Read more
The Nature of Medieval Political Thought. During the greater part of the medieval period, political life was influenced but little by conscious purpose or by deliberately formulated theory. Certain ideas, surviving from the Roman tradition, or resulting from the teachings of Christianity, or growing out of the relations of feudalism were generally held, but they … Read more