The Papacy, 1073-1198: Continuity and Innovation

Before the mid-eleventh century the pope was far from being the active leader of the Roman Catholic Church that he is today: he restricted himself to the local concerns of the diocese of Rome and was virtually ignored by the outside world. This book is a study of the transformation of the role of the pope in the twelfth century, from which he emerged as monarch of the universal Church, dedicated to reform and to making the Church independent of secular control. The most important role in th...