Popes and Politics (1100 CE – 1500 CE)
Discover the popes who wielded unprecedented power and faced unprecedented crisis. This era saw the papacy reach its zenith under Innocent III, endure exile in Avignon, and survive the trauma of the Western Schism.
Popes: 1100-1500 CE
Power, Exile andthe Great Schism
The four centuries from the First Crusade to the dawn of the Reformation witnessed both the greatest triumphs and the deepest humiliations of the medieval papacy. Innocent III presided over the Fourth Lateran Council and made kings tremble, yet within a century, popes would flee Rome for Avignon and the Church would be torn apart by rival claimants to the Chair of Peter.
The clash between Boniface VIII and Philip IV of France ended with the pope dying shortly after being seized at Anagni. His successors moved the papal court to Avignon, beginning seventy years of French dominance. When Gregory XI finally returned to Rome, the resulting disputed election sparked the Western Schism, with two and eventually three men simultaneously claiming to be the true pope.
The Council of Constance healed the schism by deposing all three claimants and electing Martin V. The Renaissance popes who followed rebuilt Rome as a centre of art and learning, yet their worldliness sowed seeds of discontent that would soon erupt in the Protestant Reformation.
At a Glance
Height of Papal Power
Innocent III claimed authority over all Christian rulers, deposing emperors and placing kingdoms under interdict.
The Avignon Exile
For seventy years the popes resided in France, prompting Petrarch to call it the Babylonian Captivity of the Church.
Healing the Schism
The Council of Constance restored unity by electing Martin V, ending the scandal of competing popes.
Explore Topics
Popes of the High Middle Ages
From Innocent III, who humbled King John of England, to Martin V, who ended the Western Schism, these popes navigated the treacherous waters of medieval politics while guiding the Church through crisis.
Explore the subcategories below to learn about the Avignon papacy and the Western Schism, or browse articles on individual popes and the great events of their pontificates.
“The pope is the sun, the emperor merely the moon.”
PI
Pope Innocent III
On the relationship of spiritual and temporal power
Through Trial to Triumph
The Church survived the Avignon exile and the Western Schism, emerging with renewed determination to reform. These difficult centuries remind us that Christ promised the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church.