HIST-308 Lecture 13: The papal state
12 Mar 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
In rome, the papacy often conducted itself as a political, not just an ecclesiastical power. Recall here the donation of constantine which enabled popes to claim a measure of quasi- imperial authority: papal expansion. For much of this period, the popes, who often came from noble italian or french families, sought to expand their power. This often meant carving a larger papal state out of central italy, which could offend other nearby cities: styles of government. The papal state often flirted with a more autocratic style of governance than was found in. The trade driven mercantile cities tended to prefer some kind of dispersed, republican governance: feudalism and republic. Organizing society in a republican fashion was not easy, however, especially in light of a pre- existing class of nobles. Chunks of northern italy had been organized along feudal lines in the high middle ages: aristocracy and republic.
