Pope Innocent III's contributions to western civilization

Introduction

Pope Innocent III (c. 1161 C.E. - June 16, 1216 C.E.), born Lotario de' Conti di Segni, was Pope from January 8, 1198 until his death. As Pope, Innocent III represents the height of the medieval papacy. His papacy asserted the absolute spiritual authority of his office, while still respecting the temporal authority of Kings.(Moore,112)

Lotario de' Conti di Segni was the son of Count Trasimund of Segni, a nephew of Pope Clement III (1187 C.E.-1191 C.E.). His father was a member of a famous house that produced nine Popes, including Pope Gregory IX (1227 C.E.-1241 C.E.), Pope Alexander IV (1254 C.E.-1261 C.E.) and Pope Innocent XIII (1721 C.E.-1724 C.E.). His mother, Claricia, belonged to the noble Roman family of Scotti.

Discussion

Innocent came from an important family, the counts of Segni, to which belonged also Gregory IX and Alexander IV. He was trained as a theologian and perhaps as a jurist, and under Celestine III (his uncle) he became (1190) a cardinal. At the time of his election as pope, Innocent seems already to have formed his ecclesiastico-political doctrine that since things of the spirit take preeminence over things of the body, and since the church rules the spirit and earthly monarchs rule the body, earthly monarchs must be in all things subject to the pope; the doctrine that the sphere of the church was limited had no real place in Innocent's idea. He set out immediately after his election to realize his ideal of the pope as ecclesiastical ruler of the world with some secular political power.(Moore,112)

On the day the late Celestine III was buried, Lotario was elected Pope and took the name of Innocent III. He was just thirty-seven years of age, and although a deacon, not yet a priest. He was reluctant to accept the Papacy, which itself marks him out from many of the ambitious men who have occupied the same position. Throughout his career as Pope, Innocent III sought to reassert and extend the plenitudo potestatis (the secular power) of the Holy See. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire had become vacant by the death of Henry VI in 1197, and no successor had yet been elected. Innocent III took advantage of the confusion to lessen imperial (German) influence in Italy; his first act was the restoration of the papal power in Rome. The Prefect of Rome, who reigned over the city as the Emperor's representative, swore allegiance to Innocent III. The Pope demanded the restoration to the Church of the Romagna and the March of Ancona from Markward of Anweiler and used papal troops to bring this about. In a similar way, the Duchies of Spoleto, Assisi and the Sora were taken from the German Conrad von Uerslingen.(Lavergne,124)

Innocent III was considered a strenuous opponent of heresy, and had campaigns to force the heretics to convert, or be executed. Under his authority, massacres were committed throughout the Papal States, first against the Manichean heretics and under the leadership of Simon de ...