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omance flourished. Then the Inquisition was established, involving the theory of
the persecution of Jews and heretics as a divine right, and carrying it into execution
in awful scenes of torture and blood. It was an age of bright light and deep
shadows, of strong faith and stronger superstition, of sublime heroism and wild
passions, of ascetic self-denial and sensual indulgence, of Christian devotion and
barbarous cruelty.1 Dante, in his Divina Commedia , which "heaven and earth"
combined to produce, gives a poetic mirror of Christianity and civilization in the
thirteenth and the opening years of the fourteenth century, when the Roman
Church was at the summit of its power, and yet, by the abuse—of that power and its
worldliness, was calling forth loud protests, and demands for a thorough
reformation from all parts of Western Christendom.
A striking feature of the Middle Ages is the contrast and co-operation of the forces
of extreme self-abnegation as represented in monasticism and extreme ambition
for worldly dominion as represented in the papacy. The former gave moral support
to the latter, and the latter utilized the former. The monks were the standing army
of the pope, and fought his battles against the secular rulers of Western Europe.
The papal theocracy in conflict with the secular powers and at the height of its
power is the leading topic. The weak and degenerate popes who ruled from 900—
1046 are now succeeded by a line of vigorous minds, men of moral as well as
intellectual strength. The world has had few rulers equal to Gregory VII. 1073-
1085, Alexander III. 1159—1181, and Innocent III. 1198—1216, not to speak of other
pontiffs scarcely second to these masters in the art of government and aspiring
aims. The papacy was a necessity and a blessing in a barbarous age, as a check
The Hohenstaufen Dynasty - Page 69 of 200