Gregorian Reform

See also: Reform (homonymy)

With the Middle Ages, the Gregorian Réforme is a policy followed under the impulse of papacy. If the historians admit that the pope Leon IX began the rectification of the Church, it is however the pope Gregoire VII which left its name to the reform. Moreover, the efforts to leave the Catholic church a crisis generalized since Xe century continue well after the pontificate of Gregoire VII. Thus the expression " reform grégorienne" can appear unsuitable since it was not limited to a few years but concerned on the whole nearly three centuries.

It comprises three principal projects

Assertion of the independence of the clergy: the laic ones cannot intervene any more in the nominations. But there are conflicts, in particular between the Germanic pope and emperors who regard themselves as the representatives of God on ground (Querelle of the Nominations).

Reform of the clergy: so that the clergy causes the respect. The clergy is informed better and the Church imposes the celibacy of the priests as well as the Christian marriage for the laic ones.

Assertion of the role of the pope: as from the 11th century, the pope sets up a structure centralized around papacy. In 1059, the pope Nicolas II creates the college of the cardinals which elects the new Pope. Moreover, one sees developing the pontifical curia which controls what is done in the Church. Lastly, the pope multiplies the pontifical interventions. One of most known is materialized by the Decree of 1059 reforming the pontifical election and prohibiting the Nicolaïsme and the Simonie.

The crisis of the Church (Xe - XIe centuries)

With the decline of the Carolingian capacity and the invasions Scandinavian of Occident, the Church suffers with various degrees from evils and disorders:

the feudalization of the clergy: many bishops and abbots became Seigneur S; that implies an insertion of the prelates in the system feodo-vassalic. ecclesiastical principalities were formed in the east of current France. The archbishop of Rheims is very powerful and has prerogatives comtales (Ban, capacity to strike currency, to raise the taxes). They must take in hand safety inside their field.

The rural parishes fall to the hands from the lords or simple knight S which names at their head of serving little educated, sometimes from the Serf S.

In the west of the kingdom, the princes control their clergy: for example, the Duc of Normandy gives the Investiture to the bishops of its principality. The bishops became thus of vassal of the duke and owe consequently the same services as the vassal laic ones: the Ost, i.e. combatant service. Certain clerks thus take part in the engagements. One sees Norman bishops taking share with the Bataille of Hastings in 1066: the bishop Odon of Bayeux, half-brother of the duke of Normandy, and Geoffroy de Montbray, bishop of Coutances. The clerks move away thus from their pastoral and religious functions.

the Nicolaïsme reaches some évêchés: the principle of the celibacy and chastity is beaten in breach in several places. In Normandy and Brittany, the archbishop Robert d' Évreux, ducal dynasty, had a son, Count d' Évreux.
the Simony: except for some exceptions (Duchy of Normandy for example), the simony prevails everywhere. The priests sell the sacraments, devote themselves to the traffic of the relics and draw some from the substantial incomes. One of most famous is Manassé of Rheims.
Appearance of Heresy S: they are limited and do not bear a precise name. In 1022, the king of France Robert the Piles makes condemn to roughing-hew heretics.

Vis-a-vis all these problems, certain monasteries try to give of the order, as of the years 1020 (reform clunisienne). Then, papacy decides to intervene, starting from Leon IX.

The monastic reform

See also: Order of Cluny, Rebirth clunisienne

The action of the pope Nicolas II (1059 - 1061)

In 1059, only the cardinals can name the new pope. This decree of April thus eliminates the emperor in the choice from the pontiff. The new pope is acclaimed then by the clergy and the people of Rome. The same decree of Nicolas II interdict to the priests to marry and orders to the grooms to repudiate their wife (Nicolaïsme) and it prohibits with those Ci to resell their spiritual power (Simonie).

The work of the pope Gregoire VII (1073-1085)

Voir the detailed article Gregoire VII
the decrees of 1074 continue the policy of eradication of the simony and the nicolaïsme in the Western clergy. Gregoire VII sends legates to control his application and to deposit the immoral clerks.
1075 : The Dictatus papae affirms the superiority of the pope on the laic emperors, kings and princes. The pope has the capacity of Excommunication.
But the kings and the princes resisted this reform. The emperor Henri IV deposited Gregoire VII in 1076. Its answer was excommunication. In front of the revolts, Henri IV was sorry finally of the pope at the time of the penitence of Canossa (January 1077). But the fight did not stop because the pope renewed his excommunications and the emperor made elect a antipape, Clément III. Gregoire VII died in 1085, but the Querelle of the Nominations continued.

Assessment of the Gregorian reform

In France

The process of feudalization of the clerks stopped. Yves of Chartres distinguishes the temporal nomination (by the king for the tangible properties) and spiritual or by the stick (granted by the people, the clergy and conferred by the subway).

In England

The king requires an oath of fidelity on behalf of the clerks.

In the Empire

After long discussions between the pope and the emperor Henri V, the compromise of the Concordat of Worms was finally accepted in 1122. It is the end of the quarrel of the nominations. But in 1152 the Lutte begins from priesthood and the Empire whose stake is the domination on Western Christendom.

See too

External bonds

stakes of the Gregorian reform
consequences of the Gregorian reform
the offensive against the religious deviations
the expansion of Christendom

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