Welcome to the Discussion Board for Chapter 16. As Watson notes, this period of history is almost unrecognizable from our own. At this time, so much of the knowledge from ancient Greece had been lost, and even the intellectuals of the day often seemed to be starting over, yet still hampered by religious dogma. In Chapter 16, then, we learn of the rise of the Catholics, as such. Namely, we learn of the Investiture Struggle, or the struggle wherein kings and popes battled over who had legitimate authority over people (e.g. their wealth, education, religious views, social practices and even their deepest inner thoughts), and the sources of that authority. When the papacy was winning this contest (e.g.from Gregory VII to Innocent III- the “papal monarchy,” as it is called), there was little learning, change, etc., but still, this contest incited various new monastic orders, calls to chastity, etc. Although today we would find such orders repressive in the extreme, they still were more individualistic than previous ones. In response, various popes invented ideas such as “papal infallibility,” and insisted upon their rights to make laws, depose governments, and impose punishments. Eventually, the papacy launched the crusades (which, of course, were largely a failure) as a move to unify disparate interests, thoughts, etc., and began various inquisitions (i.e. tortures, etc.) to root out heretics. Eventually, though, various kings of Europe won back a great deal of power, intellectually and politically. As Watson notes, when Boniface VIII was captured and forced into exile, this was a symptom that the papacy had finally declined in power. Indeed, the Investiture Struggle is an amazing story, with the consequence for us that we gained more freedom over our own beliefs, thoughts, etc.
\1. What events, people and ideas caused the slow decline of the “papal monarchy”, as such? Of course, you can mention many people and ideas here. By contrast, what inventions arose because of this decline or after it (i.e. logic, paper, etc.)?
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