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Chapter VII Essays
1. How did Otto I rebuild the HRE? What role did the church play in this? Finally, how did the
HRE continue to decline?
- His father had given him a strong territorial position.
oOtto I had conquered Italy & called himself their king, and defeated the Hungarians.
oThis had unified the German duchies and was revered as “Otto the Great”
- As part of his rebuilding program he enlisted the church.
oWhen Otto answered Pope John’s call for help from an Italian bully, he was recompensed
and crowned as emperor
oOtto proclaimed himself to be the Papal States’ special protector
oHowever, over time the close relationship caused the church to be under royal control and
thus Pope John opposed the new emperor
oHe then disposed of Pope John and thus forward made every pope swear allegiance to the
emperor
- Otto’s sons: Otto II and Otto III were overly preoccupied with Italy causing German base to
disintegrate.
oThe newly revived empire began to crumble in 1125
oAnd as for the church, they were unhappy with Ottonian & Carolingian domination,
influencing its own independence and its own vengeance
2. What were the main reasons behind the Cluny reform movement? What were some of the
reforms? How do you account for the success of the movement & what were some of its results?
What critical point[s] did the Emperor Henry IV & Pope Gregory VII conflict on? How was this
friction resolved? Who would you have sided with & why?
- Great monastery in Cluny
- Reformers had a popular respect for the church
oThey had a determination to maintain a spiritual church
oThey resolved to create an independent and chaste clergy
Thus, distinct Western separation of church & state, & celibacy of Catholic clergy
- In later half of 11th century, the Cluny reformers reached its summit of their influence when the
papacy embraced their reform program
- Pope Gregory had royal authority & church & religion had become an integral part of government
oHenry felt ecclesiastical as a challenge to his temporal authority
oGregory responded by excommunicating & absolving Henry of all his royal subjects
