The High Middle Ages
Section 6: Challenges to Church Power
In this section you will learn what factors led to the decline of Catholic Church power
during the late Middle Ages. You will find out what the Babylonian Captivity and the Great
Schism were, and how they affected the church. Growing numbers of teachers and priests
challenged the church during the later Middle Ages, and you will discover why.
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Focus Questions:
1. How did changes that were taking place in Europe help lead to the
struggle between Philip IV and Boniface VIII?
2. How did the church become weaker during the Babylonian
Captivity and the Great Schism?
3. Who was finding fault with the church in the 1300s and 1400s, and
what changes did they suggest?
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Chapter 14: The High Middle Ages - Vocabulary
Babylonian Captivity: Years that the popes lived in Avignon, France,
instead of Rome
Great Schism: Period of church history when the church was divided
into opposing groups, each with their own pope
John Wycliffe: English priest and teacher who attacked the wealth of
the Catholic church and the immorality of some of its clergy
Jan Hus: Religious reformer and teacher at the University of Prague
who criticized abuses in the church and was excommunicated and
burned at the stake
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Section 6 Summary
After Pope Innocent III, the worldly power of the church weakened. The kings of England, France, and Spain formed strong governments. Townspeople supported the kings. Many felt that church laws limited trade and industry. Also, people found fault with the church’s great wealth and the worldly lives of some of its clergy.
Soon conflict arose between the pope and a monarch. King Philip IV of France
ordered the clergy to pay taxes. This angered Pope Boniface VIII, who decreed that popes
had power over worldly rulers. Philip called together the Estates General. He charged the
pope with heresy and with selling jobs in the church. He wanted a church council to put
Boniface on trial. Philip’s envoys took the pope prisoner. Boniface was quickly released
but died soon after.
After Boniface died, Philip had a French bishop elected pope. The new pope,
Clement V, moved the center of the church from Rome, where it had been for 1,000 years,
to Avignon, France. Six more popes, all French, lived in Avignon The period when the
popes lived in Avignon is known as the Babylonian Captivity, named for the years when
the ancient Hebrews were forced to live in Babylon. People lost respect for the church,
believing that the popes were controlled by French kings. In 1377 Pope Gregory XI
returned to Rome but died soon after. The cardinals in Rome elected an Italian pope to
please local mobs. Later they elected a French pope, who went to Avignon. This period of
church history is called the Great Schism. The church was divided into two or three
opposing groups, each with its own pope. Finally a church council met in 1414 and ended
the Great Schism. It removed all the popes an elected a new Italian pope.
The Babylonian Captivity and Great Schism weakened the pope’s authority and
increased criticism, often from within the church. In 1324 two teachers at the University of
Paris wrote that the pope was elected to have power only over the church, not over
worldly rulers. They argued that the church’s power belonged with a council of clergy and
lay people.
In the late 1300s John Wycliffe, an English priest and teacher, attacked the
church’s wealth and the immorality of some of its clergy. Wycliffe wanted to replace the
authority of the church with that of the Bible. Wycliffe promoted the first translation of the
Bible into English, so that English people could read the Bible and decide for themselves
what it meant. The church accused Wycliffe of being a heretic, but the English royal court
defended him. Wycliffe was not executed but was banned from teaching.
Jan Hus, a religious reformer and teacher at the University of Prague, also
criticized abuses in the church. Hus was excommunicated and called before a council. He
was declared a heretic and burned at the stake in 1412. Wycliffe and Hus, however, had a
profound impact on many people. Their questioning of church authority set the stage for
later reformers.
Answers to the focus questions above:
1. How did changes that were taking place in Europe help lead to the
struggle between Philip IV and Boniface VIII?
Changes in Europe such as the shift of power from the church to
the monarchs helped lead to the struggle between Philip IV and
Boniface VIII. The kings of England, France, and Spain had formed
strong governments. Townspeople supported the shift, feeling that
church laws limited trade and industry. Also, many people were
critical of the church’s wealth and the worldly lives of some of its
clergy.
2. How did the church become weaker during the Babylonian
Captivity and the Great Schism?
The church became weaker during the Babylonian Captivity
because people in other countries thought the popes were being
controlled by French kings. During the Great Schism there was
competition among opposing popes, which weakened papal and
church authority.
3. Who was finding fault with the church in the 1300s and 1400s, and
what changes did they suggest?
Reformers from within the church, such as John Wycliffe and Jan
Hus, were finding fault with the church in the 1300s and 1400s.
Wycliffe suggested that individuals should be able to read and
interpret scriptures for themselves. He wanted the Bible to be
translated into English. Both Wycliffe and Hus wanted an end to
abuses in the church.