The Relationship Between the Church & the King in Norman England (AQA GCSE History): Revision Note

Summary

Although the King was the undisputed ruler of Norman England, the Church also had enormous power. As the head of the Church in Western Europe, the pope could influence millions of people - including those in England. Although relations between William and the pope were good at the time of the Conquest, disputes over authority meant that conflict between the Norman kings and various popes was inevitable

The power of the Pope in Norman times

• The pope was the most powerful and influential individual in Western Europe during the 11th Century

  • His authority extended over many countries and kingdoms

  • Christians, whatever their nationality and whoever their king was, were supposed to obey the pope

• This power and influence caused tension and conflict with kings all over Europe - including Norman England

  • One of the main sources of conflict was the authority of kings over people who worked for the Church

  • If they were accused of a crime, members of the clergy stood trial in special Church courts

  • This angered both kings and the general public who saw the Church courts as being too lenient

William I’s power over the Church

• When William conquered England in 1066, he did so with the blessing and support of Pope Alexander II

  • The pope wanted to bring the English Church closer to the rest of Europe and change the way it operated

  • William wanted to remove all of the Anglo-Saxons from powerful and important positions in the Church and replace them with loyal Normans

  • Both William and Pope Alexander got what they wanted

• After the reforms by William’s friend Archbishop Lanfranc, the English Church was far less isolated from the rest of Europe

  • There was a more centralised structure of control

  • William decided who was appointed to key Church positions such as archbishops and bishops

  • He agreed to the establishment of the Church courts - possibly due to his close relationship with Lanfranc

The Norman monarch’s relationship with the Pope

What was the Investiture Controversy?

• When bishops were appointed or consecrated, the king would ceremoniously give them a ring and a staff as emblems of their position

  • This act was known as investiture

  • In return, the bishop would pay homage to the king

  • Many in the Church, including Pope Urban II, thought investiture was wrong

  • They believed the act of investiture implied that bishops got their power and authority from the king rather than the pope

• In England, most bishops were tenants-in-chief for the king

  • The king could not allow key landholders to refuse to pay homage to him as this would:

    • damage his authority

    • threaten the whole feudal system

• When Archbishop Anselm refused to pay homage to Henry I in 1103, the King exiled him

  • The pope then threatened to excommunicate Henry 

• The crisis ended at the Concordat of London in 1107 

  • Henry agreed to give up his rights to investiture

  • The pope agreed that bishops would pay homage to Henry before they were consecrated

• This meant the clergy could still claim that their spiritual power came from the pope

• It also meant Henry could still require the bishops to swear loyalty to him