The Nobility's Reform of the Medieval Church

Howe, John

doi:10.2307/1859921

Cited by 83 publications

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“…This is not clear in traditional histories that identify ecclesiastical reform with papal reform. Back in the tenth century, long before the Gregorian Reform party took the field, many initiatives were already underway: unparalleled donations of property to the Church 26 ; a great rebuilding of destroyed churches led by kings and nobles 27 ; monastic reform movements spearheaded by Cluny, Fleury, and Gorze 28 ; diocesan reconstruction led by wealthy and powerful bishops who were both temporal and spiritual leaders 29 ; and impressive regional programs such as the England's 'Benedictine Revival'. 30 Today it is becoming increasingly common for scholars to treat the Gregorian Reform not as the beginning of ecclesiastical reform but as its culmination.…”

Section: A Tenth-century Revival Of the Latin Church?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Re‐Forging the ‘Age of Iron’ Part II: The Tenth Century in a New Age?

Howe¹

2010

History Compass

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The tenth century, once dismissed as an unpleasant 'Age of Iron', now receives increased attention as an important age of transition. Historians are attempting to understand how it fits into the broader narrative of Western Civilization. Although some scholars have identified it as the last act of the post-Roman world, others see it as a new age. Perhaps the High Middle Ages with its agricultural and demographic revolution, its new villages and parishes, its revived cities, its reformed churches and schools, and its medieval monarchs began in the tenth century? Or were those changes not novelties of the tenth century but rather manifestations of a 'take off' that had already begun back in the Carolingian Empire, and which, despite the problems posed by late Carolingian wars and invasions, was able to continue, spread, and blossom into the growth and prosperity of the High Middle Ages? New scholarly interest in the tenth century has made it much less of a 'dark age', but scholars still are not quite certain how to conceptualize its historical significance.

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Section: A Tenth-century Revival Of the Latin Church?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Re‐Forging the ‘Age of Iron’ Part II: The Tenth Century in a New Age?

Howe¹

2010

History Compass

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“…In a now classic article in The American Historical Review, John Howe brought together overwhelming evidence of the lay nobility's role in founding reformed monasteries and supporting episcopal, monastic, and papal reform efforts. 17 Other scholars emphasized the impact common lay people had through their participation in peace councils and in movements against married and simoniacal priests such as the Milanese pataria. 18 Given the huge investment 11th-century lay people made in reforming the church, one could narrate the conflict as about who controlled the church or, more crucially, who was the church.…”

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The Crisis in the Investiture Crisis Narrative

Miller

2009

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Recent research has undermined the connection between lay investiture and the iconic event usually seen as the most dramatic expression of the investiture conflict: the encounter of Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV of Germany at Canossa. This is just one, however, of many interpretive problems plaguing historical narratives of the investiture crisis. This essay briefly summarizes the classic interpretations that have dominated 20th‐century understanding of these events and sets out the major problem raised in more recent research. Arguing that a new interpretive framework is necessary, the author suggests two paths forward: a radical reconsideration of the papacy from a truly post‐confessional perspective and a reevaluation of the conflict in the context of new understandings of lordship and political change.

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