UNDER the Roman Empire the popes had no temporal
powers. But when the Roman Empire had disintegrated
and its place had been taken by a number of rude, barbarous
kingdoms, the Roman Catholic church not only became inde-
pendent of the states in religious affairs but dominated secular
affairs as well. At times, under such rulers as Charlemagne
( 768-814), Otto the Great ( 936-73), and Henry III ( 1039-56),
the civil power controlled the church to some extent; but in gen-
eral, under the weak political system of feudalism, the well-
organized, unified, and centralized church, with the pope at its
head, was not only independent in ecclesiastical affairs but also
controlled civil affairs. The church interfered in secular affairs
on the basis of its theory of the relation of church and state,
which was formulated in substance by Augustine ( 354-430) and
given wider and more definite application by such popes as
Gregory VII ( 1073-85), Innocent III ( 1198-1216), Boniface
VIII ( 1294-1303), and others. ¹

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