Pope Innocent III (r.1198–1216) is one of the most studied popes of the Middle Ages, largely because of his role in the drama of defining the relationship between the spiritual and temporal powers. Through the first half of the 20th century Innocent was treated overwhelmingly as a political pope who extended the temporal power of the papacy to its High Medieval apex. This reading was challenged in the latter half of the century by a generation of historians who emphasized Innocent’s pastoral concerns and his innova- tions in the Church’s efforts at spiritual reform. These historians asserted that Innocent sought to extend the reach of the spiritual power. These two readings have been presented in opposition to each other, most famously in the collection of essays titled Innocent III: Vicar of Christ or Lord of the World?—a collection that remains a starting point for study of the pontificate and so for study of Church/state relations generally. Getting Innocent right is crucial to getting the medieval papacy right, which is essential to understanding the Church’s tradition of the two powers.
Neither of these readings of Innocent are adequate. Both approach him with the goal of placing the pope within one of modernity’s classic narratives, that of the centuries-long conflict between Church and state, a narrative that spans from Constantine to the Wars of Religion and which concludes with the establishment of the secular state and privatized religion. Both slide Innocent’s political thought into this narrative largely on the basis of a handful of his decretals; texts that…
