Hincmar and the Making of Medieval Authority traces how ninth-century debates over metropolitans, decretals, and appeals reshaped church power.
This study reveals how papal claims, metropolitan rights, and clerical discipline clashed and collided to forge a new medieval order.
In this narrative, readers meet Hincmar, a central figure in the struggle between local church governance and Rome’s evolving authority. The book examines the rise of papal influence through key disputes and the legal changes prompted by the Pseudo-Isidore decretals. It shows how unity within the Frankish church and the broader Western world began to pivot around questions of jurisdiction, governance, and appeal.
- Learn how the papacy and metropolitan sees competed for control over bishops and synods.
- See how legal ideas and canonical rules were used to argue for or against royal and imperial influence in church affairs.
- Explore the personal dynamics between popes, archbishops, and bishops governing a growing, centralized church.
- Understand how reforms and conflicts set the stage for the later centralization of church authority.
Ideal for readers of medieval religious and legal history, this edition illuminates a pivotal shift in church power and its enduring legacy.