The 8th century saw the inevitable happen. One last heresy came to sunder East and West. The emperor Leo the Isaurian in extreme reaction against the excessive veneration of images in the East, went too far and rejected all such veneration. This error was naturally condemned by Rome. At the same time the Lom bard troubles were increasing and the emperors were doing noth ing to help. But among the Franks, the old allies of the Papacy, had appeared a family of marked ability, which controlled the nominal rulers. In 732 one of this family, Charles Martel, over threw the Saracens at Poitiers in France ; this victory saved Christian Europe. Thus the Franks already devoted to the Holy See, were under the leadership of this family of Pippin showing themselves to be the military saviours of Christendom. More over they were helping the Englishman St. Boniface to widen the boundaries of Christendom by his evangelisation of the Teutons. By 752 Pippin, the son of Charles Martel, was so powerful that it seemed absurd to refuse him royal authority. Before making the change however the Franks applied to Pope Zachary for sanc tion. This was due to their veneration for Rome and their desire to secure the security of religious authorisation for their new ruler. In return for Zachary's support, Pippin came to Italy and reduced the Lombards to order. He also recognised the Pope as temporal ruler of the lands around Rome which he had saved by force of arms. This Frankish intervention was continued by Pip pin's son Charlemagne. At length in Boo the Pope Leo III., ac cepting facts, crowned Charlemagne successor in the West to the old Roman emperors. Thus came into being the Holy Roman empire. It was a mere recognition of the fact that in the West the Eastern Emperors no longer exercised real authority, and had by their heresies forfeited even respect, whereas the Franks were the effective rulers of the West and had by their services to Christendom deserved well of the Christian people.
Before discussing the consequent changes in the relations of Church and State we must summarise. After defeating the at tempt of the State to stop belief in Christ, the Church had had to defeat the State in its effort to interpret that belief. This conflict combined with political and social difficulties did not in deed lead as yet to a final religious breach of East from West— for the Iconoclast controversy came to an end—but it prepared the way for such a breach, and resulted in actual political divi sion. Meanwhile the officials of the Church, especially the pope, had by force of circumstances acquired temporal power. New states were being formed in the West. Of these the chief was the Frankish kingdom. This kingdom had always shown great veneration for Rome mainly as the repository of Christian and Imperial traditions. Finally the Roman empire and its traditions were saved in the West by the transference of imperial authority to the Franks, the actual rulers of the West. However altered, the Empire was still an empire, and a Roman empire.
One other point must be mentioned. When the Vandals were destroying Roman civilisation in Africa pagans saw in this a pun ishment for desertion of the gods. To answer them the great
St. Augustine composed The City of God. In this work he ex pounded Christian theocratic teaching. The book itself, and later elaborations of it, produced a conception of the Church which can be summarised : Men are destined for supernatural life in eternity; those who have attained to this and those who are in possession of sanctifying grace, which enables them to merit this salvation, form the city of God ; on earth these citizens are grouped into the Church, the city of God on earth, ruled by Christ through his Vicar; the work and interests of this City are paramount, transcending in importance all earthly welfare. With this conception the Holy Roman Empire came into being.
C. Third Period.—The exact relations between pope and emperor after the establishment of the Empire are of slight im portance. The Empire as such ceased to be of importance shortly after its founder's death, and did not recover for a century. Only the tradition endured as an ideal. In its inception the Empire was intended to be the continuation of the old Roman empire, and the Protector and co-ruler of the Christian world with the papacy. The Christian Civitas of S. Augustine was to have a temporal ruler and a spiritual, each to govern his own affairs, each with a certain divine sanction, and the temporal was to give the spiritual that protection it needed in this turbulent world. The further relations of the two were left ill-defined. Naturally during the life time of Charlemagne his great personality made him the dominant partner in practice. But in theory there was no subordination of the Church.
His descendants declined in power. During the next two cen turies Western Europe broke up into three great sections. First there were the true Franks, the inhabitants of ancient Gaul, who formed the Western part of the empire. After many vicissitudes this section came under the rule of the family of Hugh Capet, and the Carolingian line disappeared. For all practical purposes this change removed France from the empire. Secondly there was the Eastern section of the empire. Though this included the Rhine basin, and therefore was partly Roman in tradition, its boundaries had been extended to the east. Hence it also included many peo ples who were alien to that tradition and had only recently been converted. This section too passed from the Carolingian line. But by a freak of fate, through the greatness of its Saxon rulers and their successful intervention in Italy this least Roman part of the empire became the centre of it. Thirdly there was the Italian sec tion. This was perhaps more Roman even than southern France, but it never established its permanent independence of the German Emperors. In addition there was a fourth section of little general importance. Between France and Germany there stood the vary ing Middle Kingdom, chiefly a buffer and disputed State. England and Spain were outside the empire, but recognised the universal authority of the Papacy.