Otto the Great turns the tide

Part 2 in our exploration of the early medieval Catholic "renaissance"

The Emperors and the Papacy: A Church in Flux

The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. the coronation crown of the Holy Roman Emperor, probably from the late 10th century until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.

Last week, we took a close look at what was probably the lowest point - the most corrupt, the most chaotic period in the entire history of the Catholic Church: the “Saeculum Obscurum” of the 9th and 10th centuries. Some historians have called it the “pornocracy,” or “rule by harlots,” a time marked by corruption so brazen that it reduced the papacy to a pawn, a political prize fought over by Roman noble families, Italian warlords, or, occasionally, a puppet of the Holy Roman Emperors. Compared to that chaos, our own time - with its notorious theological and temporal corruption - might look almost orderly and faithful.

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Read the previous post in this series:

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By the opening of the 11th century, the corruption and chaos of the Saeculum Obscurum of the previous 100 years had left the Church at a crossroads. The constant jockeying for control had caused dynastic and political divisions, armed conflicts and a profound weakening of the papacy’s spiritual authority.

The general theme of this series will be to look at how the Church pulled itself out of the death spiral of corruption and entered a time we know even to this day as a golden age; the 12th century renaissance - a true rebirth that came out of moral and political reforms.

In our own time of darkness, it’s important to know that the Church’s history is one not only of crises but of recoveries - of renewal rising from collapse. This rebirth was no mere accident of history; it was the fruit of determined reformers, spiritually inspired movements, and visionary leaders.

In today’s post for paid members, we’re going to take stock of where the Church, the empire and western European Christian society was standing at the opening of the 11th century: where can we possibly go from here?

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First I’d like to thank everyone for sticking around while posts have been sparse lately, for already-stated reasons. Things seem to be easing up, and with some help and sleep and exercise, I’ve been feeling a bit better. I won’t go into any more detail, but I do want to say that I’m grateful for the understanding and patience I’ve been finding from readers, supporters and friends. Something that really helps me, as it does anyone, is knowing that others are helped, built up and strengthened by what I do.

I’m still pretty low energy physically, so I’m just letting the posts take as long as they need to get finished. But the results of our polls show me there’s a lot of interest in this material, so, armed with a new keyboard and a vitamin regimen, we’ll push forward. Let’s get back to work.

I think the current series is important for us now, at a time when a lot of us are feeling out of hope for the Church, and deeply dubious about the world as well. We will peer deep down the tunnel of history at a time when all hope seemed impossible, when cynicism or even despair would have seemed a perfectly reasonable response. But it was turned around in a way that we might think miraculous, if we didn’t have good records of who the main actors were; good men, strong Christian leaders, with inspiration from the Holy Ghost, who turned it all around.

This week’s post for all subscribers will show some of the first fruits of the reforms; the incredible Ottonian manuscripts and other art forms.

“Incipit”. (Can you read it? Look closely.) Sacramentary of Henry II (German: Sakramentar Heinrichs II) also called the Regensburg Sacramentary. c. 995-1024

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At the Sacred Images Project we talk about Christian life, thought, history and culture through the lens of the first 1200 years of sacred art. The publication is supported by subscriptions, so apart from plugging my shop, there is no advertising or pop-ups. It’s my full time job, but it’s still not bringing a full time income, so I can’t yet provide all the things I want to and am planning for.

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For $9/month you also get the second half of the third post, plus a weekly paywalled in-depth article on our great sacred patrimony. There are also occasional extras like downloadable exclusive high resolution printable images, ebooks, mini-courses, videos and eventually podcasts.

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The Christmas shopping season is closing, since it is now past the deadline for shipping before the 25th. But the shop is still open, and I’m very chuffed about how popular this little Sienese Gothic angel tree ornament has been. I sort of knew people would like him:

People tell me all the time - and I’ve found this myself - how difficult it can be to find really nice religious cards and decorations for Christmas.

There are still plenty of nice things to browse:

Subscribe to join us below as we talk about the founding of the Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, and the first rays of the dawn after the long darkness:

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