Book 2, Part 2, The Schoolmen: Chapter 7, The Papacy in the Dark Ages Summary and Analysis

The papacy changed following Gregory the Great undergoing transformations through its relation to the State. The popes became independent of the Greek emperors through the Lombards, while the refusal of the Eastern Churches to adhere to papal jurisdiction led to the separation between the Eastern and Western Churches.

The Lombards formed an alliance with the Franks that led to the Holy Roman Empire, assuring harmony between the Pope and Emperor through the constitution. It allowed Nicholas I to increase the papal power, but anarchy that followed subjected it to the Roman aristocracy.

As popes were subject to their emperors, those that resisted, such as Martin I, were imprisoned. Since 685 to 752 most popes were Syrians or Greeks. In 751 the Lombards conquered Ravenna...