Junior Religion Star Terms

✮ Papel States ✮

The Papal States (756–1870) were territories in central Italy ruled by the popes, formed when Pepin the Short, king of the Carolingian dynasty, gave land to Pope Stephen II after defeating the Lombards, who were threatening Rome and the Church. This gift, known as the Donation of Pepin, became one of the most sacred moments in Church history because it joined political protection with spiritual authority. To symbolize this act, Pepin presented the pope with the keys to the cities he had conquered, laying them on the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle in Rome. The keys represented the handing over of earthly authority to the successor of Peter, who was given the “keys of the Kingdom of Heaven” by Jesus. This gesture showed that just as Christ entrusted Peter with spiritual leadership, Pepin was entrusting the pope with temporal power and guardianship over God’s people on earth. The Papal States thus began as both a political and sacred trust — land ruled not by a king for himself, but by the pope for the good of the Church and all Christians. Over the centuries, popes such as Gregory VII, Innocent III, and Julius II expanded and defended these lands, using them to secure the independence of the Church from earthly rulers. Yet the mix of spiritual and worldly power also brought challenges, as the Church struggled to remain holy while governing territory.

✮Carolingian Dynasty✮

In the mid-eighth century, in the Western European Frankish kingdom, the mayor of the palace, Pepin, son of the legendary Charles Martel, took over the kingship from the Merovingian line, establishing the Carolingian Frankish kingdom. The greatest of these kings was Charlemagne, Pepin’s son. Charlemagne attracted to his capital in Aachen the greatest scholars in Europe. He regularized education and monastic life in his realm. He expanded the realm, helped the pope, and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800. Charlemagne’s son Pepin left the kingdom to be divided among his three sons, and by the late 9th century, the once great Frankish empire had been fragmented. The Papal States and the future national boundaries of Europe are in part an outgrowth of Carolingian actions. From the Carolingian renaissance of learning, future generations have received normalized script, many manuscripts of classical texts that were preserved that elsewise had been lost, and a standardization of Latin and the liturgy. In the Church, the ongoing problem of lay appointment of bishops and abbots only became more accepted.

✮ Alfred the Great ✮

• Alfred the Great was the King of Wessex, in southern England, in the late 9th c.) who ruled during a time of Viking and Dane invasions that struck his kingdom.

• Alfred believed the real problem was not just the attacks, but the deep corruption spreading through the Church and society—lords, bishops, and nobles caring more about land, wealth, and rank than about faith. The Church was filled with feudalism, nepotism, and simony, and the people had lost their ability to read or understand Latin, the holy language of Scripture and rituals.

• Alfred saw that even Christians were becoming “Christians without Christian virtue,” no longer living faithfully or wisely. He believed that both sacred and secular orders—the Church and rulers—must work together for God, and that all must have learning and virtue to keep the kingdom strong.

• Inspired by Pope Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care, Alfred spent 12 years translating it into English as an instruction manual for Christian living and leadership. He said those with wealth and leisure had a duty to learn, and should know English, while those capable learn Latin, because ignorance leads to sin and God’s punishment.

• Since learning in England had collapsed and monasteries were weak, he had to bring in foreign scholars from places like Wales and the Frankish lands, though he felt ashamed that his own people were too uneducated to teach themselves.

• Alfred believed that true survival was not just fighting off the Vikings but restoring faith, knowledge, and culture so his people would remember who they were.

• Through his wisdom, holiness, and scholarship, Alfred joined the sacred and secular together, ruling as both a strong king and a faithful servant of God.

✮ Alfred the Great ✮ more

• Alfred the Great was the King of Wessex in the late 9th century, in southern England, who fought to defend his kingdom from the Viking and Danish invasions while also restoring Christian learning and moral order.

• He ruled during a time when many church leaders and nobles had fallen into corruption, feudalism, nepotism, and simony, caring more about land and power than faith.

• Alfred believed the loss of education and virtue was even more dangerous than the Viking armies. Few people could still read Latin, which meant most Christians could no longer understand Scripture or the Church’s teachings. Wanting to fix this, Alfred turned to Pope Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care, a guide for bishops and rulers on how to lead with wisdom and holiness. Alfred personally translated the entire work from Latin into English, spending around 12 years on it, because he wanted every Christian—especially those with wealth and time—to study God’s word and live rightly.

• He said that culture and faith must come before war, because without knowing who you are, you cannot truly survive.

• He also brought in foreign scholars (mostly from Wales and Frankish lands) to rebuild schools and monasteries in England, since the Vikings had destroyed many learning centers and most English monks no longer had proper training.

• Alfred believed that both sacred and secular leaders had duties to God, and that ruling wisely was part of serving Him. When not scholarly, Christians were without Cristian virtue. He warned that when Christians stop learning and living with virtue, God will punish the nation, but when they seek wisdom and truth, they will prosper.

• Alfred became known not only as a warrior-king but as a holy and scholarly ruler who saw knowledge, virtue, and faith as the foundation of a strong Christian kingdom.