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No one really. The church did to some extent, but in the late middle ages the kings began to ignore the Popes and go against the church teachings.

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The Church was often quite effective in constraining the power of the secular authorities. There was a constant power struggle through much of the Middle Ages over the separation of Church and state. The Investiture Controversy is one element of this, but the situation was much deeper than a single issue.

The question of Benefit of Clergy was an important imposition on the authority of the secular judicial system and, hence, the king. This benefit, which made clergy only responsible to ecclesiastical courts, was eventually extended to the point that in some places anyone who could read was to by tried by the Church rather than the state. Church courts did not resort to torture, Church judges gave sentences aimed at rehabilitation rather than revenge, and Church prisons were cleaner and had better food than those run by secular authorities.

The question of sanctuary was revisited over and over again because of the limitations it imposed on the king. In many places, any fugitive could go to a church or monastery and receive asylum, and in some places, this asylum was permanent, regardless of who the fugitive was running away from or why. This right was so extensive that Isabella of Angoulême was able to live out her life in a monastery even though the crime she was accused of was an attempted murder of King Louis IX.

The power the Church had over kings and nobles was that it could excommunicate them and, if it did so, free anyone bound to the king or noble of any oaths made to him. Vassals of the king no longer had to perform their duties, and treaties made with a king were no longer binding. In some cases, kings were given licence to invade and take the nations of other kings.

An example of how damaging this could be is can be seen in the case of Emperor Henry IV if the Holy Roman Empire. He was arguably the most powerful man in Europe until he ran afoul of the pope. After being excommunicated (for the second time), he spent most of his time having to deal with constant uprisings, some of which were headed by his own son, and others by members of his nobility. He had been trying to extend his power, and instead he lost far more than he had attempted to gain.

The Church spent time and effort trying to improve the lot of the poor and needy. There were several papal actions of one sort or another aimed at protecting people in time of war and benefiting those who had been hurt physically or financially. Since these things were difficult to enforce, they were ineffective to a degree. But the moral authority of the Church was added to elements of the Code of Chivalry to cause knights and soldiers to consider the rights and lives of people, who in earlier times, would only have been unconsidered victims.

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13y ago
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13y ago

As it says in my dry history book, the nobles began to order new forms and take control while the kings were more there for certain topics that the nobles could not acceed. In my opinion, the kings were better and more significant because there were the kings, no one else. No one can steal that from them, well unless murder strikes their lives, but even though the nobles were taking control of the serfs or peasants that farmed on their lands, nothing could compare to the KING. Finally, i state that the nobles merely thought themselves as above the king therefore constraining the king into coming second.

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Q: Who constrained the power of kings and nobles in the Middle Ages?
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During the medieval period im Europe the political power of the kings and great nobles was often constrained by the actions of?

the church


During the medieval period in Europe the political power of the kings and great nobles was often constrained by the actions of?

Pope and church to some extent, but in the late middle ages the kings often fought the Pope and ignored him.


At the end of the Middle Ages power shifted from Feudal Lords to?

Kings and Popes... I believe. (:


Who had power in Europe before the kings and the popes?

Nobles


Is during the AD 800s the power in government transferred to nobles instead of kings true?

No. Nobles were kings so that makes your question false.


Asystem where kings nobles and knights had land power?

Feudalism


Who did nobles lose power to during the middle ages?

During the A.D. 800s, this shift of power from kings to nobles led to new order known as feudalism. Under feudalism, landowning nobles governed and also protected the people in return for services,such as fighting in a noble's army or farming the lands.


During the medieval in Europe the political power of the kings and great nobles was often constrained by the actions of?

In some cases the powers of kings and great nobles were constrained by the pope and the church. King John had an interdiction against him. It did not lead to the Magna Carta, but did lead to the king acknowledging obedience to the church. In other cases, the powers of greater nobility were constrained by groups of lesser nobility. This was what brought about the Magna Carta. There were a few cases where ordinary common citizens had a powerful role in determining things. The citizens of London importantly threw their support to King Steven over Queen Matilda in the civil war between them. They did this largely because they simply did not like the queen, who treated them with disdain.


Who gained the power to appoint bishops and other officials during the 800s?

Kings and Nobles


What did the nobles do in the Middle Ages?

Nobles in the Middle Ages are like managers now a day. Taking care of their land and managing their household or land. Noble men were forced to go and fight in war though and while they were away their wife took control of the land. So they had the overall power until their husband returned.


Who did nobles have power over in the middle ages?

Under Tenants had power over the peasants


Why were medieval kings and nobles often at odds?

Unlike the massively powerful kings of the early modern era (ie: Louis XIV), Medieval kings were usually quite limited in authority. Nobles held much of the wealth and owned the most land. The Magna Carta is a classic example of the nobles successfully limiting the powers of the king in England, and while it is viewed as a triumph today for the limitation of power it served as an impediment to centralization and progress in its own time. Nobles and Kings (along with the church) represented the only powerful classes of Europe during the Middle Ages, naturally putting them at odds with one another.