History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The conception of the Roman patriciate from the eleventh century onwards became of world-wide importance. It invested the German kings, who snatched it from the Roman nobility and allied it to their crown, with power over the city and the right of nomination to the Sacred Chair. It therefore became the foremost object of the struggle between the Church - struggling to obtain her emancipation - and the State. The Church had scarcely entered on the path of inward reform when She strove with all her power to throw off the yoke of the Patricius. Neither creatures of the nobility, nor creatures of the king, were to be appointed to the Papacy: the papal election must be free and the independent work of the clergy. The patriciate of the city thus called forth the celebrated statute of election of Nicholas II. And the creation of the College of Cardinals, and the struggle of the popes against the patriciate at length developed into a struggle against the right of investiture in general.