In 1314 during the Holy Roman Empire, something unusual happened. Instead of one king being elected, two kings were elected: Louis of Bavaria and Frederick of Austria. This was a disaster waiting to happen, things usually do not go well in situations like above. Even though these two were identified as emperors by everyone else the pope at the time John XXII did not grant them the official title of emperor. This led to the two emperors fighting each other, ending with Louis defeating Frederick. After Frederick’s defeat John XXII demanded Louis to surrender his titles, but Louis refused to do so. John XXII excommunicated Louis almost immediately. This went on like most conflicts between kings and popes. But someone who was influencing Louis at the time was a man named Marsilius of Padua, who was a philosopher. But how were the ideas of Marsilius of Padua evident in the conflict between Louis and pope John XXII.
To begin with, what were the views of Marsilius of Padua? His view was that the Church should not have political power, and that the pope was not a superior figure. For example the pope should not have as much power as an emperor, and should be below an emperor. But how were these ideas evident in Louis of Bavaria and Pope John XXII conflict? Well Louis went completely against the pope. For example he didn’t listen to what the pope said, basically showing that he thought what the pope said was not important. He also behaved in a way that proved that he thought the pope was below him.
In conclusion, the ways that the ideas of Marsilius of Padua were evident in Louis of Baveria’s conflict with Pope John XXII were: Louis going completely against the pope, showing that he thought the pope was not important, and in many ways showing that the pope was below him.
The Dreamer 