Editing Pope Innocent III (section)

===Reassertion of papal power===
[[File:Papal Bulla of Innocent III (FindID 235228).jpg|thumb| [[Bulla (seal)|Bulla]] of Innocent III ]]

As pope, Innocent III began with a very wide sense of his responsibility and his authority. During Innocent III's reign, the papacy was at the height of its powers. He was considered the most powerful person in Europe at the time.<ref>''Civilization in the West'', Kishlansky, Geary, O'Brien, Volume A to 1500, Seventh Edition, p.&nbsp;278</ref> In 1198, Innocent wrote to the prefect Acerbius and the nobles of Tuscany expressing his support of the medieval political [[Sun and Moon allegory]].<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/innIII-policies.html Medieval Sourcebook: Innocent III: Letters on Papal Polices]. Fordham.edu</ref> His papacy asserted the absolute spiritual authority of his office, while still respecting the temporal authority of kings.<ref name=Muldoon>Muldoon, James. [https://books.google.com/books?id=oXqJDAAAQBAJ&dq=Pope+Innocent+III+%2B+Involvement+in+Imperial+elections&pg=PA86 ''Empire and Order''], Springer, 1999, p. 81, {{ISBN|978-0230512238}}</ref>

There was scarcely a country in Europe over which Innocent III did not in some way or other assert the supremacy which he claimed for the papacy. He [[Excommunication in the Catholic Church|excommunicated]] [[Alfonso IX of León]] for marrying a near relative, [[Berengaria of Castile]], a daughter of [[Alfonso VIII]], contrary to the laws of the Church, and effected their separation in 1204. in 1208, for similar reasons, he [[annulled]] the marriage of the crown-prince, [[Afonso II of Portugal]], with [[Urraca of Castile, Queen of Portugal|Urraca]], daughter of [[Alfonso VIII of Castile|Alfonso of Castile]]. He received Aragon in vassalage from [[Pedro II of Aragon|Pedro II]] and crowned him king at Rome in 1204.<ref name="catholic.encyclopedia.ott.michael.1910">{{Cite encyclopedia |last1=Ott |first1=Michael |title=Pope Innocent III |encyclopedia=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]] |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08013a.htm |volume=8 |location=New York |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |date=1910 |access-date=6 January 2021 |via=[[New Advent]]}}</ref>

The Muslim recapture of [[Jerusalem]] in 1187 was to him a divine judgment on the moral lapses of Christian princes. He was also determined to protect what he called "the liberty of the Church" from inroads by [[secularity|secular]] princes. This determination meant, among other things, that princes should not be involved in the selection of [[bishop]]s. It was particularly focused on the [[Patrimony of Saint Peter]], the section of central Italy claimed by the popes and later called the [[Papal States]]. The patrimonium was routinely threatened by the [[Holy Roman Empire]] of the [[House of Hohenstaufen]], which claimed it. [[Emperor Henry VI]] expected his infant son [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick]] to bring Germany, Italy, and Sicily under a single ruler, which would leave the Papal States exceedingly vulnerable.<ref name="catholic.encyclopedia.ott.michael.1910"/>

Henry's early death left his three-year-old son Frederick as king of Sicily. Henry VI's widow, [[Constance I of Sicily|Constance of Sicily]], ruled over Sicily for her young son before he reached the age of majority. She was as eager to remove German power from Sicily's kingdom as Innocent III and named Innocent as the young Frederick's guardian until he reached maturity before she died in 1198, In exchange, Innocent was also able to recover papal rights in Sicily that had been surrendered decades earlier to King [[William I of Sicily]] by [[Pope Adrian IV]]. The Pope invested the young Frederick II as King of Sicily in November 1198. He also later induced Frederick II to marry [[Constance of Aragon, Holy Roman Empress|Constance of Aragon]], the widow of King [[Emeric of Hungary]], in 1209.<ref name="catholic.encyclopedia.ott.michael.1910"/>