The History of the World Podcast, written and presented by Chris Hasler

Volume 4, The Medieval World, Episode 32, The Paper Sea and the Holy Roman Empire. The home The Holy Roman Empire was effectively created by the Paper Sea and their relationship

with each other during the medieval period was not always harmonious,

which had far-reaching and long-lasting consequences on the whole of Europe.

It seems incredible that the humble role of a Christian Bishop could be

responsible for this. So let's explore this important relationship a little bit further and discover how this could happen.

The Bishop in question is the Bishop of Rome.

Initially just the head of a church belonging to a minor religion within a pagan empire.

With the city of Rome being the traditional birthplace of the Roman Empire,

when Christianity gained popularity, it was deemed appropriate that the Christian Bishop of Rome be recognised as the Supreme

Pontif, which was the name of the head priest of the Romans, amalgamating Christianity with Roman religion.

With the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire with their capital at Constantinople

would attempt to have their own bishop recognized as the true

supreme pontiff.

Something that the Church of Rome opposed.

And this is why they established a Holy Roman Emperor in order to represent themselves as the true successes of the Roman Empire

claiming that the Eastern Roman Empire was not the true successor state of the Great Classical Roman Empire.

It is difficult for the open-minded historian to pinpoint the glorious beginning of the papacy through contemporary writings.

Even Christian scriptures are questioned by Christians themselves because of various discrepancies.

Essentially it was claimed in biblical texts that Jesus designated Peter the

Apostle as the founder of the Christian Church.

Peter would establish the Bishoprics of Antioch and of Rome, the latter of those being the place of Peter's crucifixion by the Romans,

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