"A revolution shook the Christian world in the second half of the eleventh century. Many eminent historians point to Hildebrand, later Gregory VII (1073-1085), as the prime mover of this movement that aspired to free the Church from secular entanglements, and to return it to its state of paleochristian purity. Mary Stroll sees the reform from the perspective of much wider developments such as the split between the Greek and the Latin Churches and the Norman infiltration of Southern Italy. Contentrating on the popes and the antipopes she delves into the character and motivations of the important personae, and does not see the movement as a smooth line of progress. The outcome is seen as a reversal of power of what had been a strong empire and a weak papacy"--P. [4] of cover.

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