The Church and the Empire details the history of the church during the central Middle Ages, from AD 1003 to AD 1304. Church history during this period is deeply political, marked by struggle between the Empire and the Papacy, and this volume includes a highly useful introduction to political thought of the Middle Ages, and its relationship to the Church. This volume covers the beginnings of church reform in AD 1003 and follows struggles between church and state up through the fall of the Eastern Empire and the Papacy of Boniface VIII.