276 A BRIEF SURVEY OF HUMAN HISTORY

it. And I will give unto thee Keys of the Kingdom of
Heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
bound in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth
shall be loosed in. Heaven."

Peter was the First Pope (Latin, papa=father) or
Bishop of Rome. Both on this account and because of
the prestige that Rome enjoyed throughout Europe as the
imperial capital, the See of St. Peter became naturally the
Head of the Roman Catholic (Universal) Church. It was
for this reason that the Emperor Valentinian III, in 455,
officially confirmed the supremacy of the Pope over Chris-
tendom. He made the decrees of the Pope binding on all
other bishops and required imperial governors to enforce
them. When, in 476, Odoacer extinguished the Western
Roman Empire, the Pope's prestige was further enhanced.
The Church of Rome became the sole bulwark of civilisa-
tion against the rising tide of barbarism. 'The Eastern
emperor was far away, and his officers, who managed to hold
a portion of central Italy around Rome and Revenna, were
glad to accept the aid and counsel of the Pope. In Rome
the Pope watched over the elections of the city officials and
directed the manner in which the public money should be
spent. He had to manage the great tracts of land in dif-
ferent parts of Italy which from time to time had been given
to the bishopric of Rome. He negotiated with the Germans
and even gave orders to -the generals sent against them.'1
We witnessed in the previous chapter how the Popes had
grown powerful enough to crown the Emperors. One of
the greatest among them was Gregory VII, the Pope who
declared Henry IV excommunicated and deposed. Under
his successors the Hohenstaufens were similarly treated.

1. J. H. Robinson, op. cit., p. 60.