History of the papacy in the context of "Renaissance Papacy"

Saeculum obscurum (Ecclesiastical Latin: [ˈsɛː.ku.lu.m obsˈkuː.rum], "the dark age/century"), also known as the Rule of the Harlots or the Pornocracy, was a period in the history of the papacy during the first two thirds of the 10th century, following the chaos after the death of Pope Formosus in 896, and the seven legitimate popes and one illegitimate antipope elected between 896 and 904. It began with the installation of Pope Sergius III in 904 and lasted for 60 years until the death of Pope John XII in 964. During this period, the popes were influenced strongly by a powerful and allegedly corrupt aristocratic family, the Theophylacti, and their relatives and allies. The era is seen as one of the lowest points of the history of the papal office.

The Donation of Pepin, or Donation of Pippin, was the transfer of Frankish territory in central Italy to Pope Stephen II made by Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, in 756. Credited with "effectively establishing the temporal authority of the papacy," the Donation took place amid the Byzantine Empire's decline in Italy and marked both "an important moment in the papal–Carolingian alliance" and an "important step" in the formation of the Papal States. With the fall of the imperial capital in Italy, Ravenna, to Aistulf, King of the Lombards in 751, "any semblance of imperial protection for Rome" had evaporated and the pope, who had technically been a Byzantine subject to this point, turned to Pepin for assistance. Pepin invaded Italy and, following an initial victory in 755, he decisively "defeated Aistulf and imposed a peace on him" in 756.

Pepin had promised Italian lands to Stephen II at a meeting in Quierzy, France in April 754. While this earlier promise is "often identified as the Donation," it may have been only verbal and "does not exist in written form." Papal accounts of the 754 promise state that Pepin "granted the pope the exarchate, including Ravenna, and the Roman duchy." In 756, the "Confession of St. Peter," a document listing the cities involved in the Donation, was "placed on the altar of Old St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome" along with "keys of the cities and territories in central Italy." The Confession document was created "following Pippin’s second invasion of Italy to assist the pope." After his initial invasion in 755, Pepin concluded the First Peace of Pavia, but Aistulf "refused to abide by" this agreement and attacked Rome. Pepin then defeated Aistulf again, imposing "heavy penalties" with the Second Peace of Pavia in 756.

A cardinal-nephew (Latin: cardinalis nepos; Italian: cardinale nipote; Spanish: valido de su tío; Portuguese: cardeal-sobrinho; French: prince de fortune) was a cardinal elevated by a pope who was that cardinal's relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages, and reached its apex during the 16th and 17th centuries. The last cardinal-nephew was named in 1689 and the practice was abolished in 1692. The word nepotism originally referred specifically to this practice, when it appeared in the English language about 1669. From the middle of the Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) until Pope Innocent XII's anti-nepotism bull (a papal charter), Romanum decet pontificem (1692), a pope without a cardinal-nephew was the exception to the rule. Every Renaissance pope who created cardinals appointed a relative to the College of Cardinals, and the nephew was the most common choice, although one of Alexander VI's creations was his own son.

The institution of the cardinal-nephew evolved over seven centuries, tracking developments in the history of the papacy and the styles of individual popes. From 1566 until 1692, a cardinal-nephew held the curial office of the Superintendent of the Ecclesiastical State, known as the Cardinal Nephew, and thus the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. The curial office of the Cardinal Nephew as well as the institution of the cardinal-nephew declined as the power of the Cardinal Secretary of State increased and the temporal power of popes decreased in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the history of the Papacy, the Frankish Papacy (756–857) was a period marked by a shifting of influence from the Byzantine Empire (i.e. the Byzantine Papacy) to that of the kings of the Franks. Pepin the Short (ruled 751–768), Charlemagne (r. 768–814) (co-ruler with his brother Carloman I until 771), and Louis the Pious (r. 814–840) had considerable influence in the selection and administration of popes. The "Donation of Pepin" (756) ratified a new period of papal rule in central Italy, which became known as the Papal States.

This shift was initiated by the Lombards conquering the Exarchate of Ravenna from the Byzantines, strengthened by the Frankish triumph over the Lombards, and ended by the fragmentation of the Frankish Kingdom into West Francia, Middle Francia, and East Francia. Lothair I continued to rule Middle Francia which included much of the Italian peninsula, from 843 to 855.

The 1000s was a decade of the Julian Calendar which began on January 1, 1000, and ended on December 31, 1009.

• Palace Scandal: Princess Consort Yasuko has an affair. Michinaga (her half-brother) investigates it secretly and finds out the truth about her pregnancy. Yasuko cries and repents. Yasuko leaves the palace under the patronage of Empress Dowager Senshi and Michinaga (moved to his residence).
• Murasaki Shikibu starts to write The Tale of Genji.
• Ichimonjiya Wasuke, the oldest surviving wagashi store, is established as a teahouse adjacent to Imamiya Shrine.
• January 10: Death of Empress Dowager Masako (empress consort of the late Emperor Reizei)
• April 8: Fujiwara no Shoshi is promoted to Empress (Chugu), while there is another empress, Fujiwara no Teishi (kogo) - this is the first time that there are two empresses

• The Taíno have become the dominant culture of modern day Puerto Rico.

The Muslim world was in its Golden Age; still organised in caliphates, it continued to be dominated by the Abbasid Caliphate, with the Caliphate of Córdoba to the west, the Fatimid Caliphate in North Africa, and experienced ongoing campaigns in Africa and in India. At the time, Persia was in a period of instability, with various polities seceding from Abbasid rule, among whom the Ghaznavids would emerge as the most powerful.

The history of the papacy from 1046 to 1216 was marked by conflict between popes and the Holy Roman Emperor, most prominently the Investiture Controversy, a dispute over who— pope or emperor— could appoint bishops within the Empire. Henry IV's Walk to Canossa in 1077 to meet Pope Gregory VII (1073–85), although not dispositive within the context of the larger dispute, has become legendary. Although the emperor renounced any right to lay investiture in the Concordat of Worms (1122), the issue would flare up again.

The Imperial crown once held by the Carolingian emperors was disputed between their fractured heirs and local overlords; none emerged victorious until Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor invaded Italy. Large parts of northern and central Italy became a constituent kingdom of the Holy Roman Empire in 962, from which point emperors were Germanic. As emperors consolidated their position, northern Italian city-states would become divided by Guelphs and Ghibellines.