10.5    Rise of New Monarchies/ · Part 2

courts were set up to punish erring church officials such as the bishops, priests and nuns. The royal courts could not try them. Ecclesiastical courts had more power than the courts of the kings. This further undermined the power of the kings. Excommunication was a powerful punishment exercised by the Pope to humiliate the king in front of his nobles and subjects. Henry IV of Germany was excommunicated by Pope Gregory VII for not respecting his ordinances. The kings could not, Pope Gregory VII therefore, antagonise the church. But the Black Death weakened position of the church as it could not explain the causes for the Black Death. The authority of Pope came to be increasingly challenged by many of the early dissenters. Spain as Nation-State Major parts of Spain were under the control of the Moors, Muslim Saracens, the descendants of the Arab conquerors. There were two important kingdoms: Aragon and Castile. A turning point in the history of Spain was the King Ferdinand of Aragon marrying Queen Isabella of Castile. Together they worked hard to drive away the Moors and unite Spain. The king and queen took power in their hands ( ) and controlled the nobles by eliminating them from the royal councils. Spain emerged as a nation state. Both Ferdinand and Isabella who jointly ruled Spain were devout Catholics. During the rule of the Moors, the Jews who controlled the economy of Spain enjoyed considerable freedom. Now, the Moors and the Jews were forced to convert to Christianity. The king setup the Spanish Inquisition through which the Jew and Moor converts were kept in strict vigil. Many non-believers were tried, tortured and burnt at the stake. The royal house became more powerful than the church. The discovery of the sea route to Americas by Columbus and the conquest of Inca and Aztec empires by the Spaniards brought enormous wealth. This made Spain prosperous, and it began to play a leading part in European politics. England as Nation-State There was conflict between two royal houses in England namely the House of York and House of Lancaster for the