This crowning process gave the pope large influence in the political arena. This ritual continued for a number of centuries. The Crusades, which occurred around .
1100 A.D., played a crucial role in challenging the church's authority. The pope identifying the spread of Islam as evil requested all of Europe embark on a "Crusade" to defeat the infidels. As the battles were fought, great treasures were found in the form of books and knowledge. These books were crude translations of old Greek texts, containing information which would eventually produce the waning of Church authority in the future. The Renaissance marked the beginning of intellectual re-birth. Writers such as Dante, Machiavelli, .
Guiarccidini, Vitoria, etc., all attempting to reform and some even contest church dominance. Dante in his imaginative work "Inferno" writes of hell which he envision is the pope's final destination. Machiavelli takes a more direct role classifying the actions of a prince to be above morality and ultimately above the Church. He continues the affront by classifying a human character of "virtu" as being completely centered around man (humanism). The Raison D' Tat is supreme especially in terms of the church belligerence. In the middle of the Renaissance, the Church was dealt a deadly blow from which it would never recover. This assault came via Martin Luther. His work, "95 Thesis", marked the beginning of the Reformation. This movement split the church into Catholic and Protestant sects. It marked the beginning of a bloody period which virtually split Europe in half. Examples of the conflict raged between Protestants and Catholics from the great slaughter of .
Protestants in Paris 1572 A.D. (7000 dead) to the Thirty Years War. With the .
Church in disarray, freedom was given to the "state" to begin to develop. During this period of Renaissance the political identity was going through a tremendous transformation. This transformation took form in what is called Absolutism.
