Local Churches, Rural Elites and Episcopal Jurisdiction in the Diocese of León (11th-12th Centuries)

PÉREZ, MARIEL.

Leeds

Congreso; Leeds International Medieval Congress 2016; 2016

Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds

One of the main aspects of the ecclesiastical reorganization launched by the Gregorian Reform was the subordination of local churches to the episcopal authority. However, this process was not exempt from difficulties, since the action of bishops was constrained by a series of particular practices and institutions of local societies. In this paper, I will analyze the interaction between bishops and rural elites in the diocese of León in order to demonstrate that the subjection of village churches to the episcopal jurisdiction was a result of transactional processes through which those rural elites tried to preserve some of their prerogatives over local churches.