Sun and moon allegory
The sun and moon allegory is used to describe a political system of the Middle Ages which submits the secular power to the spiritual power, stating that the Pope is like the sun i.e. the only source of own light, while the Emperor is like the moon, which merely reflects lights and has no value without the sun. The system dominated Europe in the 13th century.[1] It is related to the general concept of Papal supremacy as articulated by the Roman Catholic Church in history.
An affirmation of this view, which was confirmed by the Lateran Council I,[2] is seen in the letters of Pope Innocent III. "The Lord gave Peter the rule not only over the universal Church, but also the rule over the whole world." "No king can reign rightly unless he devoutly serves Christ's vicar." "The priesthood is the sun, the kingdom the moon. Kings rule over their respective kingdoms, but Peter rules over the whole earth."[3]
While the content of the letters was subtle in their inferred goal of securing his authority, when read in total, his goal becomes more obvious:
Papal Authority: Letter to the prefect Acerbius and the nobles of Tuscany, 1198,
Just as the founder of the universe established two great lights in the firmament of heaven, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night, so too He set two great dignities in the firmament of the universal church..., the greater on to rule the day, that is, souls, and the lesser to rule the night, that is, bodies. These dignities are the papal authority and the royal power. Now just as the moon derives its light from the sun and is indeed lower than it in quantity and quality, in position and in power, so too the royal power derives the splendor of its dignity from the pontifical authority.....[4]
This view was later entered into Canon law and extended by the allegory of the two swords in Unam sanctam.[2] The "Allegory of the two suns" is further enhanced and defended "rationally" by Dante Alighieri in his work De Monarchia and others and puts the pope and the emperor on the same level, with different functions.
References
- ↑ (Italian) http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/duo-luminaria_%28Federiciana%29/
- 1 2 Elliott, Charles (1 January 1842). Delineation of Roman Catholicism: Drawn from the Authentic and Acknowledged Standards of the Church of Rome ... G. Lane & P.P. Sanford. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ↑ http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Innocent.html
- ↑ Medieval Sourcebook: Innocent III: Letters on Papal Polices. Fordham.edu