A Primary Study On The Economic Relationships Between Church And Banks In The Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages,the Catholic Church established a huge network of taxes in Western Europe.As the largest feudal lord in Western Europe,its various incomes flowed continuously into Rome.The Church,which should abide by the principles of abstinence and being poor,desperately hopes that put the "Emperor's new clothes" on these huge sums of money through appropriate and legitimate channels.In addition,when the church's income is hard to meet expenses,the church also hopes that can timely receive financial support and assistance from banks and even seeks help from usury.In the early stage,the banking industry exerted its own advantages to "solve problems" for the church,obtaining not only a huge amount of capital sources but also working on the usury through various evasive means to make profit.Moreover,bankers make clever use of church authority to ensure and facilitate the conduct of their businesses.The close economic ties between the church and the banks have solved the financial difficulties of the church and stimulated the development of the banking industry.The medieval church is not only entrusted with the spiritual pursuit of the Western European masses,but also an economic organization with strong finance.The collection and transit work about the taxes from different regions not only provided sufficient guarantees for the accumulation and expenditure of the Holy See's finances,but also broke the limitations of the region and promoted the exchange and circulation of different currencies.This work was initially led by the Knights Templar and later by the rising banks and bankers.The connection between the church and the banks also changed from the internal connection of the Holy See to the external contact of the Holy See.The latter is mainly reflected by the relationships between pope and banks.The church's own economic activities broke the shackles of the church's view of money and economic ethics to some extent.Under the impetus of social and economic development,the contradiction between church theory and practice was gradually reconciled.Based on the Catholic Church in the late Middle Ages,this paper places emphasis on the economic development of the Catholic Church in the late Middle Ages and its specific economic activities,and starts with the economic function of the Knights Templar.By analyzing the relationships between the institutions,personnel as well as the economic ethics of the Catholic Church and the banks,I hope I can explore the Catholic economic status and its relationships with the rise of capitalism.