<P> In England, the principle of separation of church and state can be found in the Magna Carta . The first clause declared that the Church in England would be free from interference by the Crown . This reflected an ongoing dispute King John was having with the Pope over Stephen Langton's election as archbishop of Canterbury, the result of which England had been under interdict for 7 years . The barons, who forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, wanted to create a separation between church and state powers to keep the Crown from using the Church as a political weapon and from arbitrarily seizing its lands and property . However, the Pope annulled the "shameful and demeaning agreement, forced upon the king by violence and fear" one month after it was signed . The Magna Carta was reissued, albeit with alterations, in 1216 and 1225 but continued to be a subject of contention for several centuries as it was either seen as providing legal precedence or by later monarchs as restricting their authority . </P> <P> Pope Boniface VIII put hungrily some of the strongest claims to temporal as well as spiritual supremacy of any Pope and intervened incessantly in foreign affairs . He proclaimed that it "is necessary for salvation that every living creature be under submission to the Roman pontiff", pushing Papal Supremacy to its historical extreme . Boniface's quarrel with Philip the Fair became so resentful that he excommunicated him in 1303 . However, before the Pope could lay France under an interdict, Boniface was seized by Philip . Although he was released from captivity after four days, he died of shock 6 months later . No subsequent popes were to repeat Boniface VIII's claims . </P> <P> Although initially close to King Henry II, as Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket became an independent figure . King Henry devoted his reign to the restoration of the royal customs of his grandfather King Henry I, as part of this he wanted to extend his authority over the Church and limit its freedoms . The Becket dispute revolved around the Constitutions of Clarendon, a document which Becket and the Pope largely condemned . Becket eventually fled England and went into exile in France; during these six years there were a number of attempts at restoring peace . The fourth meeting at Fréteval ended in an agreement and Becket decided to return to Canterbury . However the King reneged on his promises made at Fréteval and in response Becket produced a number of censures on royal officials and clergymen . Four barons of the King sought to gain the King's favour and therefore proceeded to Canterbury Cathedral to confront Becket; some claim that they intended to scare and possibly arrest Becket rather than to kill him . Nonetheless after a heated argument the four barons murdered Becket on the steps of the altar in Canterbury Cathedral . The King publicly expressed remorse for this killing, but took no action to arrest Becket's killers . He attended Canterbury in sackcloth and ashes as an act of public penance . Later in 1174 he submitted himself before the tomb of Thomas Becket, thus recognizing St. Thomas's sanctity . </P> <P> The conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines began as part of the secular - papal struggle . Guelf (also spelled Guelph) and Ghibelline, were members of two opposing factions in German and Italian politics during the Middle Ages . The split between the Guelfs, who were sympathetic to the papacy, and the Ghibellines, who were sympathetic to the German (Holy Roman) emperors, contributed to chronic strife within the cities of northern Italy in the 13th and 14th centuries . </P>

Catholic church in europe during the middle ages