In nomine Domini

During the period of the Gregorian Reform and the struggle for investiture, Christian society underwent a significant transformation, which was reflected in the relations between secular and ecclesiastical power, the functioning of the Latin Church, and the priorities of legal and theological thought. An important part of this transformation was the new form of the electoral process, which was profoundly influenced by the issuance of the decree In nomine Domini by Pope Nicholas II in the late 1050s. Building on existing historical and canon law research, this book examines the development of papal elections in the Gregorian period. It pays particular attention to the real significance of the new electoral legislation, the formation of the College of Cardinals as a privileged group of electors, and other organisational and legal details of the electoral procedure. The selection of a new head of the Roman Church thus transcends the realm of intra-ecclesiastical matters and becomes a testimony to the dynamic formation of society-wide relations at the beginning of the High Middle Ages.