Innocent III

After becoming pope in 1198, Innocent III single-mindedly pursued a policy of claiming and exercising the power of the papacy over both church and state. He claimed the right of the pope to approve the election of the emperors in the West, patronized the new Franciscan and Dominican orders, and approved the Fourth Crusade. The Lateran Council IV (1215) culminated his reign. This council condemned heresy and considerably standardized and reformed both the teaching and the practice of the medieval church.