Universal power

This article is about the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor in the Middle Ages. For the idea of subtle fields of energy surrounding any living thing, see Energy (esotericism).
The pope Pius II and the emperor Frederick III.
Pope John XII and emperor Otto I.
Antipope Clement III and emperor Henry IV.

In the Middle Ages, the term universal power referred to the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope. Both were struggling for the so-called dominium mundi, or world dominion, in terms of political and spiritual supremacy.

The universal powers continued into the early 19th century until the Napoleonic Wars. The reshaping of Europe meant the effective end of the Empire. Although the Papacy had its territorial limits confined to the Vatican, it retained its soft power in the contemporary world.