The cultural reality of the West in the 10th and 11th centuries was the result of a long process of transformation of the ancient world. It took its final shape as a result of the reforms and practices of exercising power by the Carolingians. An important element of this was the strengthening of the idea of the origin of monarchical power from God, its sacralization and the development of the coronation ritual. Numerous duties were imposed on the ruler. These included care for the Church and the followers of Jesus, expanding the borders of the Christian world, founding churches and establishing monasteries, and finally – responsibility before God for the salvation of his subjects. In return, the ruler could count on the prayer pro rege et regibus, the inscription of his name in the Eucharistic prayer, the support of the saints he endowed with gifts and, after the act of unction, on the inviolability of his position as a monarch.
The model of the sacrality of power, developed in the Carolingian era and developed by the Ottonians, was thoroughly redefined and ultimately rejected by the Gregorian Church.