In the history of the Roman Catholic Church, the Avignon Papacy was the period from 1305 to 1376 during which seven popes, all French, resided in Avignon:
- Pope Clement V: 1305–1314
- Pope John XXII: 1316–1334
- Pope Benedict XII: 1334–1342
- Pope Clement VI: 1342–1352
- Pope Innocent VI: 1352–1362
- Pope Urban V: 1362–1370
- Pope Gregory XI: 1370–1378
In 1376, Gregory XI moved the papal residence back to Rome and died there in 1378. The Palais des Papes is a historical palace in Avignon, southern France, one of the largest and most important Medieval Gothic buildings in The History of the Catholic Church from apostolic times covers a period of nearly 2000 years making it the world's oldest and largest institution History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Sixteen Pope s have had French ancestry all in the second half of the Medieval era Avignon (/aviɲɔ̃/ in French) ( Provençal: Avinhon in classical norm or Avignoun in Mistralian norm is a commune Pope Clement V' (About 1264 &ndash April 20, 1314) born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled de Gouth and de Pope John (numbering Pope John XXII (1249 &ndash December 4, 1334) born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse) was Pope from 1316 to 1334 Pope Benedict XII (died April 25, 1342) born Jacques Fournier, was Pope from 1334 to 1342 Pope Clement VI (1291 &ndash December 6, 1352) born Pierre Roger, the fourth of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from May 1342 until his Pope Innocent VI (1282 or 1295 &ndash September 12, 1362) born Étienne Aubert, Pope at Avignon from 1352 to 1362 the successor Blessed See also Vicedomino de Vicedominis, a pope-elect who took the name Gregory XI. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Due to a dispute over the subsequent election, a faction of cardinals set up an antipope back in Avignon:
- Clement VII: 1378–1394
- Benedict XIII: 1394–1423 (expelled from Avignon in 1403)
This was the period of difficulty from 1378 to 1417 which Catholic scholars refer to as the "Western schism" or, "the great controversy of the antipopes" (also called "the second great schism" by some secular and Protestant historians), when parties within the Catholic Church were divided in their allegiances among the various claimants to the office of pope. A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official usually a bishop, of the Catholic Church. An antipope ( Latin: antipapa) is a person who makes a widely accepted claim to be the lawful Pope, in opposition to the pope recognised by the Roman The Great Schism of Western Christianity or Papal Schism (also known as the Western Schism) was a split within the Roman Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417 An antipope ( Latin: antipapa) is a person who makes a widely accepted claim to be the lawful Pope, in opposition to the pope recognised by the Roman The Council of Constance in 1417 finally resolved the controversy. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Council of Constance is the 16th Ecumenical council.
The Pontifical States (today limited to Vatican City) included land around Avignon (Comtat Venaissin) and a small enclave to the east. The Papal States, State(s of the Church or Pontifical States (in Italian Stato Ecclesiastico, Stato della Chiesa, Stati della Chiesa Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City (Stato della Città del Vaticano is a Landlocked sovereign City-state whose territory The Comtat Venaissin, often called the Comtat for short (lo Comtat Venaicin la Comtat is the former name of the region around the city of Avignon in what is now They remained part of the Pontifical States up to the French Revolution, during which they became part of France in 1791. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.
Contents |
Background
The Papacy in the Late Middle Ages played a major temporal role in addition to its spiritual role. The Late Middle Ages is a term used by historians to describe European history in the period of the 14th and 15th centuries (AD 1300–1499 The temporal power of the Popes is the political and governmental activity of the Popes of the Roman Catholic Church, as distinguished from their spiritual The conflict between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor was fundamentally a dispute over which of them was the leader of Christendom in secular matters. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and The Holy Roman Emperor (Römischer Kaiser or Römisch-Deutscher Kaiser Romanorum Imperator was the elected monarch ruling over the many varying numbers of states Christendom usually refers to Christianity as a territorial phenomenon In the early 14th century, the papacy was well past the prime of its secular rule – its importance had peaked in the 12th and 13th centuries. The success of the early crusades added greatly to the prestige of the Popes as secular leaders of Christendom, with monarchs like the Kings of England, France, and even the Emperor merely acting as Marshals for the popes and leading "their" armies. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents The Kings of Wessex, who conquered Kent and Sussex from Mercia in 825 became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during List of Queens and Empresses of France Wikipedia_talkFeatured_lists#Proposed_change_to_all_featured_lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below Marshal (also sometimes spelled marshall in American English, but not in British English) is a word used in several official titles of various branches One exception to this was Frederick II, who was twice excommunicated by the Pope during a single crusade. Frederick II ( December 26, 1194 &ndash December 13, 1250) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was a Pretender to the title Excommunication is a religious Censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community Frederick II ignored this and was moderately successful in the Holy Land. The Holy Land ( Arabic: الأرض المقدسة al-Arḍ ul-Muqaddasah;Ancient Aramaic: ארעא קדישא Ar'a Qaddisha; Hebrew: ארץ_הקודש
Beginning with Clement V, elected 1305, all popes during the residence of the papacy in Avignon were French. Pope Clement V' (About 1264 &ndash April 20, 1314) born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled de Gouth and de History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and However, this fact can make French influence seem greater than it was. Southern France at that time had a culture quite independent from Northern France, where most of the advisers to the King of France were based. Arles was at that time still independent, formally a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Arles (aʁl̥ Provençal Occitan: Arles in both classical and Mistralian norms is a City in the south of France, The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in The literature produced by the "troubadour" age in the Languedoc area is unique and strongly distinct from that of Royal circles in the north. A troubadour ( IPA:, originally) was a composer and performer of Occitan Lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100&ndash1350 Languedoc ( in French Lengadòc in Occitan) is a former Province of France, now continued in the modern-day ''régions'' of Languedoc-Roussillon Even in terms of religion, the South produced its own variant, the Cathar movement, which was ultimately declared heretical. The movement was fueled in no small party by the South's strong sense of independence, even though the South had been severely weakened during the Albigensian Crusade, a hundred years before. By the time of the Avignon Papacy, the power of the French King in this region was uncontested, although legally still not binding.
A stronger impact was made by the move of the Roman Curia from Rome to Avignon in 1305. The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church, together with the Pope Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Avignon (/aviɲɔ̃/ in French) ( Provençal: Avinhon in classical norm or Avignoun in Mistralian norm is a commune Following the impasse during the previous conclave and to escape from the infighting of the powerful families that had produced earlier Popes, such as the Colonna and the Orsini, the Church looked for a safer place and found it in Avignon, which was surrounded by the lands of the papal fief of Comtat Venaissin. A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals to elect the Pope (or Bishop of Rome) who is considered by Catholics to be the Successor The Colonna family was a powerful noble family in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one Pope and many other leaders The Orsini family was one of the most celebrated princely families in medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome, and which in former times had large possessions Avignon (/aviɲɔ̃/ in French) ( Provençal: Avinhon in classical norm or Avignoun in Mistralian norm is a commune The Comtat Venaissin, often called the Comtat for short (lo Comtat Venaicin la Comtat is the former name of the region around the city of Avignon in what is now Formally it was part of Arles, but in reality it was under the influence of the French king. During its time in Avignon the Papacy adopted many features of the Royal court: the life-style of its cardinals was more reminiscent of princes than clerics; more and more French cardinals, often relatives of the ruling pope, took key positions; and the closeness of French troops was a constant reminder of where secular power lay, with the memory of Boniface VIII still fresh. A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official usually a bishop, of the Catholic Church. Pope Boniface VIII (c 1235 &ndash October 11, 1303) born Benedetto Caetani, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1294
One of the most damaging developments for the Church grew directly out of the successful reorganization and centralization of its administration under Clement V and John XXII. Pope Clement V' (About 1264 &ndash April 20, 1314) born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled de Gouth and de Pope John (numbering Pope John XXII (1249 &ndash December 4, 1334) born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse) was Pope from 1316 to 1334 The Papacy now directly controlled the appointments of benefices, abandoning the customary election process that traditionally allotted this considerable income. Originally a benefice was a gift of land ( Precaria) for life as a reward for services rendered Many other forms of payment brought riches to the Holy See and its cardinals: Tithes, a ten-percent tax on church property, annates, the income of the first year after filling a position such as a bishophric, special taxes for crusades which never took place, and many forms of dispensation, from the entering of benefices without basic qualifications like literacy to the request of a converted Jew to visit his unconverted parents. A tithe (from Old English teogoþa "tenth" is a one-tenth part of something paid as a (usually voluntary contribution or as a Tax or levy Annates ( Latin annatae) were the whole of the first year's profits of a Roman Catholic Benefice which were generally given to the Papal Popes such as John XXII, Benedict XII and Clement VI reportedly spent fortunes on expensive wardrobe, and at banquets, silver and gold plates were used. Pope John (numbering Pope John XXII (1249 &ndash December 4, 1334) born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse) was Pope from 1316 to 1334 Pope Benedict XII (died April 25, 1342) born Jacques Fournier, was Pope from 1334 to 1342 Pope Clement VI (1291 &ndash December 6, 1352) born Pierre Roger, the fourth of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from May 1342 until his A banquet is a large public meal or feast complete with main courses and desserts Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Overall the public life of leading church members resembled more those of princes rather than members of the clergy. This splendor and corruption at the head of the Church found its way to the lower ranks: when a bishop had to pay up to a year's income for gaining a benefice, he sought ways of raising this money from his new office. Originally a benefice was a gift of land ( Precaria) for life as a reward for services rendered This was taken to extremes by the pardoners who sold absolutions for all kinds of sins to the poor. Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the traditional Churches in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Where pardoners were hated but needed to redeem one's soul, the friars who failed to follow a Christian path by failing their vows of chastity and poverty were despised. A Friar is a member of one of the Mendicant orders. Friars and monks Friars differ from Monks in that they are called to a life of poverty in service Chastity is Sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the ethical norms and guidelines of a culture civilization or Religion. Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and This sentiment strengthened movements calling for a return to absolute poverty, relinquishment of all personal and church belongings, and preaching as the Lord and his disciples did. For the Church, an institution embedded in the secular structure and its focus on property, this was a dangerous development, and in the early 14th century most of these movements were declared heresy/heretical. These included the Fraticelli and Waldensian movements in Italy, and the Hussite movement in Bohemia (inspired by John Wycliff in England). The Fraticelli, sometimes confusingly called Fratricelli, were medieval Roman Catholic groups that could trace their origins to the Franciscans, but General description The earliest Waldensians believed in poverty and austerity promoting true poverty public preaching and the personal study of the scriptures The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus or John Huss (c John Wycliffe (ˈwɪklɪf also spelled Wyclif, Wycliff, Wiclef, Wicliffe, or Wickliffe) (mid-1320s – 31 December Furthermore, the display of wealth by the upper ranks of the church, which contrasted with the common expectation of poverty and strict adherence to principles, was used by the Papacy's enemies in raising charges against the popes: King Philippe of France employed the strategy, as did Emperor Louis IV. Louis IV ( 1 April[[ 282]] &ndash 11 October 1347) called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the Duke of Bavaria In his conflict with the latter, Pope John XXII excommunicated two leading philosophers, Marsilius of Padua and William Ockham, who were outspoken critics of the Papacy, and who had found refuge with Ludwig of Bavaria in Munich. Pope John (numbering Pope John XXII (1249 &ndash December 4, 1334) born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse) was Pope from 1316 to 1334 Marsilius of Padua ( Italian Marsilio or Marsiglio da Padova; c William of Ockham (also Occam, Hockham, or any of several other spellings ˈɒkəm (c Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. In response William of Ockham charged the pope with seventy errors and seven heresies.
The proceedings against the Templars in the Council of Vienne are representative of this time, reflecting the various powers and their relationships. The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order The Council of Vienne was the Fifteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church that met between 1311 and 1312 in Vienne. In 1314 the collegium at Vienne convened to make a ruling concerning the Templars. This article is about the French department Do not confuse with the Austrian capital Vienna. The council, overall unconvinced about the guilt of the order as a whole, was unlikely to condemn the entire order based on the scarce evidence brought forward. Exerting massive pressure in order to gain part of the substantial funds of the Order, the King managed to get the ruling he wanted. Pope Clement V ordered by decree the suppression of the order. In the cathedral of St-Maurice in Vienne, the King of France and his son the King of Navarre were sitting next to him when he issued the decree. This article is about the history and organisation of the cathedral Saint-Maurice is the name or part of the name of numerous places in French speaking countries This is a list of the kings of Pamplona ( Iruña in Basque), later Navarre. Under pain of excommunication, no one was allowed to speak at that occasion, except when asked by the Pope. Excommunication is a religious Censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community The Templars who appeared in Vienne to defend their order were not allowed to present their case: originally cardinals of the collegium ruled that they should be allowed to raise a defense, but after the arrival of the King of France in Vienne, putting pressure on the collegium, this decision was revoked.
Papacy in the 14th century
Popes and The King of France
The beginning of the century, that would later be characterized by calamities such as the Black Death and the Hundred Years' War between the two major powers in Europe, saw a Papacy apparently at the height of its power. The Black Death, or the Black Plague, was one of the deadliest Pandemics in human history widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia The Hundred Years' War (Guerre de Cent Ans was a prolonged conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne vacant with the extinction of the senior Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303, born Benedict Caetani), an experienced politician sometimes described as brusque and arrogant, was a ferocious proponent of the Universal Sovereignty of the Papacy over all Christendom, as stated in the 11th century Dictatus Papae. Pope Boniface VIII (c 1235 &ndash October 11, 1303) born Benedetto Caetani, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1294 A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person Dictatus papae is a compilation of 27 axiomatic statements of powers arrogated to the Pope that was included in Pope Gregory VII 's register under the year The concrete issue that sparked conflict with King Philip IV of France was the question whether secular lords were allowed to tax the clergy. In his bull Clericis Laicos (1296), Boniface VIII prohibited any taxation on church property except by the Papacy or the payment of such taxes. Clericis laicos was a Papal bull issued on February 25, 1296 by Pope Boniface VIII in an attempt to prevent the secular states of Europe in But only one year later he granted Philip IV the right to raise taxes on the clergy in cases of emergency. The great success of the Jubilee Year 1300 (it is reported that up to 2 million pilgrims visited Rome) considerably strengthened the prestige of the Papacy, brought funds to Rome and led the Pope to grossly overestimate his temporal powers. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 After the arrest of the Bishop of Pamiers by Philip IV, the Pope issued the bull Salvator Mundi, retracting all privileges granted to the French king by previous popes, and a few weeks later Ausculta fili with charges against the king, summoning him before a council to Rome. Salvator Mundi, or Saviour of the World, is a subject in Iconography depicting Christ with his right hand raised in Blessing and his In a bold assertion of Papal sovereignty, Boniface declared that "God has placed us over the Kings and Kingdoms. " In response, Philippe wrote "Your venerable stupidness may know, that we are nobody's vassal in temporal matters," and called for a meeting of the Estates General, a council of the lords of France, who supported his position. In France under the Ancien Regime, the States-General or Estates-General (French états généraux) was a Legislative assembly The King of France issued charges of sodomy, simony, sorcery, and heresy against the pope and summoned him before the council. Sodomy (ˈsɒdəmi is a term used today predominantly in Law (derived from traditional Christian usage to describe the act of Anal intercourse, Oral intercourse Simony is the Ecclesiastical crime of paying for Holy offices or positions in the hierarchy of a church named after Simon Magus, who appears in the Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief especially a religion that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief The pope's response was the strongest affirmation to date of papal sovereignty. In Unam Sanctam (November 18, 1302), he decreed that "it is necessary to salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman pontiff. On November 18, 1302, Pope Boniface VIII issued the Papal bull Unam sanctam which historians consider one of the most extreme statements Events 326 - The old St Peter's Basilica is consecrated 1302 - Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and " He was preparing a bull that would excommunicate the King of France and put the interdict over France, and to depose the entire clergy of France, when in September of 1303, William Nogaret, the strongest critic of the Papacy in the French inner circle, led a delegation to Rome, with intentionally loose orders by the king to bring the pope, if necessary by force, before a council to rule on the charges brought against him. In the Roman Catholic Church, the word interdict (in’tér-dikt usually refers to an Ecclesiastical penalty Guillaume de Nogaret or William of Nogaret (1260/1270 – 1313 was councillor and Keeper of the seal to Philip IV of France. Nogaret coordinated with the cardinals of the Colonna family, long standing rivals against whom the pope had even preached a crusade earlier in his Papacy. The Colonna family was a powerful noble family in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one Pope and many other leaders The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents In 1303 French and Italian troops attacked the pope in Anagni, his home town, arresting the pope himself. Anagni, (Latin Anagnia) is an ancient town in Latium, Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome famous for its connections with the papacy and for the He was freed three days later by the population of Anagni. However, Boniface VIII, then 68 years of age, was deeply shattered by this attack on his own person and died a few weeks later.
Cooperation
The death of Pope Boniface deprived the Papacy of its most able politician who could hold his ground against the secular power of the king of France. After the conciliatory Papacy of Benedict XI (1303-04), Clement V (1305-1314) became the next pontiff. Pope Pope Clement V' (About 1264 &ndash April 20, 1314) born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled de Gouth and de Pontiff or Pontificate is a title of certain religious leaders now used principally to refer to leaders such as the Pope of the Catholic Church and of He was born in Gascony, in southern France, but not directly connected to the French court. Gascony (Gascogne gaskɔɲ Gascon Occitan: Gasconha, pronounced) is an area of southwest France that constituted a province of France He owed his election to the French clerics. He decided against moving to Rome and established his court in Avignon. Avignon (/aviɲɔ̃/ in French) ( Provençal: Avinhon in classical norm or Avignoun in Mistralian norm is a commune In this situation of dependency on the powerful neighbors in France, three principles characterized the politics by Clement V: the suppression of the heretic movements (such as the Cathars in southern France); the reorganization of the internal administration of the church; and the preservation of an untainted image of the church as the sole instrument of God's will on earth. The latter was directly challenged by Philippe IV when he pushed for a trial against his former adversary, Pope Boniface VIII, for alleged heresy. Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief especially a religion that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief Exerting strong influence on the cardinals of the collegium, this could mean a severe blow to the church's authority. And much of Clement's politics was designed to avoid such a blow, which he finally did. However, the price was concessions on various fronts; despite strong personal doubts, in the end he pushed for proceedings against the Templars, and he personally ruled to suppress the order. The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order
One important issue during the papacy of John XXII (born Jaques Dueze in Cahors, and previously Archbishop in Avignon), was his conflict with Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor. Pope John (numbering Pope John XXII (1249 &ndash December 4, 1334) born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse) was Pope from 1316 to 1334 Cahors (kaɔʁ Occitan: Caors pronounced kaˈurs ˈkɔws ˈkɔw is the principal town and commune in south west France capital of the Louis IV ( 1 April[[ 282]] &ndash 11 October 1347) called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the Duke of Bavaria The latter refuted the right of the pope to install the Emperor by coronation. He resorted to a similar tactic as King of France Philippe earlier and summoned the nobles of Germany to back his decision. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Marsilius of Padua gave the justification of this secular supremacy over the lands in the Holy Roman Empire. Marsilius of Padua ( Italian Marsilio or Marsiglio da Padova; c The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in This conflict with the Emperor, often fought out in expensive wars, drove the Papacy even more into the arms of the French king.
Pope Benedict XII (1334-1342), born Jaques Fournier in Pamiers, was previously active in the inquisition against the Cathar movement. Pope Benedict XII (died April 25, 1342) born Jacques Fournier, was Pope from 1334 to 1342 In contrast to the rather bloody picture of the inquisition in general, he was reported to be very careful about the souls of the examined, taking a lot of time in the proceedings. The term Inquisition can refer to any one of several institutions charged with trying and convicting heretics within the Roman Catholic Church and His interest in pacifying southern France was also motivation for mediating between the king of France and the King of England, before the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War. The Hundred Years' War (Guerre de Cent Ans was a prolonged conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne vacant with the extinction of the senior
Submission
Under Pope Clement VI (1342-1352) the French interests started dominating the Papacy. Pope Clement VI (1291 &ndash December 6, 1352) born Pierre Roger, the fourth of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from May 1342 until his Clement VI had been Archbishop of Rouen and adviser to Philippe IV before, so his links to the French court were much stronger than those of his predecessors. At some point he even financed French war efforts out of his own pockets. He reportedly loved luxurious wardrobe and under his rule the extravagant life style in Avignon reached new heights.
Clement VI is also the pope who reigned during the Black Plague. The Black Death, or the Black Plague, was one of the deadliest Pandemics in human history widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia This epidemic swept through Europe between 1347-1350, and is believed to have killed about one-third of Europe's population. In Epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek epi- upon + demos people is a classification of a disease that appears as new cases in a Medieval Demography is the study of human Demography in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Pope Innocent VI (1352-1362), born Etienne Aubert, was less partisan than Clement VI. Pope Innocent VI (1282 or 1295 &ndash September 12, 1362) born Étienne Aubert, Pope at Avignon from 1352 to 1362 the successor He was keen on establishing peace between France and England, having worked to this end in papal delegations in 1345 and 1348. His gaunt appearance and austere manners commanded higher respect in the eyes of nobles at both sides of the conflict. However, he was also indecisive and impressionable, already an old man when being elected Pope. In this situation, the King of France managed to influence the Papacy, although papal legates played key roles in various attempts to stop the conflict. Most notably in 1353 the Bishop of Porto, Guy de Boulogne, tried to set up a conference. After initial successful talks the effort failed, largely due to the mistrust from English side over Guy's strong ties with the French court. In a letter Innocent VI himself wrote to the Duke of Lancaster: "Although we were born in France and although for that and other reasons we hold the realm of France in special affection, yet in working for peace we have put aside our private prejudices and tried to serve the interests of everyone". There were several Dukes of Lancaster in the 14th and early 15th Centuries
With Pope Urban V (1362-70) the control of the French court over the Papacy became more direct. Blessed Urban V himself is described as the most austere of the Avignon popes after Benedict XII and probably the most spiritual of all. However, he was not a strategist and made substantial concessions to the French crown especially in finances, a crucial issue during the war with England. In 1369 Pope Urban V supported the marriage of Philip the Bold of Burgundy and Margaret of Flanders, rather than giving dispensation to one of Edward III's sons to marry Margaret. Philip the Bold (Philippe le Hardi also Philip II Duke of Burgundy ( January 15, 1342, Pontoise &ndash April 27, 1404 Burgundy (Bourgogne Burgund is a region historically situated in modern-day France and Switzerland, inhabited in turn by Celts ( Gauls) Margaret of Dampierre ( 13 April 1350 &ndash 16/ 21 March 1405) was Countess of Flanders (as Margaret III) Countess Edward III (13 November 1312 &ndash 21 June 1377 was one of the most successful English monarchs of the Middle Ages. This clearly showed the partisanship of the Papacy, and correspondingly the respect of the church dropped.
Schism
The most influential decision in the reign of Pope Gregory XI (1370-1378) was the return to Rome in 1378. See also Vicedomino de Vicedominis, a pope-elect who took the name Gregory XI. Although the Pope was French born and still under strong influence by the French King, the increasing conflict between factions friendly and hostile to the Pope posed a threat to the Papal lands and to the allegiance of Rome itself. When the Papacy established an embargo against grain exports during a food scarcity 1374/75, Florence organized several cities into a league against the Papacy: Milan, Bologna, Perugia, Pisa, Lucca and Genoa. Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy Perugia is the capital City of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river and the capital of the Province of Perugia Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near (but not on the Ligurian Sea Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English The papal legate, Robert de Geneva, a relative to the House of Savoy, pursued a particularly ruthless policy against the league to re-establish control over these cities. For the two French départements of the region of Savoy see Savoie and Haute-Savoie Savoy ( French He convinced Pope Gregory to hire Breton mercenaries. To quell an uprising of the inhabitants of Cesena he hired John Hawkwood and had the majority of the people massacred (between 2500 and 3500 people were reported dead). Cesena (ancient Caesena) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Sir John Hawkwood (1320 &ndash 1394 was an English Mercenary or condottiero in 14th century Italy. Following such events opposition against the Papacy strengthened. Florence came in open conflict with the Pope, a conflict called "the war of the eight saints" in reference to the eight Florentine councilors who were chosen to orchestrate the conflict. The entire city of Florence was excommunicated and as reply the export of clerical taxes was stopped. The trade was seriously hampered and both sides had to find a solution. In his decision about returning to Rome, the Pope was also under the influence of Catherine of Siena, later canonized, who preached for a return to Rome. Saint Catherine of Siena, OP ( March 25 1347 – April 29 1380) was a Tertiary of the Dominican Order,
The schism itself was finally ended by a series of councils up to 1417. This is a general introduction to ecumenical councils For the Roman Catholic councils, see Catholic Ecumenical Councils. The establishment of the church councils, with the power to decide over the position of Pope, was one of the main outcomes of the schism. However, it did not survive long beyond 1417.
Criticism
The period has been called the "Babylonian captivity" of the popes. The Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to When and where this term originated is uncertain. Petrarch, in a letter to a friend (1340-1353) written during his stay at Avignon, described Avignon of that time as the "Babylon of the west," referring to the worldly practices of the church hierarchy. Francesco Petrarca ( July 20, 1304 – July 19, 1374) known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar The term arose in 1350 from Petrarch's letters On the Papal Court at Avignon. Francesco Petrarca ( July 20, 1304 – July 19, 1374) known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar The nickname is polemical, in that it refers to the claim by critics that the prosperity of the church at this time was accompanied by a profound compromise of the Papacy's spiritual integrity, especially in the alleged subordination of the powers of the Church to the ambitions of the French kings. As noted, the "captivity" of the popes at Avignon lasted about the same time as the exile of the Jews in Babylon, making the analogy convenient and rhetorically potent. The Avignon papacy has been and is often today depicted as being totally dependent on the French kings, and sometimes as even being treacherous to its spiritual role and its heritage in Rome.
Almost a century and a half later, Protestant reformer Martin Luther wrote his treatise On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520), but he claimed it had nothing to do with the Western Schism or papacy in Avignon. Martin Luther (November 10 1483 February 18 1546 was a German Monk, theologian, university professor Father of Protestantism, and church reformer Prelude on the Babylonian Captivity of the Church (October 1520 was the second of the three major treatises published by Martin Luther in 1520 coming after the Address
Summary
The relationship between the papacy and France changed drastically over the course of the 14th century. Starting with open conflict between Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV of France, it turned to cooperation from 1305 to 1342, and finally to a Papacy under strong influence by the French throne up to 1378. Pope Boniface VIII (c 1235 &ndash October 11, 1303) born Benedetto Caetani, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1294 Such partisanship of the Papacy was one of the reasons for the dropping esteem for the institution, which in turn was one of the reasons for the schism from 1378-1417. The Great Schism of Western Christianity or Papal Schism (also known as the Western Schism) was a split within the Roman Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417 In the period of the Schism, the power struggle in the Papacy became a battlefield of the major powers, with France supporting the Pope in Avignon and England supporting the Pope in Rome. Avignon (/aviɲɔ̃/ in French) ( Provençal: Avinhon in classical norm or Avignoun in Mistralian norm is a commune Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 At the end of the century, still in the state of schism, the Papacy had lost most of its direct political power, and the nation states of France and England were established as the main powers in Europe. A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered
Overall, it seems an exaggeration to characterize the Papacy as a puppet of the French throne. Even during its Avignon period, 1305 - 1378, the Papacy always pursued its own goals of uniting Christian lords (for example by mediating between France and England) and to uphold the position of the Church (for example by preventing charges of heresy against Boniface VIII made by King Philippe). Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief especially a religion that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief Pope Boniface VIII (c 1235 &ndash October 11, 1303) born Benedetto Caetani, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1294 Only in later times, when a strong French King faced a weak pope, the Papacy made significant concessions to the French king, as under the most French-friendly Pope Urban V who was pressured by the King of France. Blessed The basis for exerting such pressure can be found in the changed balance of power in the 14th century. The claim of the Papacy for universal sovereignty, reiterated since Gregory VII's Dictatus papae and championed by Boniface VIII at the beginning of the century, was impossible to uphold in the face of Scholastic movements and the influential works of Marsilius of Padua and William of Ockham. Dictatus papae is a compilation of 27 axiomatic statements of powers arrogated to the Pope that was included in Pope Gregory VII 's register under the year Pope Boniface VIII (c 1235 &ndash October 11, 1303) born Benedetto Caetani, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1294 Scholasticism was the dominant form of theology and philosophy in the Latin West in the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th 13th and 14th centuries Marsilius of Padua ( Italian Marsilio or Marsiglio da Padova; c William of Ockham (also Occam, Hockham, or any of several other spellings ˈɒkəm (c The administrative reorganization beginning with Clement V was successful in bringing funds to the Holy See. Pope Clement V' (About 1264 &ndash April 20, 1314) born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled de Gouth and de The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent Episcopal see of the Roman Catholic However, the focus on administrative and juristic issues characterized the entire Avignon Papacy and consequently it lost much respect among lower nobility and common people, who were more sympathetic to religious orders vowed to poverty rather than to a church hierarchy where cardinals often lived lives of Princes.
References
- Propylaen Weltgeschichte, Band 5 "Islam, Die Entstehung Europas",
- Chapter "Das Hochmittelalter", François-Louis Ganshof, p 395ff in [1]. François-Louis Ganshof ( 14 March 1895 –1980 was a Belgian historian of the middle ages
- Chapter "Religioese und Geistige Bewegungen im Hochmittelalter" Arno Brost, p 489ff in [1].
- Chapter "Europa im 14. Jahrhundert", A. R. Myers, 563ff, in [1].
- George Holmes (ed. George Arthur Holmes is Chichele Professor of Medieval History Emeritus at the University of Oxford. ) "The Oxford History of Medieval Europe", Oxford University Press, 1988.
- Chapter "The Civilization of Courts and Cities in the North, 1200-1500", Malcom Vale, in [5].
- Piers Paul Read, "The Templars", Phoenix Press. .
- Chapter 17, "The Temple Destroyed", in [7].
- Jonathan Sumption, "Trial by Fire", Faber and Faber, 1999.
- Barbara Tuchman "A Distant Mirror", Papermac, 1978.
- Chapter 16 "The Papal Schism" in [10].
- "Weltgeschichte", Sechster Band, Mitteleuropa und Nordeuropa, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig und Wien, 1906
- Hans F. Helmolt VI. "Die westliche Entfaltung des Christentums" in [12].
- Ladurie, E. le Roi. "Montaillou, Catholics and Cathars in a French Village, 1294-1324", trans. B. Bray, 1978. Also published as "Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error".
- Yves Renouard "Avignon Papacy"
See also
- The wine Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which means "pope's new castle", was named after the papal residence in Avignon. Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a town and commune in the Vaucluse département in Provence, in southern France.
- History of the Papacy
- Anglicanism
- Gallicanism
- Papal States
- Restorationism (middle ages)
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