compliant to most of Philip’s wishes. This compliance was based partly on the pope’s ill
health and partly on Philip’s frequent threats to have Clement’s prececessor Boniface
VIII condemned for various crimes and vices. Clement canceled Clericis laicos and
interpreted Unam sanctam in an evasive manner. Other concessions included dropping
proceedings against Nogaret and consenting reluctantly to French efforts to dissolve the
Templars and confiscate their wealth. Clement also increased French influence in the
curia by creating a majority of non-Italian cardinals and avoiding a journey to Rome.
Clement did, however, work to have Henry of Luxembourg, not Charles of Valois,
Philip’s brother, elected King of the Romans. Clement V’s Council of Vienne (1311–12)
acted to condemn various groups, including the béguines and beghards, for heresy; but it
did not wish to suppress the Templars. Instead, Clement had that act ratified in a secret
consistory. The acts of the council and other papal decrees, including the revocation of
Clericis laicos, were inserted into the Constitutiones clementinae, the last official
collection of medieval canon law, prepared in Clement’s lifetime but issued after his
death by his successor, John XXII.
Thomas M.Izbicki
[See also: AVIGNON PAPACY; BÉGUINES; BONIFACE VIII; CLERICIS
LAICOS; NOGARET, GUILLAUME DE; PHILIP IV THE FAIR; TEMPLARS]
Registrum Clementis papae V. 9 vols. Rome: Ex Typographia Vaticana, 1884–88.
Tanner, Norman P., ed. Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils. 2 vols. London: Sheed and Ward,
1990, Vol. 1, pp. 336–401. [Council of Vienne, 1311–12].
Lizerand, Georges. Clément V et Philippe IV le Bel. Paris: Hachette, 1910.
Mollatt, Michel. Le concile de Vienne. Louvain-la-Neuve: Université Catholique de Louvain, 1978.
CLEMENT VI
(r. 1342–52). Pope. Clement VI has been described as the most typical of the Avignon
popes, especially as a lover of luxury. Petrarch denounced Clement as Nimrod, even
while accepting benefices from him. Pierre-Roger de Beaufort, the future Clement VI,
was born into a noble family in Limousin. As a second son, he was dedicated to the
church, entering the abbey of Chaise-Dieu in the Auvergne. Pierre-Roger was sent to
Paris to study, and he became a theologian and a noted preacher. As a professor, he made
his name by defending the privileges of the clergy before an assembly held at Vincennes
by Philip VI, the first Valois king of France, in 1329. Pierre’s ecclesiastical promotions
included elevation to prior, abbot, and bishop, including the archbishopric of Rouen
(1330). Philip VI employed Pierre-Roger as a councilor and administrator. Despite
difficult relations with John XXII and a role as go-between for Philip and Benedict XII,
Pierre-Roger was made a cardinal in 1338,
Elected pope in 1342, Pierre-Roger reigned as Clement VI. The papal palace in
Avignon, begun by Benedict XII, was expanded and made into a showplace, a home of
art, music, ceremony, and feasting. A powerful Limousin faction was created in the
College of Cardinals. Clement made himself popular through his patronage of scholars
and students, but this bounty required further expansion of the curia’s fiscalism. Clement
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