(1285–1314) of France. Looking for a source of new
revenues, Philip expressed the right to tax the French
clergy. Boniface VIII claimed that the clergy of any
state could not pay taxes to their secular ruler without
the pope’s consent. Underlying this issue, however, was
a basic conflict between the claims of the papacy to
universal authority over both church and state, which
necessitated complete control over
the clergy, and the claims of the king
that all subjects, including the clergy,
were under the jurisdiction of the
crown and subject to the king’s
authority on matters of taxation and
justice. In short, the fundamental
issue was the universal sovereignty
of the papacy versus the royal sover-
eignty of the monarch.
Boniface VIII asserted his position
in a series of papal bulls or letters,
the most important of which was
Unam Sanctam (OO-nam SAHNK-
tahm), issued in 1302. It was the strongest statement
ever made by a pope on the supremacy of the spiritual
authority over the temporal authority (see the box on
p. 264). When it became apparent that the pope haddecided to act on his principles by
excommunicating Philip IV of France,
the king sent a small contingent of
French forces to capture Boniface and
bring him back to France for trial. The
pope was captured in Anagni, although
Italian nobles from the surrounding
countryside soon rescued him. The shock
of this experience, however, soon led to
the pope’s death. Philip’s strong-arm tac-
tics had produced a clear victory for the
national monarchy over the papacy—no
later pope has dared renew the extrava-
gant claims of Boniface VIII.
To ensure his position and avoid any
future papal threat, Philip IV brought
enough pressure on the college of cardi-
nals to achieve the election of a French-
man, Clement V (1305–1314), as pope.
Using the excuse of turbulence in the city
of Rome, the new pope took up residence
in Avignon (ah-veen-YOHN), on the east
bank of the Rhone River. Although Avi-
gnon was located in the Holy Roman
Empire and was not a French possession,
it lay just across the river from the possessions of King
Philip IV and was French in culture.The Papacy at Avignon (1305–1378)
The residency of the popes in Avignon for most of the
fourteenth century led to a decline in papal prestige and
growing antipapal sentiment. The city
of Rome was the traditional capital of
the universal church. The pope was
the bishop of Rome, and his position
was based on being the successor to
the apostle Peter, the first bishop of
Rome. It was unseemly that the head
of the Catholic Church should reside
outside of Rome. In the 1330s, the
popes began to construct a stately
palace in Avignon, a clear indication
that they intended to stay for some
time.
Other factors also contributed to
the decline in papal prestige during the Avignonese res-
idency. It was widely believed that the popes at Avi-
gnon were captives of the French monarchy. Although
questionable, since Avignon did not belong to thePope Boniface VIII.The conflict between church and state in the Middle
Ages reached its height in the struggle between Pope Boniface VIII and Philip
IV of France. This fourteenth-century manuscript miniature depicts Boniface
VIII promoting his decrees.DEA/A. Dagli Orti/Getty ImagesAvignonnRomRomRommeeParissFRANCE AlpsHOLH Y
ROMANO
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