182 Clement VI
Further reading:Guillaume Mollat, The Popes at Avi-
gnon, 1305–1378,trans. Janet Love (1949; reprint, New
York: T. Nelson 1963); Norman P. Tannes, ed., Decrees of
the Ecumenical Councils,vol. 1: Nicaea I to Lateran V
(London: Sheed and Ward, 1990), 333–401.
Clement VI (Pierre Roger) (ca. 1291–1352) French pope
Pierre Roger was born about 1290 in the castle of Mau-
mont in the parish of Rosiers-d’Égletons in southern
France and studied theology at Paris. He became abbot of
Fécamp in 1326, bishop of Arras in 1328, archbishop of
Sens in 1329, then of Rouen in 1330, then a cardinal in
1338, all the while enjoying the favor of the French Crown.
HIS PAPACYElected pope on May 7, 1342, and crowned on the fol-
lowing May 19, the new pontiff quickly became known
for his affability, nepotism, fiscal extravagances, and sale
of offices in the church. He named six cardinals from his
own family and his Limousin compatriots. He tried to
centralize further the administrative machinery of the
church and increase the collection of taxes to pay for the
sumptuous court he headed. He completed and enlarged
the palace begun by his predecessor Benedict XIII (r.
1335–42). He purchased the city of AVIGNONfor 80,000
florins from the penurious queen of NAPLESJoan I (r.
1343–82), who had recently been expelled from Naples
by the Hungarians. He was unable, despite vast military
expense, to restore papal control over the PAPALSTATESor
even ROMEitself. His policies encouraged the develop-
ment of INDULGENCESsold for the benefit of the papacy
and other ecclesiastical institutions. The sale of indul-
gences was to continue to grow over the course of the
Middle Ages and to cause much animosity over their spir-
itual value and flow of funds to the papacy.
The end of his reign was dominated by the great
plague of 1348 and 1349. He was powerless to stop the
attacks on the Jews, whom as pope he was supposed to
protect, when they were blamed for causing the plague.
Although disapproving of the extravagant penances of the
FLAGELLANTS, he was unable to control them, though he
issued condemnations of such practices. Though a friend
of the new emperor, CHARLESIV, he was unable to influ-
ence his policies. His favorable loans to King Philip VI (r.
1328–50) were known to the English, so his efforts at
negotiating a peace between them failed. In fact, the
English began to oppose more ardently the collection of
papal taxes in England.
At his death on December 6, 1352, the papal treasury
was empty. As he had requested, his body was buried at
the monastery of La Chaise-Dieu, which he had rebuilt.
Further reading:Robert Coogan, trans. Babylon on
the Rhone: A Translation of Letters by Dante, Petrarch, and
Catherine of Siena on the Avignon Papacy(Potomac: Studia
Humanitatis, 1983); Guillaume Mollat, The Popes at Avi-
gnon, 1305–1378,trans. Janet Love (New York: T. Nelson
1963 [1949]); Diana Wood, Clement VI: The Pontificate
and Ideas of an Avignon Pope(Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1989).clergy and clerical orders From the third century,
male clerics formed an ordered hierarchy, and the differ-
ent tasks of the service of the ALTARand administration of
the sacraments were confided to this specialized corps.
These included, in ascending order, porters, lectors, exor-
cists, acolytes, subdeacons, deacons, and priests. All of
these levels of office were entered in a public and ritual-
ized ceremony. CELIBACY was expected for the higher
orders of the clergy, such as bishops.
In the classic period of the Middle Ages, the term
clericscovered all those individuals whose hair had once
been cut by a barber in the form of a crown in the pres-
ence of their bishop. This entry into the clergy by TON-
SUREcould occur from the age of seven, but also much
later. The candidate was presented by his parish priest; he
had to be of legitimate birth and free and to have rudi-
ments of learning and literacy. The cleric was only subject
to the JUSTICEof the church courts. He could possess an
ecclesiastical BENEFICE, without care of souls, if he
remained celibate and took orders at the requisite age. The
head of clerics had to be shaven in a visible manner, so
that the tonsure remained visible. He had to wear a long,
modest habit; marry a virgin if he was not a priest and
decided to marry; and not remarry if widowed. He could
not possess certain physical or mental defects, be guilty of
bigamy, carry out certain civic functions, be a surgeon, or
have attempted SUICIDEor self-mutilation. The custom of
saying the daily office was encouraged. The Byzantine
clerical system was mostly centralized around the imperial
administration and the patriarch of Constantinople.
Further reading:Roger E. Reynolds, Clerical Orders
in the Early Middle Ages: Duties and Ordination(Alder-
shot: Ashgate, 1999); Roger E. Reynolds, Clerics in
the Early Middle Ages: Hierarchy and Image(Aldershot:
Ashgate, 1999).clericalism SeeANTICLERICALISM.Clericis laicos A decretal of BONIFACE VIII dated
February 24/25, 1296, that vehemently informed the lay
powers that they had no right to tax the CLERGYand for-
bade the clergy to provide any financial contribution to
rulers without authorization from the Holy See. The mea-
sure aroused strong reactions in ENGLANDand especially
in FRANCE.PHILIPIV THEFAIRof France replied by for-
bidding the sending of any funds out of France without
his consent. In a series of letters of February 1297, Boni-
face was forced to mitigate his prohibition, but he rein-
stated it later, furthering the confrontation with France.