Course:Carey HIST501/Project 3/Clement V
Pope Clement V
Clement V was born Bertrand de Goth (also sometimes spelled "Gouth" and "Got") in Villandraut, Aquitaine in 1264.[1] He was the Archbishop of Bordeaux, who became the Pope from 1305 to 1314.[2]
Biography
Bertrand de Goth was canon and sacristan of the church of Saint-André in Bordeaux, then vicar-general to his brother, the Archbishop of Lyon, who in 1294, was created Cardinal Bishop of Albano. He was then made Bishop of St Bertrand-de-Comminges (1295), the cathedral church of which he was responsible for greatly enlarging and embellishing; and chaplain to Pope Boniface VIII (1294–1303), who made him Archbishop of Bordeaux in 1297 or 1299. The Archbishop was elected as Pope on June 15, 1305 and consecrated on November 14 the same year. De Goth took the name Clement V. [1] [2] [3]
Clement V was Philip IV’s personal choice for Pope, and more or less served Philip's interests. However, Clement V technically was a subject of the King of England, whose territory included Bordeaux.[1] [3]
Originally from Gascony in south-west France, Clement V actually never went to Rome, mostly because of his reluctance to leave his native country and pressure from the French king (see background below).[2]
Clement V passed away in April 20, 1314 in Roquemaure, Provence.[3] According to legend, while his body was lying in state, a thunderstorm developed and lightning struck the church, igniting the building. Because the fire was so intense, when it was extinguished, the body of Clement V was almost completely decimated. He was buried at La Chaise-Dieu in Auvergne.[1]
Short-Term Impacts
French Cardinals
In order to balance the previously predominately Italian element in the College of Cardinals, Clement V created nine French Cardinals as his first act.[1] [2]
Divorce from Rome (Avignon Captivity)
Background
In 1294, Pope Celestine V resigned and his successor Boniface VIII (1294-1303), a feeble ascetic, was set to reform papal finances and bringing peace to the Papal States and Rome. His agenda resulted in conflicts with the European crowed heads, which eventually led to the excommunication of the French King Philip IV. When Boniface died, the French was still determined to exert pressure on Rome and the College of Cardinals to elect a docile pope. Benedict XI was elected in 1303 but soon died in 1304 before he was able to reconcile anything. The next election brought a split between pro- and anti-French factions.[4]
Election and Avignon Captivity
As a result of French pressure, Clement V was eventually elected as pope. He realized that his election was due to Philip's support, and therefore restored the King to good standing. His major impact to the medieval papacy is moving the residence to Avignon, located in the Rhone River, in southern France in 1309. As a result, Clement V became the first Avignon Pope and the first to live under what was described as the “Avignon Captivity” or the "Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy" (1309–77). Avignon henceforth set to become the residence of the popes in the fourteenth century. The move created protests and unrest; among the biggest disapproval came from Petrarch, one of Italian’s greatest renaissance figures who coined the phrase "Babylonian captivity".[1] [2] [5] [6]
The Church Apostolic Succession
The papacy moved to Avignon means more than just a location issue. In the European’s mind, Rome stood not only for the concept of the apostolic succession of the church founded upon Peter, but also for the idea of Western universality, Roman imperium. Avignon on the contrary, was enclosed by French kingdom and was basically an instrument in the hands of the power hungry French.[7]
The Templars Scandal
On October 13, 1307, came the arrest of hundreds of the Knights Templar in France. Although Philip IV was the mastermind behind this ruthless act, it has also tarnished the historical reputation of Clement V. He is therefore remembered for approving the plan to destroy the Order of the Knights of the Temple. Those who sought to eliminate them were aiming to disendow this very rich and influential order, which by the fourteenth century practically had become the European banking establishment. The property of the order then passed to the Hospitallers or sometimes to other organisations. In France especially, where the king was the greatest benefactor, charges such as sacrilege, sodomy and idolatry were hurled at the Templars. Moreover, torture was used to obtain confessions. Clement tried to avoid taking personal responsibility by sending a delegation of Cardinals to Paris to interrogate the prisoners. The Templar Grand Master, Jacques de Molay was executed in France in 1314. England and other kingdoms also went along with the papal directives. This military crusading order came to an end during Clement V papacy and was one of the many incidents that gradually brought the papacy into disrepute.[1] [2]
Real Crusades History features a video series on Knights Templar. Part 5 and Part 7 present The Trial of the Templars and Clement V and Philip's connection.
Papal Bankruptcy
Most of the hostility against Avignon papacy is about the use and abuse of money. The decline in revenues from Papal States in Italy had resulted in papal court bankruptcy. The Avignon popes later resorted to various money-making schemes, such as imposing fees and taxes for many privileges. The most profitable practice was the granting of the infamous indulgences. The return to Rome was inevitable.[8]
Long-Term Impacts
The Path to Conciliarism
The Avignon papacy was deeply resented in Germany. Later in 1326, Marsilius and John of Jandun presented Emperor Louis the Bavarian with a work titled Defender of the Peace, which questioned the whole papal structure of the church and called for a democratic government. Defender of the Peace contended that the church was a believers’ community, and that priesthood was in the same level as laity. Neither popes, bishops, nor priests had received any special function from Christ, but rather they ministered only as agents of the community, which was represented by the general council. This revolutionary view point transformed the papacy into the executive office of the council and subordinated the pope under the authority of the council. The theory of conciliarism soon became a reality.[8]
Scholarship
Clement V published few works on Canon Law, the Clementinae. He also consolidated the relationship between the Church and the Universities, founding chairs in Oriental languages at Paris, Oxford, Bologna, and Salamanca.[1]
On Constantinople
Perhaps this should be categorized as "no impact". Clement V renewed the call to crusaders to recapture Constantinople. King Charles IV for France also expressed the same notion. Nevertheless, nothing really came of this and Constantinople was never recaptured.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Clement V". New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Dowley, Tim (1995). Introduction to the history of Christianity. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0-8006-2935-9.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Clement V". Britannica. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ↑ Dowley, Time (1995). Introduction to the history of Christianity. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. pp. 330–1. ISBN 978-0-8006-2935-9.
- ↑ Shelley, Bruce (2021). Church history in plain language. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-310-11596-0.
- ↑ "Pope Clement V". New Advent. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ↑ Shelley, Bruce (2021). Church history in plain language. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic. pp. 264–5. ISBN 978-0-310-11596-0.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Shelley, Bruce (2021). Church history in plain language. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-310-11596-0.
- ↑ Dowley, Time (1995). Introduction to the history of Christianity. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p. 342. ISBN 978-0-8006-2935-9.