Anagni

become aware of this bill and its charges. If one were of the clergy, why would one follow a pope who is said to be a heretic and sinful individual? Looking at this more closely, King Philip used the power of the masses to his benefit. Though the allegations were later proven by others to be false, these charges still left a damaging scar to the pope’s reputation. This act demonstrates that even though it may be lie, if something is said enough, people will begin to believe that it is true. King Philip IV committed an act that was unheard of at the time. This act involved capturing and seizing the pope himself. In the year 1303, Philip sent agents that “invaded Boniface’s palace at Anagni to capture the pope, bring him to France, and try him for heresy” (SH p.259)” Although the citizens of Anagni prevented this act from being successful by driving out Philip’s men, the event in itself revealed the audacity and power that Philip held. It is as if Philip would do whatever it would take to protect himself and prevent Boniface from excommunicating him. This attempt to capture the pope is also interesting, as in many cases the papacy was the one that did the arresting of heretics, as they did in the past 11th and 12th centuries. Shortly after Philip’s failed attempt to capture the pope, Boniface died. The next two popes who followed and succeeded Boniface “quickly pardoned Philip and his agents. (SH p.259)” This quote almost reveals how fearful the papacy was of Philip, it is as…

Subsequently, the relationship between the two powerful figures of the time degenerated more and more, culminating in the historical episode happened on 7th of September 1303, when Philip the Fair sent his soldiers to Anagni, where Boniface was seized and beaten by the order of the French King. This episode will be recalled by the posterity as the 'outrage of Anagni' and will be cited by Dante in the Divine Comedy "Past ill and future, lo! the flower-de-luce" (Purgatorio XX -…

In 1303, Philip sent William de Nogaret, along with other agents from France, to travel to Anagni, the “summer residence” of Boniface, as a part of a plan to capture and subdue the pope. De Nogaret was successful in his mission and, with fairly little resistance from other officials of the Catholic Church, was able to arrest and detain the pope. Boniface’s fate is fairly fitting considering his treatment of Celestine at the beginning of his career as pope, and this pope would meet the same…

Boniface threatened to overthrow the “irreligious king,” as he called Phillip, but gave way when Phillip, with the help of the Estates-General, forbid the export of money to Rome. A last and degrading clash with the French king had long-term effects for the papacy. Boniface boldly acknowledged in the papal bull, Unam Sanctum (1302), that “subjection to the roman pontiff is absolutely necessary to salvation of every human creature” (Leff 42), Phillip commanded that the pope be tried for his…

did the institutions power. It was in this situation that royal taxation upon Churches became a major issue. England and France were locked in a costly war, thus they attempted to garner funds from domestic Churches. The current pope, Boniface VIII issued the Papal Bull in response, which vehemently banned this practice. Despite the papacy’s clearly weakened position Boniface retained that his power was “not human but rather divine” (Bennett 188). Not one to back down, the French King Phillip IV…