near the early 1800’s is because of Pope Boniface VIII. Pope Boniface the VIII was not a saint, but a scoundrel. He influenced the church in a negative way by opposing King Philip IV of France, trying to make many changes in the Church that produced outcomes which were negative and issuing the Unam Sanctum. His family and his background had a big influence on his beliefs and those beliefs affected everything he did and said. Pope Boniface VIII original name was Benedetto Caetani. He was born in c. 1235 and died on October 11, 1303 in Rome, Italy. He was a pope from 1294 to 1303 (Ladner). His parents and his background had a big influence on what he did and believed in. It was guaranteed…
The papal bull ‘Unam Sanctum’ by Pope Boniface VII in 1302 was an attempt by the pope to assert papal authority in a time of conflict with the power of King Phillip “the fair” of France. The separation of church and kings had never been completely separate but this conflict brought the issue to the fore. Boniface was attempting to hold on to papal authority in a time when ‘temporal’ or Kingly power was rising and steadily overlapping with the generally accepted spiritual sphere of authority. He…
throughout this period in history. Pope Boniface VIII bull Unam Sactam is one event that dramatically affected these warring authorities. A great boom of political theory writings captured the numerous thoughts that supported either the…
The clash between Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV of France began in the year 1296 over taxation of the French Clergy. Specifically, King Philip IV implemented taxes over the clergy and all other laymen of the French kingdom with a motive to fuel a war with King Edward I of England. Refuting this, Boniface asserted that no cleric was to pay taxes to a king without proper papal consent. If the clergy went against his commands, Boniface threatened excommunication to all who ignored him.…
societies like the Babylonians. It was well integrated in the government and judicial system. However, a shift from religion and politics being united to being separate was seen in Boniface VIII’s Unam Sanctum. Religion was highly incorporated into politics in the past societies. In the Babylonian society, they believed that their gods controlled fate. Their dedication and strong faith in the gods is evident through their punishment for crimes. When crimes can’t be proven with evidence, the…
Philip IV of France and Pope Boniface VIII and the Great Schism of 1378-1418. Despite the existence…
dialects, Accents of anger, words of agony” (III.25). After asking Virgil what he was hearing Dante learns that the cries he was hearing were from the souls of people who never made the decision to be either good or evil, and consequently was sent to neither heaven nor hell. The first moments after passing through the gates of hell are undoubtedly thought-provoking, but there’s something else noteworthy that happens during this part of the poem. Dante also recognizes the “shade of him who from…
From humble beginnings to an oppressive doctrine, the Holy Catholic Church truly underwent change throughout the course of Medieval history. Seen in these two letters, Clericis Laicos and Unam Sanctam, are what would seem to be the culmination of all this history: the responses of Pope Boniface VIII to the continued pressures of secular rule and its jurisdiction in relation to the Church and its functioning. With the Church’s rapid increase in size and influence over the past several centuries,…
put on the representation of religious figures in the story. Rather than revering the clergy, Dante uses their sins to critique the Catholic Church. While there is a certain level of anonymity when describing some of the clergy, Dante refers to others by name, perhaps because of those actors’ critical role in the Catholic religion (in particular, for specific Popes). Following the nine circles of Hell, it becomes increasingly evident that Dante categorizes the sinner’s crimes by the…
head of the Church, the bishop of Rome, also called the pope, to a position of great power. Throughout the Middle Age, these popes used their power to wield heavy influence over the running of Europe, whether for better or for worse. Four of the most influential Medieval popes of the Roman Catholic Church were Gregory I, Urban II, Innocent III, and Boniface VIII. Pope Gregory I, or Gregory the Great, wrote several theological studies which strongly influenced the spiritual teaching of the…