The Avignon Papacy, 1309 to 1376

Arms of France 1309 - 1376

Background

The Avignon Papacy, 1309 to 1376, is the period in which the Popes resided in Avignon, in modern day France, rather than in Rome. This Papacy was the product of the conflict between the papacy and the French Crown. 

Following the strife between Papa Bonifatius Octavus  and Roi Philippe IV le Bel of France, and the death of his successor Papa Benedictus Undecimus after only eight months in office, a deadlocked conclave finally elected Papa Clemens Quintus, a Frenchman, in 1305. Papa Clemens Quintus declined to move to Rome, remaining in France, and in 1309 moved his court to the Papal enclave at Avignon, where it remained for the next 67 years. 

A total of seven popes reigned at Avignon; all were French, and they increasingly fell under the influence of the French Crown. Finally, on September 13, 1376, Papa Gregorius Undecimus abandoned Avignon and moved his court to Rome, arriving on January 17, 1377, officially ending the Avignon Papacy.

Despite this return, in 1378 the breakdown in relations between the cardinals and Papa Urbanus Sextus, gave rise to the Western Schism. See the Western Schism page for further information.

Effects on the Papacy

The relationship between the papacy and France changed drastically over the course of the 14th century. Starting with open conflict between Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV of France, it turned to cooperation from 1305 to 1342, and finally to a Papacy under strong influence by the French throne up to 1378. Such partisanship of the Papacy was one of the reasons for the dropping esteem for the institution, which in turn was one of the reasons for the schism from 1378–1417. In the period of the Schism, the power struggle in the Papacy became a battlefield of the major powers, with The KIngdom of France supporting the Pope in Avignon and The Kingdom of England supporting the Pope in Rome. 

At the end of the century, still in the state of schism, the Papacy had lost most of its direct political power, and the nation states of France and England were established as two of the main powers in Europe.

The Babylonian Captivity

The period has been called the "Babylonian captivity" of the popes. When and where this term originated is uncertain although it may have sprung from Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch), 1304 - 1374, who in a letter to a friend written during his stay at Avignon, described Avignon of that time as the "Babylon of the west," referring to the worldly practices of the church hierarchy. As noted, the "captivity" of the Popes at Avignon lasted about the same amount of time as the exile of the Jews in Babylon, making the analogy convenient and rhetorically potent. The Avignon Papacy has been and is often today depicted as being totally dependent on the French kings, and sometimes as even being treacherous to its spiritual role and its heritage in Rome.