VIII. au-

thor of the Sixth Book of Decre- tals.
A griev- ous vari- auce be- tween I'hilip and Bo- niface.
Letter of pope Bo- niface to Philip, kiujj of Fr.iuce.
arclibisliop, came and kneeled down before liini to receive liis ashes, pope lionii'acc looking upon him, and perceiving that he was one of the Ghibollines' party, cast his handful of ashes in his eyes, saying, " Memento, homo, (juod Gibellinus es," &c. That is, " Remember, man, that a Gliibclline thou art, and to ashes thou shalt go." This pope, moreover, ordained first the jubilee at Rome ; in the solemnizing whereof, the first day he showed himself in his Pontificalibiis, and gave free remission of sins to as many as came to Rome out of all parts of the world ; the second day (being arrayed with imperial ensigns) lie commanded a naked sword to be carried before him, and said with a loud voice ; " Eccc potestatem utriusque gladii,"" that is, " Lo ! here the power and authority of both the swords."
From that very year, as most stories do record, the Turks do begin the first count of their Turkish emperors, whereof the first was Otto- man, as you shall hear discoursed hereafter by God's grace in the liistory of the Turks.
By this said pope Boniface, divers constitutions extravagant of his predecessors Avcrc collected together, with many of his own newly added thereto, and so made the book called " Sextus decre- talium." &c. By him also first sprang up pardons and indulgences from Rome.
These things thus premised of Boniface the pope, now will I come to the occasion of the strife between him and the French king.* Con- cerning which matter, first I find in the history of Nicholas Trivet, that, A.u. 1301, the bishop of Pamiers, being accused for a conspiracy against Philip the French king, was brought up to his court, and so committed to prison. The pope, liearing this, scndetli word to the king by his legate to set him at liberty. At the same time he sendeth the king a bull beginning " Ausculta fili,'' ^ wherein he revoketli all the graces and privileges granted either by him or his predecessors before to the kingdom of P^ ranee, and threateneth to thunder out the sentence of his curse against him, and, moreover, citetli all the prelates and divines of France, and the lawyers both civil and canon, to appear personally before him at Rome on a certain day, which was the first of November in the following year. Over and besides, Philip had offended the pope by giving and bestowing prebends and benefices and other ecclesiastical livings, contrary to the pope*'s profit ; for the which cause the pope writeth also to the king by the aforesaid legate, in form and effect as followeth : —
Boniface, bishop, and servant to God's servants, to Philip, king of the French. Fear God, and observe his commandments. We will thee to imderstand, that thou art subject to us both in spiritual things and temporal, and that the giving of benefices or prebends belongeth not to thee : and if thou have the keeping of any being vacant, thou must reserve the fruits thereof for the successors ; but if thou have given away any, we judge the gift to be void, and revoke, so far as thou hast proceeded. And whosoever belioveth otherwise, we judge them heretics. Given at Lateran, the nones of December, the seventh year of our pontificate.^ [December 5th, a.d. 1301.]
(1) Tlie following account of the famous dispute between Philip le Bel and Boniface VIII. has been collated with and corrected from M. Dupuy's " Histoire du Differend d'entre le Pape Boni- face VIII. I't Plniippc le liel, Roy de France : ensemble le proces criminel fait A Bernard evesquc de Pamiers, I'an. MCCXCV. Le tout justifife par les Actes et Memoires pris sur les Origineux qui sont au Trisor des Chartes du Roy. Paris, ICSS." See Appendix. -Ed.
(2) Dupuy, Preuves, p. 48. — Ed.
(3) Ex lib. Stephan. Aufrerii. [cited by Illyricus, col. 2101, edit. 1608. It is also in Dupuy. to^'cther with the reply following, Preuves, p. 44. — Ed.]
TIIK FRENCH KING SUMxMONS A PAHI.I AMKNT. 591
Unto this letter of the pope, kino; Philip IV. maketh answer again Fr,;uh
1 1 X' 11 U JlUlunj.
in manner and order as lollowctu : —
A D " Philip, by the grace of God king of France, to Boniface, bearing himself ^^^^.^
for chief pont'ifl; little health or none. Let thy extreme foolishness know, that IL
in temporal things we are subject to no man; that it belongeth to us by royal King
prerogative to give vacant churclies and prebends, and to make the fruits thereof r,.piy'to
our own during the vacancy ; and that the gifts of prebends and benefices, made pope
and to be made by us, were and shall be good, for the past and future ; and that i^onii'ace.
we defend manfully the possessors of the said benefices against all men : and
them tliat believe otherwise, we think fools and mad men. Given at Paris,
the Wednesday after Candlemas, a.d.1301. [February 7th, 1302.]
The French king, however, not daring to the contrary, looseth the bishop of Pamiers ; but when he had done that, he dischargeth both the bishop and the legate, commanding them to leave his realm. Moreover, to provide against the pope's further proceedings, the king summoneth a parliament of the prelates, barons, and commonalty of the realm, to assemble in Paris at the church of Notre Dame, on Tuesday, the tenth day of April a.d. 1302. In the which parliament, the king's chancellor, Peter Flotte, on the king's behalf declared sundry griefs, wherein the church and realm of France were burdened of the said Boniface, and required their counsel and aid for the remedying thereof. Whereupon, they all solemnly engaged to sup- port the king in his just quarrel ; and moreover utterly forbade the prelates to attend the pope's council aforesaid, nor so much as leave the realm. The king, likewise, commanded by strait proclamation that no manner of person should export out of the realm of France either gold or silver, or any other manner of ware or merchandise, upon pain of forfeiting all their goods and their bodies at the king's pleasure; providing withal, that the ways and passages should be diligently kept, that none might pass unsearched.^
After these things thus in parliament decreed and agreed, the prelates of the clergy consulting with themselves what was to be done in so doubtful a matter, and dreading the pope's displeasure for this which was done already, to clear themselves in the matter, contrived among themselves a letter to the pope, partly to certify him what there was done, and partly also to admonish him what he should do : the tenor of which letter contained these words following : ^ —
To their most holy father and most beloved lord, the lord Boniface, by Letter divine providence the chief bishop of the holy Roman church and of the uni- p^''p',^;,yg''° versal church, his humble and devoted the archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors of France, of convents, deans, provosts, chapters, convents, and colleges, of the cathedral ^^^^^[]J ^^ and collegiate, regular and secular, churches of the whole realm of France, rengious^ gathered together at Paris, do offer most devout kissings of your blessed feet, sent to
o o ' •-' ^ Boniface,
We are compelled, not without sorrow of heart and bitter tears, to signify that he unto your holiness, that when the most serene prince, our most christian lord ^^^^^"g ^j^ Philip, by the grace of God the illustrious king of France, had heard the things enter- which were stated to him of late on your behalf by the worshipful man, the "^^'^^^^.^^^ archdeacon of Narbonne, your notary and nuncio, and had perused certain ,,g ^^^ letters from you presented to him by the same archdeacon, the tenor whereof proceed- was also communicated by him to a few of his barons who were in attendance ; !,"|inst both our lord the king and the said barons were moved with great astonishment the king, and vehement perturbation. Insomuch that the said our lord the king, with the advice of the said barons, commanded to be summoned before him the other (1) See Appendix. (2) Ibid.
592 IFTTKU OF THf- FHKNTII Pit !• I.ATFS.
French l)iiions then absent, and ns also, that is to say, all the archbishops, bishops, Ilitiury, abbots, ])riors of convents, deans, provosts, chapters, convents, and colleges, as p. well of cathedral as collegiate, rcgnlar and secular, chnrches, and also all the i*.,'i^" universities, and comnionallies of the towns, of his realm ; so that we prelates, . barons, deans, provosts, and two of the most learned out of every cathedral and
collegiate church, sliould appear personally, and the rest by their stewards, syndics, and proctors, with full and sutHcient authority, at an appointed place and time. Further, when we and the other ecclesiastical persons aforesaid, and also the barons, stewards, and syndics, and the proctors of the commonalties of the towns, were thus summoned, and when, according to the form of the afore- said summons, by the king's commandment we stood before the said king this Tuesday the 10th of this present month of April, at the church of Notre Dame in Paris, our lord the king caused to be propounded openly and j^lainly to all men, that it was signified to him from you among other tilings, by the aforesaid archdeacon and by letters, that liis kingdom, which he and his ancestors hitherto have acknowledged they held of Clod only, now ought in temporalties to be subject to you and held of you ; and tliat, not content with these so marvellous and strange words, unheard of among the inhabitants of the said realm since the beginning of the world, ye went about to put them in actual practice ; and tiiat ye had summoned to appear before you the prelates of the said realm, and the doctors of divinity, and such professors of botli laws as were born within the said realm, for tlie correcting of such excesses, faults, arrogances, wrongs, and harms, as ye pretend to be done by our lord the king himself, and his officers and bailifls, to the prelates, churches, and persons ecclesiastical, both regular and secular, abiding within the said realm and elsewhere, also to tlie peers, earls, barons, and other nobles, with the universities and commons, of the said realm ; insomuch that the said kingdom being uttei"ly drained of its precious jewels and choicest treasures, which are to be preferred to the shields of the mighty, viz. of the wisdom of its prelates and other wise men, through whose ripe faithful counsel and prudent foresight the realm should be ruled and governed, the faith established, the sacraments dispensed, and justice ad- ministered (and therefore in losing them the country loses its real riches), must be exposed to events of a dubious issue and to jeopardy of miserable decay and of being utterly destroyed.
In consideration, then, of these and divers other grievances which the said king complaineth have been and are continually practised by you and tlie Roman church against liim, his realm, and the French church — as, in your arbitrary reservation and disposal of archbishoprics and bishoprics, and your bestowing the great benefices of the realm upon aliens and luiknown persons, yea and often upon suspected persons who never reside at the benefices aforesaid, by reason whereof the decay of God's worship hath ensued, the pious designs of the founders are disappointed, the accustomed almsgiving is withdrawn from the poor of the realm, the realm itself is impoverished, the churches become dilapidated ; while they remain destitute of service, the benefices themselves not supporting a curate owing to their revenues being wholly paid away to absentees, and the prelates not having wherewithal adequately to pay (or rather repay) members of the noble families whose ancestors founded the churches, or other persons of education, to serve the cures ; for which causes devo- tion waxeth cold, and there is none in these days that would stretch out a liberal hand towards the churches, whereof out of published edicts example is aftbrded : item, in your levying on the churches new taxes and payments, and imposing immoderate burdens, and extorting new exactions, with divers other prejudicial and hurtful novelties whereby the general state of the church is altered, the higher prelates being unable to give coadjutors to their suffragans, and neither they themselves nor their suflTragans being able to enter on the duties of their ofiice without having first run with gifts to the apostolic see : item, in divers other matters, some of long standing but chiefly within your own time — he, not intending (as he said), nor being able, any longer to endure this so monstrous a disinheriting of him and his successors and of his whole realin, and so manifest a disparagement of his own and his kingdom's honour; and being convinced that in temporals he hath not his superior any more than his predecessors had, as was notorious to the whole world ; and being assured by the unanimous sentence of thesoundest judges, to wit, the doctors in divinity
LETTER OF THE FRENCH PRELATES. 59S
and masters of both laws born within his realm, and others who were accounted Prench pre-eminent among their class for learning, that he did maintain in this matter ^""""y. a just cause, and being disposed to take wholesome measures for the preserva- . .^ tion of the ancient liberty and of the honour and state of the realm ; for the , .,„.,' easing of the grievances aforesaid, for reformation of the realm and the Frencl — ! — ZL. church ; with our advice and that of his barons ; to the glory of God, the increase of the catholic faith, the honour of the universal church, and promoting of God's worship ; especially touching any grievances wliich might have been practised by his officers against the churches and ecclesiastics (for which he had prepared a remedy of wholesome correction before the coming of the aforesaid archdeacon, and should by this time have put it in execution, but tliat he might be thought to do it for fear, or at your commandment) ; and furthermore, offering to sacri- fice in the quarrel not only his goods, but also his person and his children, should the case so require ; — as our lord he commanded us, and as a friend he begged and earnestly besought us, one and all, both prelates, barons, and others, to support him with our counsels and timely aid, as we were bound to do by our duty of allegiance, especially seeing these were matters wherein the good of all in general and of each in particular was clearly at stake, and the common cause was promoted, and the interest of every one was touched ; and he requested to be answered by us, each and all, on these points distinctly and definitively. Then the barons retiring aside with the syndics and proctors aforesaid, after deliberation coming back to our aforesaid lord the king, and greatly praising and heartily thanking him for his laudable purpose and good will, answered unanimously, that for these matters they were ready not only to sacrifice their goods, but offered themselves and their persons to the very death, not refusing any kind of torment, adding with a loud voice, that if our aforesaid lord the king would (as God forbid) suffer or connive at the aforesaid grievances, they them- selves would by no means endure them longer. Then answer being next demanded of us, although we desired of our lord the king and of the chief of the aforesaid barons longer respite for deliberation, urging with many gentle words and earnest persuasions and manifold apologies our conviction, that your letters had not been sent to the king with any intention or wish to invade the liberty of the realm or make innovations prejudicial to the king's honour, entreating him moreover to keep the bond of unity which is known to have subsisted so long between the Roman church and himself and his predecessors, yet being denied longer respite, and it being openly announced that if any one should appear to be of a contrary mind he would be decidedly counted an enemy to the king and the realm — we then considering warily and seeing plainly that except our lord the king and the barons aforesaid should be content with our answer, besides other innumerable and infinite dangers and offences, their devotion to the Roman and French church and also the obedience of the laity would thenceforth be irrecoverably lost, not without great pain and hesitation we thought good to answer thus, — That we would help our lord the king with counsel and timely aid, for the preservation of his person and family, and of his earthly honour, and of the liberty and laws of the said realm, accord- ing as some of us who hold of him dukedoms, earldoms, baronies, fees and other noble portions of the said realm, are bound to do by the tenor of our oath, and as all the others are bound by their allegiance. Yet we made humble suit to the same our lord the king, that seeing we were bound to obey the pope's holiness, he would suffer us to go and visit your blessed feet, according to the tenor of your aforesaid summons.
Then on the king's and barons' behalf followed answer, that in no case would they suffer us to go out of the realm, and that by no means would they bear to have the kingdom so miserably and dangerously exposed, or rather utterly despoiled.
Then we — considering so great anger and perturbation, so jeopardous and so great that none could be greater, both of the king, the barons, and other lay people of the realm ; and now knowing assuredly that by the wicked operation of the old Enemy, the hater of peace, who, ever since the Fall, hath been going about sowing tares to break the unity of the churcli by disturbing its peace, and to infect the sweetness of good works with the poison of bitter envy, and by all means to ruin and confound the human race ; and that now, alas ! a door was opened for the lamentable dissolution of the lovely band of that amity and VOL. II. Q Q
5!) 4
APPKAI. OK XOGARET AGAINST BOKIFACE.
French llirlory.
A.D. WW.i.
The ap- peal of Nojjaret made against pope Bo- niface
vni.
An in vective against the
).lacin!; of Boniface