© 2010 John Paul Adams, CSUN
john.p.adams@csun.edu
During his brief pontificate of eight and a half months, Benedict XI (Niccolò Boccasini, OP) had created three cardinals, none of them French [Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica I second edition, p. 13; Cardella II, 49-70; Paul Funke, 110-124, esp. 122-124]. All three of his creations were fellow Dominicans, two of them Englishmen.
The two Englishmen, as it turned out, played no role in the selection of the next pope. Niccolò Alberti da Prato, however, was a major influence in the Conclave of 1304—1305.
Bernard Guidonis recollects the situation of Walter Winterburn, who finally arrived in Perugia on November 28, 1304, five months after the death of Pope Benedict [Catalano, Sacrarum Caeremoniarum sive Rituum Ecclesiasticorum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Libri Tres (Romae 1750), 59]:
Hic post novem menses a die qua fuit in Cardinalem nominatus, et post quinque fere menses ab obitu memorati Domini Benedicti Papae, pervenit ab Anglia Perusium Civitatem, ubi adhuc Curia morabatur, sede vacante, IV. Kal. Decembris, Sabbato scilicet ante Dominicam primam Adventus anno Domini MCCCIV. fuitque exhibitus sibi magnus et debitus honor a Populo Perusino, et sine alio diverticulo declinavit ad Conclave Cardinalium, ubi inclusi propter electionem Summi Pontificis commanebant, a quibus cum magno favore et honore susceptus est, et in sequenti crastino S. Andreae, scilicet in Kalendis Decembris, ad scrutinium electionis Summi Pontificis tanquam Cardinalis admissus, quamvis nondum haberet titulum nec annulum nec capellum.
The date is confirmed by an entry in the curial archives, "Intrat Curiam 1304, Nov. 29" [Eubel I, p. 13, n. 12]. Cardinal Winterburn was allowed to participate in the Conclave, even though he had not been assigned a titulus, and had been given neither the ring nor the cardinal's hat. One may add that his mouth had neither been closed or opened, as far as his right to participate in Consistory was concerned.
Rome was a very uncomfortable place for Pope Benedict. The CIty was in a state of civil war, which had spread to the Campagna. The Pope was constrained on all sides by the squabbling of the great families that ruled the City, in particular the Colonna and the Orsini. To escape their violence, as soon as Holy Week was over, Benedict removed himself and the Curia to Perugia in Tuscany, where death overtook him quite suddenly. Bernard Guidonis reports the death of the Pope [Muratori, 67]:
Anno Domini MCCCIV, post Pascha Benedictus Papa recedit de Roma et vadit Perusium cum Curia sua.... Hic Benedictus obiit in Perusio Nonis Julii, Pontificatus sui anno primo, sepultusque fuit in domo Praedicatorum Perusii ante Altare anno Domini MCCCIV, ubi Divina virtus et bonitas ejusdem gratia Benedicti et nomine merita coepit evidentibus miraculis declari....
Prior Garsias of Sta. Christina, one of the Aragonese agents in the Curia, wrote to King James II [Heinrich Finke, Acta Aragonensia no. 116, p. 176 (Perugia, July 10, 1304)]:
Sic inter festa sancti Johannis [June 24] et beatorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum [June 29] dominus papa fuit graviter infirmatus et die martis nonas Julii [Tuesday, July 7] post meridiem, ante nonam, diem clausit extremum. Die mercurii [Wednesday, July 8] mane fuit sepultus in domo Predicatorum ante altare plane.
The suddenness of the Pope's death caused rumors to circulate. Giovanni VIllani (Book VIII, cap. 80) reports that the Pope was poisoned. A young man (he says) in the disguise of a nun presented the Pope with a silver basin of figs, of which the Pope was particularly fond. The Pope ate a considerable number of the poisoned fruit and died a few days later. Villani reports the rumor that the poisoning was arranged by per invidia di certi suoi frati Cardinali ..." Which Cardinal(s) might have been involved is not stated, by the Colonna were in the neighborhood and looking to avenge themselves on Benedict, who had refused to cancel their excommunications by Pope Boniface VIII.
The poisoning theory (or fact) certainly seems to have found favor with Pope John XXII (Jacques Duèse, reigned 1316-1334). He wrote in the Bull Etsi cunctorum nequitia (datum Avinioni XVII Kal Augusti pontificatus nostri anno tertio) to the Archbishop of Toulouse to get on with the proceedings against Bernardus Delitiosi (Bernard Delicieux), OFM. One of the charges against the revolutionary Franciscan friar was that he had played a part in the poisoning of Benedict XI [Baluze, Vitae Paparum Avinionensium II, col. 341]:
...Sane ad audientiam nostram fama immo verius infamia publica deferente pervenit quod frater Bernardus Delitiosi ordinis Minorum in profunda malorum opera obstinans vota sua in illum prorupit horribilis factionis excessum ut conspirans in mortem felicis recordationis Benedicti XI praedecessoris nostri operam dederit ut idem praedecessor veneni poculo necaretur, et quod ad nefanda laia applicans actus pravos, molitus est cum quibusdam hominibus burgi Carcassonae necnon syndicis Albiensibus ...
The charge of poisoning is also mentioned by the Royal Procurators in Bernard's appeal against the sentence of the Inquisition [Baluze, col. 361]:
...quod solum cogitare vel dicere nefas est, in mortem felicis recordationis Domini Benedicti quodam Papae XI veneno et magicis artibus conspirasse et operam dedisse, etiam coram ipsis Episcopis sexaginta vicibus et amplius inexcusabiliter dejurasse
Cardinal Jacopo Caetani Stefaneschi, however, who was in a position to know, says not a word about the alleged figs or the poisioning of the Pope's cup [Paul Funke, 131]. Moreover, the Annals of Perugia state that Benedict died a natural death, "A di 7 Luglio 1304 passo di questa vita di morte naturale Benedetto PP XI." [Funke, 129]. The history of Francesco Pippino, OP, states: disenteria Perusii lapsus defecit [Muratori RIS IX 747; Funke, 131; Hösl, p. 21 n.5]. The same diagnosis, dysentery, is given by the Aragonese agents at the Roman Curia, Vidal de Villanova and Guillerm de Lacera [Heinrich Finke, Acta Aragonensia no. 114, p. 173 (Perugia, July 9, 1304)].
During the reign of Benedict XI, besides himself only one of the cardinals had died: William Macclesfield, OP. There were therefore nineteen qualified electors. Thirteen votes were needed for a valid election. The names of all of the cardinals are written three times in the Electoral Decree issued on the day of the election of Archbishop Bertrand de Got (Raynaldus, sub anno 1305, v-vii; pp. 393-395; J. D. Mansi, columns 124-128; Labbe-Cossart 25 (Venice 1782) 124-127). A decree of the Chapter of Beverly Minster containing a letter to the new Pope Clement V (Archbishop Bertrand de Got) gives a list of the electors (Memorials of Beverly Minster I, pp. 75-76). A list of the electors is given by Conrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica I second edition, p. 13 n. 10 and n. 13. See also: Cardella II, pp. 49-70.
After Cardinal Jean de Cressis left the Conclave on August 18, 1304, it was noted that there were eighteen cardinals left in Conclave [Olivarius de Biterris, in Finke, Acta Aragonensia no. 119, p. 184]
There were four cardinals who did not participate in the final ballot, having departed the conclave because of illness. This reduced the number needed for a canonical election to ten (Baronius-Theiner, sub anno 1305, no. 6, p. 365; Finke, 287; Eubel I, p. 13, n. 13):
It is sometimes said that one of the four was Cardinal Giacomo Caetani Stefaneschi (or Cardinal Giovanni Boccamati), instead of Cardinal Walter Winterburn, but the documents indicate that Stefaneschi was present and participating in the Conclave. He was one of the five cardinals who did not vote for Bertrand de Got in the scrutiny, but did change his vote at the accessio. The explanation of the four absences is provided by the College of Cardinals itself, in the Election Decree sent to the Archbishop of Bordeaux upon his election [Mansi, columns 124-128]:
...et tandem dictis Tusculano Episcopo, Mathaeo et Richardo diaconis cardinalibus necnon Fratre Galtero S. R. E. presbytero (qui absens postmodum supervenit, et praedictum intravit conclave) et ex manifestis infirmitatum causis, ut apparebat, idem conclave egressis, et tunc extra illud morantibus ceteris ex nobis, votorum nostrorum scrutatoribus electis per viam scrutinii ad electionem de nobis: hac die sabbati in Vigilia Pentecostes processimus in hunc modum....compertum extitit, quod in universo eramus quindecim cardinales in conclave manentes....
There were two cardinals who did not attend, because they had been excommunicated and deposed by Pope Boniface (Cartwright 132-134):
If Ferreto of Vicenza is correct, we should imagine the Colonna lurking about Perugia, doing whatever they could to influence the election in favor of the French party of their patron, Philippe le Bel. King Philip had promised Pietro Colonna that he would help him recover all that he had lost through the enmity of Pope Boniface, and Pietro promised he would do whatever pleased the king (nec minus se factiturum summa ope, quod regi gratum foret, fide spopondit). King Philip kept his promise.
The Camerarius Sedis Apostolicae was John, Bishop-Elect of Spoleto, who served until November 1305 [H. Finke, Aus den Tage Bonifaz VIII., no. 27, p. cxcii (July 18, 1304, Sede Vacante); L. König, Die päpstliche Kammer unter Clemens V. und Johann XXII. (Wien 1894) 76]. He was succeeded by Arnaud, Bishop of Bordeaux (who became Cardinal Priest of S. Marcello in 1312), who was succeeded by Bertrand de Bordis in November, 1307 (who became Bishop of Albi on July 30, 1308, and Cardinal Priest of SS. Giovanni e Paolo on December 19, 1310). On his death in September, 1311, he was succeeded by Arnaud d'Aux, Bishop of Poitiers (1306-1312) (who was sent to England as Cardinal Bishop of Albano and nuntius in 1312); Cardinal Arnaud served until July 23, 1319.
The Conclave of 1304-1305 took place in Perugia, where the Pope had died on July 7, having left Rome in April 1304 after the Easter celebration (Bernard Guidonis, p. 673). It began on the tenth day after the death of the Pope, July 17 [Olivarius Biterris to King James II: Finke, Acta Aragonensia no. 119, p. 184]. The next day Cardinal Riccardo Petroni of Siena left the Conclave due to illness; he had not returned by August 17. One of the orders of business at the Conclave was a decision as to the status of Cardinal Winterburn. He had only been appointed on February 19, 1304, and had not reached Rome in time for the Pope to conduct the induction ceremonies for the cardinalate. His "mouth had not yet been opened", that is, he did not yet have the right to speak in Consistory. Apparently Cardinal Boccamati, acting on instructions from the Sacred College, carried out the ceremonies usually conducted by the pope personally, making it possible for Winterburn to join the Conclave [Moroni Vol. 9, p. 316; Trollope, 46; cf. Cartwright, 125-127]. The original expectation, expressed by several onlookers was that the election would be swift. Some were of the opinion that Cardinal Matteo Rosso Orsini, the most senior cardinal and the leader of a substantial faction, would easily be elected.
There were Electoral Capitulations. Their existence is mentioned in a letter written in 1314 by Cardinal Napoleone Orsini to King Philip IV (died November 29, 1314), shortly after the death of Pope Clement V (April 20, 1314). The Cardinal bitterly complains that Clement had paid no attention to them, and that he had set aside the Electoral Capitulations [Baluzius, II, 289-293; Souchon, 29-35]:
Nam quasi nulla remansit cathedralis Ecclesia vel alicujus ponderis praebendula quae non sit potius perditioni quam provisioni exposita. Nam omnes quasi per emptionem et venditionem vel carnem et sanguinem possidentibus immo usurpantibus advenerunt. Dimittimus quod de XXIV Cardinalibus quos in Ecclesia posuit nullus in Ecclesia est repertus quae cum aliquando credita fuit sufficiens habere personas, ded per eum fuit hoc. Quinimmo nos Italici, qui ipsum bonum credentes posuimus, sicut vasa testea rejecti fuimus, adeo quod ad omnia quae ad statum cardinalatus respiciunt, sicut clerici praecioico periculosis negotiis mundi, cum quibus voluit Ecclesiis benedicis quibus placuit. Saepe etiam cassatis concordiis electionis, absque juris ordine, de valentibus personis, quando publicare volebat, in nostrum crepicordium vocabamur....
Bernard Guidonis notes, at the end of the biography of Benedict XI, however, that the Cardinals were in serious disagreement and deadlocked, even though they were held in sequestration by the citizens of Perugia [Baronius-Raynaldus, sub anno 1304, xxxvi, p. 388; Muratori, RIS p. 673]:
Vacavit autem Sedes a praedicta die [Nonis Julii] per illum annum sequentem usque ad V. diem mensis Junii, Cardinalibus stantibus inclusis, non volentibus illo tempore concordare, quamvis a Perusinis pluries restricti fuerint et arctati.
After eight days in the Conclave, the amount of food provided to the cardinals was reduced, as prescribed in the Constitution Ubi majus, but the servants of the cardinals circumvented the regulations by sneaking meals into the Conclave [this according to Olivarius Biterris, Finke no. 119, p. 184; and see p. 181]. Likewise, the sequestration was only imperfectly applied.
In a report to King Jaime II of Aragon on July 9, 1304 [Finke, Acta Aragonensia I, no. 114, pp. 169-174], his agents at the Curia, Vidal de Villanova and Giullerm de Lacera note that several cardinals were favorable to the Aragonese interest: Landolfo Brancaccio of Naples, Matteo Rosso Orsini, Jean de Cressi "Le Moine", and Luca Fieschi of Genoa. On August 17, however [Finke, no. 118, p. 181], the two agents, joined by Frater Bernardus Pelegrini, OP, the Dominican Provincial, reported that the Conclave was in discord, and the cardinals had divided into two factions. One was led by Matteo Rosso Orsini. The other party was led by Napoleone Orsini. The origin of this hostility inside the Orsini clan was traced by some contemporaries to Boniface VIII's actions against the Colonna. Cardinal Matteo did not want to see them return in any way, while Cardinal Napoleone was openly working for the opposite, even while Boniface was still alive [Christian Spinula to King James II of Aragon, in Finke, Acta Aragonensia no. 105, p. 155 (December 30, 1303):
Primitus, quod cardinales esistunt in scelcione magna causa reveltandi garelos illis de Colupna, quoniam sex ex ipsis, quorum dominus Matheus Rubeus est capud, nolunt, quod gareli eis aliqualiter revertantur, alii vero sex, quorum dominus Napulionus est capud, volunt et procurant palam, quod eis omnimode revertantur. A quibusdam creditur, quod revertentur, et a quibusdam non, vel quod magnum impedimentum esistet.
It should be remembered that, at this time in the history of papal elections, being in Conclave did not mean being cut off from the world. The Cardinals continued to do the business of the Church and met with various dignitaries and officials. They were constrained in terms of their personal movements, not isolated from outside contact. Thus, they were not isolated from outside pressures. At some point during the first month of the Conclave, the Camerlengo and several other cardinals sent the Patriarch of Jerusalem Landulphus off to find King Charles II of Sicily and have him come to Perugia—which, they said would resolve the impasse among the cardinals and produce a pope to his liking. Otherwise the proceedings could last a year [in the opinion of three Aragonese agents, in a dispatch to King James II: Finke, Acta Aragonensia no. 118, p. 182 (August 17, 1304)]
According to Giovanni Villani, an enemy of the Popes of Avignon (VIII. 80),
...by reason of their differences [the Cardinals] were divided into two almost equal parties. The head of the one was Matteo Rosso Orsini, with Francesco Caetani, who was the nephew of Pope Boniface. And the leaders of the other were Napoleone Orsini dal Monte [rotondo] and the Cardinal [Niccolò Alberti] da Prato, who hoped to restore their kinsfolk and friends, the Colonna, to their estate, and were friends of the king of France and leaned toward the Ghibelline side. And when they had been shut upfor a period of more than nine months, and were pressed by the Perugians to nominate a Pope, and could not come to an agreement, at last the Cardinal da Prato, finding himself in a private place with the Cardinal Francesco Caetani, said to him, "We are doing great harm and injury to the Church by not choosing a Pope." And Francesco said, "E' non rimane per me." ['That's not my fault'] And Prato replied, "If I could find a good way out, would you be content?" He replied that he would. And thus, conversing together, they came to this agreement by the industry and sagacity of Cardinal del Prato treating with Cardinal Francesco, gave him his choice. For it was decided that the one party, to avoid all suspicion, should choose three men from the Ultramontani, whomever they pleased, who were suitable to be pope. The other party, within forty days, should choose one of the three who pleased them, and that man would be pope.
The party of Cardinal Matteo Orsini preferred to make the choices, believing that they would have the advantage, and they selected three Ultramontane archbishops made and created by Cardinal Caetani's uncle Pope Boniface, and who were his good and trusted friends and enemies of the king of France, trusting that whichever one the other party chose they would have an agreeable and friendly pope. Among the three they chose their first and most trusted choice was the Archbishop of Bordeaux. The wise and far-sighted Cardinal del Prato thought that it would better suit their purposes if his party would take Monsignor Ramondo del Gotto [Bertrand de Got], Archbishop of Bordeaux, than by taking either of the other two, though he was a creation of Pope Boniface and no friend of the king of France (because of what had been done to his relatives in the Gascon War by Charles of Valois).
On August 18, Cardinal Jean de Cressi, "Le Moine" left the Conclave, suffering from a pain in his tibia. That left nine members of each faction [Finke, Acta Aragonensia I, no. 119, pp. 184]. He was back in the Conclave on December 13.
What follows in VIllani is a story of secret letters and secret pacts entered into by the Cardinals and King Philip IV, followed by a secret meeting between Philip and the chosen candidate, Archbishop Bertrand de Got, in the forest of St. Jean d'Angely, before the Cardinals would proceed to a vote. One of King Philip's concerns was that Bertrand was not his loyal subject, but rather a subject of the King of England, with whom Philip was at war. Philip and the Archbishop are alleged to have entered into a series of secret agreements (one of which was for the destruction of the Templars), after which Philip secretly notified his cardinals in the French faction that they could proceed and vote for the Archbishop. This story has long been disproved, since neither Philip nor Bertrand—both of whose movements are known in detail—was in Poitou or Saintonges at the appropriate time (See Rabanis, passim; and Boutaric, pp. 3-5; Huyskens, 59). The question, then, is whether any of Villani's story is worthy of being believed, including the pact between the two cardinalatial parties in the Conclave. Gregorovius, after relating the material given by Villani, says (in a footnote, p. 605 n.2): "This is the description of the election given by Villani, which Antonio [Saint Anthony of Florence] follows. It, as well as the six conditions imposed by Philip, have been doubted. That the king had something to say in the matter is beyond a doubt."
In any case, Cardinal Matteo Rosso Orsini's group is known to have included his nephews Francesco Orsini, (S. Lucia) and Giacomo Caetani Stefaneschi (S. Giorgio in Velabro), Teodorico Ranieri (Palestrina), Leonardo Patrassi (Albano), Pedro Rodriguez (Sabina), Francesco Caetani (S. Maria in Cosmedin), Gentile Partino (S. Martino ai Monti), and Luca Fieschi, (S. Maria in Via Lata). In the other party, led by Napoleone Orsini, were Giovanni Boccamati (Tusculum), Giovanni Minio (Porto), Niccolò Alberti da Prato (Ostia), Landolfo Brancaccio (S. Angelo in Pescheria), Guglielmo Longhi (S. Nicola in Carcere Tulliano), Jean Le Moine (SS. Marcellino e Pietro), Robert de Pontigny (Pudenziana), Riccardo Petroni (S. Eustachio), and ultimately Walter Winterburn (S. Sabina). These divisions are known from a letter written by G. de la Cera to King Jaime of Aragon from Spoleto on August 18, 1304 [Finke, Aus den Tagen, "Quellen" nr.13, LVIII-LIX; and cf. no. 118, p. 181]. Matteo Rosso Orsini and Napoleone Orsini were struggling against one another, both expecting the support of their brothers (according to Ferreto: Matheus etiam et Neapoleo de se fisi magnis conatibus nitebantur, ut eorum alter statuatur in sede, nichil veriti fratres suos metu aut benivolentia sibi deesse.)
Though they were later reported as absent due to illness, Cardinal Matteo Rosso Orsini and Cardinal Jean de Cressi were still participating in the Conclave on December 13, 1304, when they and Giovanni Boccamati (senior Bishop, senior Priest, senior Deacon) affixed their seals to a letter written by the College of Cardinals to King Charles II of Sicily. After a discussion about the deferral of payments of money owed to the Papacy by King Charles propter longos guerrarum fremitus quibus regnum praedictum Siciliae fuit hucusque concussum, they announced that the College of Cardinals was extending the date of payment until the Feast of St. Peter in the following year, 1305. (Raynaldus, sub anno 1304, xxxvi; p. 389)
A letter from Vidal de Vilanova to King Jaime of Aragon on January 4 [Finke, Aus den Tagen "Quellen", nr. 14, p. LXI] reported that Matteo Orsini and Napoleone Orsini were at each other's throats in a bitter public argument, that the English Cardinal (Winterburn) was sick at home (malaria), and that on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Cardinal Jean de Cressi was close to death (malaria).
King Charles II of Naples arrived in Perugia on Sunday, February 21, at the call, it was said, of Cardinal Napoleone Orsini and his party and voluntate illustris domini Regis Franciae [Finke, Aus den Tagen "Quellen", nr. 15, p. LXI]. This certainly intensified the pressure on all of the Cardinals in favor of the French faction. A few days later King Charles' son Raymond appeared, and then came Prince Philip, Prince of Taranto— but he soon departed. The rumor was that Robert, Duke of Apulia, was going to appear in a few days with armed soldiers and other forces. The Cardinals were more tightly confined than they had been previously, to the point that no one was able to speak with them easily. Cardinal Napoleone Orsini remembered ten years later the six months that the cardinals had been "in prison": nam meminimus nos sex mensibus fuisse in carcere Perusii, in quo solus Deus novit cum quantis periculis corporis et sollicitudinibus cordis extitit laboratum... (Baluze, II, 290). But King Charles, it was being said, intended to remain in Perugia until a new pope was elected (letter of Prior Garslas of S. Christina to King Jaime II, February 28, 1305: Finke, LXI).
Archbishop Bertrand de Got, the younger brother of the late Cardinal Bérard de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux since 1299, and a subject of the King of England, had been nominated by the faction of Cardinal Matteo Rosso Orsini as long as six months before his final election (approximately the first half of December, 1304) (a report to King Jaime II of Aragon, Finke, no. 16, p. LXII; Finke, Acta Aragonensia no. 125, p. 190):
iste papa a principio, iam bene sunt VI menses, per partem domini Mathei extitit nominatus, et plures alii in quo verisimiliter credebatur, quod dominus Neapuleo nullatenus consentiret, cum iste papa fuisset factura domini Bonifacii, quia promotus extitit per eundem et fuerat capellanus domini Francisci. Et in veritate nec pars domini Mathei consensisset etiam tunc, exceptis tribus predictis.
On May 17, 1305, it was reported by Prior Garsias Michaelis de Ayerbe to King James II of Aragon [Finke, Acta Aragonensia no. 124, p. 189] that four of the cardinals were not living in the Conclave area, but had returned to their residences in Perugia: Matteo Rosso Orsini, Giovanni Boccamati (Boccamazza), Riccardo Petroni, and Walter Winterburn. Those who were coming and going to and from the Conclave were saying that soon there would be a pope—or two.
The stalemate between the faction of Cardinal Matteo and that of Cardinal Napoleone was finally broken when three of Matteo's cardinals finally agreed to vote for Bertrand de Got along with the French faction: Pedro Rodriguez (Bishop of Sabina), Leonardo Patrassi (Bishop of Albano), and Francesco Caetani (Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Cosmedin). The final vote in the last scrutiny was ten to five, a bare two-thirds, though the five negative votes then acceeded to Archbishop de Got. The Cardinals themselves put this on record in their Electoral Decree of July 5, 1304, sent to Archbishop de Got [Baronius-Theiner 23, sub anno 1304, no. 6, p. 365-366]:
...eramus quindecim cardinales in conclavi manentes, et qui deposueramus in scrutinio vota nostra, quodque nos Albanensis, Sabinensis, Portuensis episcopi; Joannes, Fr. Robertus presbyteri; Neapolio, Landulfus, Guillelmus, Franciscus Cajetanus diaconi cardinales praedicti; vos in eodem scrutinio in summum Pontificem nominaveramus et elegeramus. Quo comperto, nos Theodoricus Civitatis Papalis episcopus, Frater Gentilis presbyter, Franciscus, Jacobus et Lucas, diaconi cardinales praefati, accessimus juxta morem....
Cardinal Matteo Rosso Orsini himself, however, was said to have been unwilling to give his consent to the election and refused to add his seal to the electoral decree [Finke, no. 16, LXVI]:
Dominus vero Matheus nec voluit electioni consensum praestare nec sigillum ponere in decreto.
His anger at being manipulated must have dissipated quickly, however, since he did finally sign the decree [Mansi, col. 126 B]:
...In praedictorum autem testimonium et irrefragabilem fidem, eam praesentia decreti scripturam redigi fecimus nostris, necnon et dictorum Joannis Episcopi Tusculi, Fratris Galteri Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae presbyteri, Matthei S. Mariae in Porticu, et Richardi S. Eustachiae, diaconum cardinalium, sigillis et subscriptionibus communiri.
His name is also listed as one of the senders of the decree (Mansi, col. 124). The Cardinals were then in the same position as those at the Conclave of 1268-1271, who had to await the appearance of Teodaldo Visconti, Archdeacon of Liège, who was then in the Holy Land on crusade with King Edward I of England; and those at the Conclave of 1264-1265, who had to await the appearance of Cardinal Guy Folques, who had been sent on a Legation to England. They sent the decree off to Bordeaux, through the agency of Abbot Guy of Beaulieu; Peter, the Treasurer of the Church of Narbonne; and André, Canon of Châlons. The news of his election reached Archbishop Bertrand de Got at Lusignan on June 23 [Langlois, 52].
Bernard Guidonis states that Bertrand de Got began to function as pope while he was still in Bordeaux, beginning on July 22 (Muratori, RIS, 673):
Rediit autem de Pictavia Burdegalam Idibus Mensis Julii subsequentis, receptusque Burdegalis processionaliter a toto Clero et Populo cum ingenti guadio et honore totius Civitatis ac patriae, undique concurrentibus Baronibus et Praelatis, adhuc tamen more tantum Archiepiscopi se gerebat ut prius electionis suae decreto nondum recepto, quod postea missum sibi a Cardinalibus de Perusio recepit in Burdigala in crastino Sanctae Mariae Magdalenae secrete. Sed palam et publice sequenti die, scilicet XI. Kalendas Augusti [July 22] in praesentia Praelatorum et Magnatum in Burdegalensi Ecclesia Cathedrali, ubi sedens in Cathedra vocari Clemens voluit, et elegit et ex tunc agere et gerere coepit sicut Papa.
Clement himself mentions these events in a letter to King Philip IV (Baluze Vitae Paparum Avinionensium II, col. 62-63), confirming Bernard's dates.
Born in 1264 at Villandraut in the Gironde, Clement V was forty-one years of age. He was crowned, however, in Lyons, on November 14, 1305, which was French territory, rather than in Bordeaux, which was English :
De Burdigala vero recessit in fine sequentis mensis Augusti, versus Lugdunum dirigens gressus suos, pertransiens per Agennum et Tholosam ac Montepesulanum. Cardinalesque ad se vocavit. Fuit autem coronatus solempniter in Lugduno in Ecclesia Sancti Justi, Dominica infra Octavas Sancti Martini in crastino Sancti Bricii, in XVIII Kalendas Decembris, littera Dominica E tunc currente, ubi Philippus Rex Franciae fuit praesens cum sua nobili comitiva.
There was such a crush of people that the Pope was knocked from his horse, the crown was knocked off the Pope's head, and the Pope himself nearly killed. Eleven persons, however, did die, including Duke John II of Britanny (a few days after the incident). Charles, the brother of King Philip was hurt, but not seriously [Annals of Wigornia, in Annales Monastici IV, p. 558 ed. Luard].
Though he was a Frenchman, Clement initially had no intention of staying in France for any long period of time. Even before he set out from Bordeaux to meet his cardinals in Lyon, Clement expressed his intention to move to Italy after his coronation. He wrote to King Edward I of England, whose subject he was (Rymer Foedera I. 4, p. 66):
Magnitudinem itaque regiam tum propter intimae dilectionis affectum, quem ad ipsum semper habuimus et habemus, tum propter aliqua salutaria animae tuae commoda, tum etiam propter nonnulla inter te et regem Franciae illustrem pactis et quietis procuranda et ordinanda salutaria, et insuper de Terrae Sanctae passagio, intimis desideriis alloqui cupientes, eandem rogamus et hortamur attende, quatenus, antequam montes transeamus, quos post coromationis nostrae solemnia, apud Viennam circa instantis festi Omnium Sanctorum, auctore domino, celebranda, transire proponimus, ad sanctam romanam ecclesiam sponsam nostram, Deo propitio, accessuri, nobiscum , si modo fieri valeat, tuam a nobis, plus quam exprimere possemus, oblatam praesentiam habeamus.
The same can be said of Cardinal Napoleone Orsini. In his letter to King Philip IV in 1314, he says, " Pro certo, Domine mi Rex, non fuit nec est intentionis meae sedem mutare de Roma nec Apostolorum sanctuaria facere remanere deserta, quia in fundamentis fidei sedes universalis Ecclesiae Romae est stabilita."
"Conclave per la sede vacante di pp. Benedetto XI, dove fu creato pont. il vescovo di Bordeaux Bertrando Gottone di Guascogna, detto Clemente V, del 1303" (Codex Vaticanus Ottobonianus 1091, cap. 170) [non vidi]. "Notizie sul conclave in cui fu eletto Clemente V" (Codex Vaticanus Ottobonianus 1860, cap. 227) [non vidi].
Giovanni Villani, Ioannis Villani Florentini Historia Universalis (ed. Giovanni Battista Recanati) (Milan 1728) [Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, Tomus Decimustertius]. Rose E. Selfe (translator), Selections from the First Nine Books of the Croniche Fiorentine of Giovanni Villani (Westminster 1896).
Carlo Cipolla (editor), Le opere di Ferreto de' Ferreti Vicentino I (Roma: Forzani 1908). Max Laue, Ferreto von Vicenza. Seine Dichtungen und sein Geschichtswerk (Halle: Max Niemeyer 1884). [ca. 1295/1297-ca. 1337]
G. F. Gamurrini, "Le antiche cronache di Orvieto," Archivio storico italiano Quinta serie. Tomo III (1889), 1-49.
Vidal de Villanova, Letter to King Jaime of Aragon (January 4, 1305) about quarrels in the Conclave of 1304-1305: Finke, Aus den Tage Bonifaz VIII., "Quellen" nr. 14, LIX-LXI.
Henry Richards Luard (editor), Flores Historiarum Vol. III. A.D. 1265 to A. D. 1326 (London: HM Stationery Office/Eyre & Spottswoodie 1890).
Arthur F. Leach (editor), Memorials of Beverly Minster: the Chapter Act Book of the Collegiate Church of St. John of Beverly. A. D. 1286-1347 (London, Edinburgh and Durham 1891) [Publications of the Surtees Society, Vol.XCVIII].
Stephanus Baluzius, Vitae Paparum Avinionensium 2 volumes (Paris: apud Franciscum Muguet 1693).
Odoricus Raynaldus [Rainaldi], Annales Ecclesiastici ab anno MCXCVIII. ubi desint Cardinalis Baronius, auctore Odorico Raynaldi. Accedunt in hac Editione notae chronologicae, criticae, historicae... auctore Joanne Dominico Mansi Lucensi Tomus Quartus [Volume XXIII] (Lucca: Leonardo Venturini 1749), sub anno 1294 (p. 26).
Joannes Dominicus Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio editio novissima Tomus Vicesimus Quintus (Venetiis: apud Antonium Zatta 1782).
Wilhelm Dönniges (Editor), Acta Henrici VII Imperatoris Romanorum et monumenta quaedam alia Medii Aevi Pars II (Berolini 1839)
Bernard Guidone, "Vita Benedicti Papae XI," and "Vita Clementis Papae V," in Ludovicus Antonius Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores Tomus Tertius (Milan 1723), 672-679. Bernard Guidonis [Gui], OP, of Royères in the Limousin, Bishop of Lodève (ca. 1261—1331): U. Chevalier, Repertoire I, 1919-1920. Cardinal Giacomo Caetani Stefaneschi, "Vita Coelestini Papae V Opus Metricum," in Muratori, 613-641. Ignaz Hösl, Kardinal Jacobus Gaietani Stefaneschi. Ein Beitrag zur Literatur- und Kirchengeschichte des beginnenden vierzehnten Jahrhunderts (Berlin: Emil Ebering 1908). Ivano Sartor, Papa Benedetto XI (Nicolo Boccasino) beato di Treviso (Editrice S. Liberale: 2005).
Bartolomeo Platina, Historia B. Platinae de vitis pontificum Romanorum ...cui etiam nunc accessit supplementum... per Onuphrium [Panvinium]... et deinde per Antonium Cicarellam (Cologne: Cholini 1626). Bartolomeo Platina, Storia delle vite de' pontefice edizione novissima Tomo Terzo (Venezia: Ferrarin 1763). Lorenzo Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa Tomo secondo (Roma: Pagliarini 1792). Giuseppe Piatti, Storia critico-cronologica de' Romani Pontefici E de' Generali e Provinciali Concilj Tomo settimo (Poli: Giovanni Gravier 1767). 385-395 Ludovico Antonio Muratori, Annali d' Italia Volume 19 (Firenze 1827).
Ioannes Rubeus, Bonifacius VIII e familia Caietanorum Principium Romanus Pontifex (Romae: Corbelletti 1651). Adrien Baillet, Histoire des demeslez du pape Boniface VIII avec Philippe le Bel Roy de France (Paris: Florentin Delaulne 1718). Antonio Scoti, Memorie del Beato Benedetto XI. (Treviso: Eusebio Bergami 1737). J.-B. Christophe, L' histoire de la papauté pendant le XIV. siècle Tome premier (Paris: L. Maison 1853) 78-175. Lorenzo Firita, Niccolò Boccasini e il suo tempo (Padova 1874). Martin Souchon, Die Papstwahlen von Bonifaz VIII bis Urban VI (Braunschweig: Benno Goeritz 1888), pp. 15-23. Félix Rocquain, La papauté au Moyen Age (Paris 1881), 211-291. Louis [Luigi] Tosti, [OSB,] History of Pope Boniface VIII and his times (tr. E. J. Donnelly) (New York 1911; original edition in Italian 1846). Ferdinando Ferretton, Beato Benedetto XI Trivigiano (Treviso:Enrico Martinelli 1904). F. Gregorovius, History of Rome in the Middle Ages, Volume V.2 second edition, revised (London: George Bell, 1906), Book X, chapter 6, pp. 598-607. H. Denifle, "Die Denkschriften der Colonna gegen Bonifaz VIII. und der Cardinale gegen die Colonna," Archiv fur Literatur- und Kirchen- geschichte V (Freiburg im Breisgau 1889), 493-529. Paul Funke, Papst Benedikt XI. (Munster 1891). Heinrich Finke, Aus den Tage Bonifaz VIII. Funde und Forschungen (Münster 1902) 279-290 [very important documents from Spanish sources in an Appendix, "Quellen", which make all earlier Conclave narratives obsolete]. Heinrich Finke, Acta Aragonensia. Quellen zur deutschen, italianischen, franzosischen, spanischen, zur Kirchen- und Kulturgeschichte aus der diplomatischen Korrespondenz Jaymes II. (1291-1327) (Berlin und Leipzig 1908) [additional new material on the Conclaves of 1304 and 1314].
C. Wenck, Clemens V und Heinrich VII (Halle 1882). Ch.-V. Langlois, "Documents rélatifs à Bertrand de Got (Clément V)," Revue historique 40 (1889), 48-54.
Giulio Navone "Di un musaico di Pietro Cavallini in S. Maria in Trastevere e degli Stefaneschi di Trastevere," Archivio della società romana di storia patria 1 (1877) 219-239. Ignatz Hösl, Kardinal Jacobus Gaietani Stefaneschi (Berlin 1908) [Historische Studien LXI]. Arsenio Frugoni, "La figura e l'opera del cardinale Jacopo Stefaneschi," Rendiconti dell' Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, 3a s., 5 (1950), 397-424.
Paul Maria Baumgarten, "Die Cardinalsernennungen Cälastins V. im September und Oktober 1294," (Stephan Ehses, editor) Festschrift zum elfhundertjährigen Jubiläum des deutschen Campo Santo in Rom (Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder 1897) 161-169.
Albert Huyskens, Kardinal Napoleon Orsini (Marburg 1902) [his professors were Grauert and Wenck]. R. Morghen, "Il cardinale Matteo Rosso," Archivio della Società romana di storia patria 46 (1923) 271-372.
Joseph François Rabanis, Clément V et Philippe le Bel. Lettre à M. Charles Daremberg sur l'entrevue de Philippe le Bel et de Bertrand de Got à Saint Jean d' Angéli (Paris 1858). Edgard Boutaric, Clément V, Philippe le Bel et les Templiers (Paris: Victor Palmé 1874). C. Wenck, Clemens V. und Heinrich VII, die Anfänge des franzosischen Papstthums. Ein Beigrag zur Geschichte des XIV Jahrh. (Halle 1882). Sophie Menache, Clement V (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1998).
Alfredo Reumont, "L' Ungheria e la Santa Sede," Archivio storico italiano 16 (Firenze 1885), 362-385.
William Cornwallis Cartwright, On the Constitution of Papal Conclaves (Edinburgh 1878)
© 2010 John Paul Adams, CSUN
john.p.adams@csun.edu