The Papacy in the Late Middle Ages
The Arrest of a Pope
Boniface, exasperated, threatened Philip with excommunication, in 1303. Once again, Philip decided to protect himself by taking the offensive. Still claiming to be acting in the interests of Christendom, Philip sent one William, Bishop of Nogaret, to Italy along with a small band of armed men. Once there, they raised a force of local Italians, greatly aided by the Colonna, and they together went to the village of Anagni, near Rome, where the pope was staying at the time.
There, they arrested the pope. Even this was not unprecedented. Emperors had deposed popes before. No king had done so, though, and never in so obviously mercenary a fashion. But Philip (or, rather, William) had made a tactical mistake.
Anagni was Boniface's ancestral home, and the moment word came that the holy father had been arrested by his enemies, the entire town turned out to stop it. A tense few days passed in a stalemate, but Nogaret finally released Boniface because he realized he would never be able to get the pope out of the town.
Boniface was free, but the ordeal took its toll on the old man, and he died about three weeks later, at Rome. What happened next is where this incident differs so markedly from earlier conflicts.