The Papacy in the Late Middle Ages
Pope Clement V
The College of Cardinals had been for some time increasingly dominated by Frenchmen. Upon Boniface's death, they elected a Frenchman, the archbishop of Lyons, as the new pope. He took the name of Clement V. Clement was still in Lyons when he received the news that he was now pope. As you might imagine, he was immediately besieged with problems and crises. For one thing, there was the matter of all the charges against Boniface, including the charge of heresy. Philip wanted the case prosecuted so he could be justified in his actions, but many of the cardinals wanted the matter left alone, for it was an uncomfortable business to try a dead pope for heresy.
A second matter was the question of who was the legitimate Holy Roman Emperor. There were rival claimants in 1305. Boniface had favored one side, but Philip had favored the other and brought what pressure he could to bear on Clement. The issue was pressing and demanded immediate attention.
There were other matters, as well, for the spat with Philip had distracted Rome from its usual business. In short, Clement found that he could not even travel to Rome that year of his election (remember the Gaetani-Colonna feud). Many of the cardinals had gone to France, the political climate in Italy being inimical to Frenchmen just then, to put it mildly.
Clement was very concerned not to appear that he was merely a puppet of the French king, and he could no more remain in France than he could go to Rome. Historians argue at length over how much Clement was controlled by Philip, how much he was merely influenced by Philip, to what extent he actually agreed with Philip, and to what extent he was his own man. The evidence is complex and conflicting, but the general tenor is that a hundred years ago (or so) most historians saw Clement as merely a puppet whereas current historians are inclined to grant that he at least tried to chart his own course. An example is his choice of papal residence—Avignon. This was a city of moderate size in southern France, just across the Rhône River from French territory. Avignon was in Provence, which was imperial territory. It was sort-of-French. Its inhabitants spoke Provençal, a French dialect. Most of its trade associations were with France. In practice, the Emperor exerted very little control over Provence, whose duke essentially an independent lord with ties to the French nobility. In short, the choice of Avignon could be interpreted as being under the thumb of the French king, or as a clever compromise to gain at least a measure of independence in a difficult situation.
The year (1305) passed and still a trip to Rome seemed out of the question. More and more clerks and administrators came from Rome to Avignon, and there were a thousand things to do, and Clement remained. And never left. Clement spent his entire pontificate in Avignon. By the time he died, most of the curia was resident in the city, and the College of Cardinals elected another Frenchman and he too remained at Avignon.