the Fourth Week of Advent
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Bible Encyclopedias
Clement IV
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or Pope (Gui Fulcodi, according to others, Guido Foulquois le Gros), was a native of France, first a soldier, then a lawyer, married, and on his wife's death entered the Church, and became in succession bishop of Puy, archbishop of Narbonne, and (1261) cardinal bishop of Sabina. He was chosen pope at the beginning of 1265, while he was absent from Italy as papal legate, and solemnly crowned on the 22d of February, at Viterbo, where he took up his residence on account of the disturbances prevailing in Rome. During the whole time of his pontificate he was occupied with the contest concerning the government of Sicily. His predecessor, Urban IV, has invited Charles of Anjou to take possession of Sicily, which was then ruled by Manfred, an illegitimate son of Emperor Frederick II. When Charles appeared in Rome (May 21,1265), five cardinals, in the name of the pope, concluded between him and the papal see a treaty which gave to Charles the whole of the Apulian Empire, while Charles, on the other hand, pledged himself to pay a certain tribute, and to abolish the ecclesiastical decrees of Frederick II. The arrogance of Charles, his want of money, and the outrages committed by French soldiers, disposed the pope favorably toward Manfred, but the latter died before the reconciliation had taken place. The cruelty of Charles against the family and the adherents of Manfred, and his violation of the treaty, filled the pope with indignation.
Nevertheless, when young Conradin, the grandson of Frederick II, appeared in Italy, the traditional hostilities of the popes toward the Hohenstaufens induced the pope to excommunicate him. Conradin was received with enthusiasm by the Ghibelline opponents of the pope, and, in particular, by the people of Rome, and the pope naturally rejoiced at his defeat and capture. It cannot, however, be proved that he knew of, and much less that he approved of his execution. Clement survived exactly one month after the last scion of the Hohenstaufens Conradin was beheaded, dying at Viterbo Nov. 29, 1268. He was an able ruler, and resolutely hostile to nepotism. Many of his letters have been published by Martene and Durand in their Thesaurus Novus Anecdotorum (Paris, 1717, 5 vols. fol.), and by D'Achery in his Spicilegium. He wrote several works, among which was a life of St. Hedwig, duchess of Poland, who was canonized by him in 1267. On works falsely attributed to Clement, see Cave, Hist. Lit. ad annum 1265. A special work on the life and writings of Clement was published in 1623 at Lyons by the Jesuit Claudius Clemens. See Herzog, Real-Encyklop. 2, 732; Wetzer u. Welte, Kirchen-Lexicon, 2, 594; Neander, Church Hist. 4, 289, 424; Gieseler, Church Hist. per. 3. div. 3. chap. 1, § 57. Pope (Bertrand d'Agoust), was born at Uzeste about 1264. He was appointed bishop of Comminges by Boniface VIII in 1295, and was one of the few French bishops who obeyed the summons of the pope to visit Rome, notwithstanding the prohibition of Philip the Fair. In 1299 he was appointed archbishop of Bordeaux.
During the conclave following the death of Boniface VIII in 1305 he was gained over by Philip the Fair, and when a compromise had been adopted between the party of Boniface and the French party, in virtue of which the French cardinals had to choose the pope among three candidates proposed by the party of Boniface, he was elected, being still regarded as a friend of Boniface. At a secret interview which he had had with Philip before the election he had promised to reconcile the king with the Church, to leave to him during five years the tithe for military wants, to condemn the memory of Boniface, and to create a number of new French cardinals. — All these conditions were promptly fulfilled except the one relating to Boniface, which the pope tried to escape. He instituted a committee to investigate the charges brought against Boniface, but ultimately (1311) declared him free from the stain of heresy. On the other hand, he yielded to the demand of Philip for the abolition of the order of the Templars.
He summoned the grand master of the order, under false pretexts, to his court; issued in 1308 a bull against the order, in which he brought against it the most unfounded and absurd charges; and finally, at the General Council of Vienne (in 1312). pronounced its abolition. The pope raised no objection to the appropriation of most of the possessions of the order by Philip, and to the burning of the grand master and of many leading members. Clement was the first pope who fixed his residence at Avignon, thus; beginning what has been styled the Babylonian Captivity of the popes. He published a large number of constitutions based upon the decrees of the Council of Vienna, which still form, under the name of "Clementines" (q.v.), the seventh book of the Decretals. He died April 20, 1314. The contemporaneous writers accuse him of licentiousness, nepotism, simony, and avarice. (See WETZER U. WELTE), Kirchen-Lex. 2, 594 sq.; Herzog, Real-Encyklop. 2, 732; Neander, Ch. Hist. 4, 70, 341; Gieseler, Ch. Hist. per 3. div. 3. ch. 1, § 59, and div. 4, ch. 1, § 95; Landon, Manual of Councils, s.v. Vienne. Pope (Pierre Roger), was a native of Limousin, in France. After having been a Benedictine monk in Chaise-Dieu, professor at Paris, bishop of Arras, archbishop of Sens and Rouen, and (1388) cardinal, he was elected pope on the 7th of May, 1342. He had a protracted quarrel with Edward III, king of England, on the subject of ecclesiastical benefices, over which Clement claimed an absolute right. He issued a frightful leull of excommunication against Louis IV of Germany (see Raynald, ad annum 1346), when the latter and the German Diet refused to promise that the king should do nothing without the consent of the pole, and induced five of the German electors to elect Charles, the son of the king of Bohemia, as German emperor.
By a contract of June 9, 1348, he purchased from Joanna, queen of Naples, the city of Avignon and some adjoining territory for 80,000 gold florins, which, however, were never paid. Previously the I queen, who personally appeared before him, had been acquitted of the charge of having murdered her husband. An urgent invitation from the Romans (among whose ambassadors was Petrarch) to return to Rome was sent to the pope, but he continued at Avignon. By a bull of April 10, 1349, he reduced the interval between the years of jubilee, (See JUBILEE), from 100 to 50 years, and celebrated the jubilee in 1350 with extraordinary pomp. In the bull of Clement the angels are commanded to introduce into Paradise without delay any one who should die during his stay at Rome. His efforts to bring about a union of the Greek Church with the Roman were fruitless, although the emperor Johannes Cantacuzenus declared in favor of the union. More successful were similar efforts with regard to the Armenians, who, at a council held in 1342, condemned those heresies with which they were charged. In 1345 Clement brought about a new crusade against the Turks, in which the king of Cyprus, the grand master of Rhodes, and the republics Venice of and Genoa took part, which, however, led to no result. He showed a great severity against the Flagellants. (See FLAGELLANTS).
Most of the new cardinals created by this pope were Frenchmen, and among them were a considerable number of his own relatives, who scandalized the Church by their licentious lives. Clement died in 1352. Petrarch praises the generosity and eloquence of this pope; but he gave, on the other hand, great offense by his extravagance and by his private life. Of his writings there are still extant several sermons, a treatise on the poverty of Christ and the apostles, a volume of letters, etc. See Wetzer u. Welte, Kirchen-Lex. 2, 596-600; Herzog, Real-Encyklop. 2, 733, 734; Hoefer, Biog. Generale, 10, 765; Neander, Church Hist. 10, 41, 43, 412; Gieseler, Ch. Hist. per. 3. div. 4, ch. 1, § 97, 100.
These files are public domain.
McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Clement IV'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/c/clement-iv.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
