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was a
papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...
issued on February 5, 1296, by
Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...
in an attempt to prevent the secular states of Europein particular
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
from appropriating church revenues without the express prior permission of the pope. The two
expansionist Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism. In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who ...
monarchies had come to blows, and the precedents for taxation of the clergy for a "just war" if it was declared a
crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
and authorized by the papacy had been well established. The position of Boniface was that prior authorization had always been required and that the clergy had not been taxed for purely secular and dynastic warfare.


Background

Boniface VIII viewed conflict between England and France as a particularly grave matter. As long as France was at war, it was less likely to be able to offer him any assistance in Italy, and both were unlikely to participate in any expedition to the Holy Land. The hostilities with France also brought increased exactions on the English church to finance them. Benedict sent cardinal nuncios to each court in hope of a brokered truce,Denton, Jeffrey H., ''Robert Winchelsey and the Crown 1294-1313: A Study in the Defence of Ecclesiastical Liberty'', Cambridge University Press, 2002
but their efforts were unsuccessful. At a time when the laity were taxed an eleventh on their movable goods, or a seventh if they lived in town or on a royal demesne, the clergy, under Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Winchelsey, offered a tenth for national defense. King
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
declined and suggested rather a quarter or a third. The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 reiterated a principle, found in the Lateran Council of 1179, that a secular power might not tax Church property without first obtaining permission from the pope. It had become accepted practice. PhilipIV had himself observed it in 1288 in collecting a tenth over three years. With the war with EdwardI, however, he dispensed with the formality in his new and so triggered protests from the French clergy and complaints to Rome.


Content

The bull decreed that all prelates or other ecclesiastical superiors who under whatsoever
pretext A pretext (: ''pretextual'') is an excuse to do something or say something that is not accurate. Pretexts may be based on a half-truth or developed in the context of a misleading fabrication. Pretexts have been used to conceal the true purpose or r ...
or color shall not, without
authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of M ...
from the Holy See, pay to laymen any part of their income or of the
revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...
of the Church, likewise all emperors, kings, dukes, counts, etc. who shall exact or receive such payments, incur '' eo ipso'' the sentence of excommunication. James F. Loughlin, writing in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1903), sees this as expressing two underlying principles: (1) That the clergy should enjoy equally with the laity the right of determining the need and the amount of their subsidies to the Crown; and (2) That the head of the Church ought to be consulted when there was question of diverting the revenues of the Church to secular purposes.Loughlin, James. "Clericis Laicos." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 4 March 2016
The bull was criticized for the vehemence of its tone and exaggerated indictment of the laity of all times. Its opening statement asserted that "the laity have been from the most ancient times hostile to the clergy", which even modern scholars have called "a palpable untruth" given the enormous enthusiasm and devotion most laymen were still showing to many of the clergy. The bull was also attacked for its failure to make clear the distinction between the revenues of the purely ecclesiastical benefices and the "lay fees" held by the clergy on feudal tenure. The advisers of Philip were quick to take advantage of the Pope's hasty language and, by forcing him to make explanations, put him on the defensive and weakened his prestige. was a reminder of the traditional principle. Surprised by the strong reaction of the French crown and pressure from the French bishops seeking a compromise, in July 1297 Boniface issued another bull, , which allowed lay taxation of clergy without papal consent in cases of emergency. Nonetheless, was included by Pope Boniface in his collection of
canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
, the . Only after the death of Boniface's successor, Benedict XI, would the canonists begin treating the bull as truly revoked.Thomas M. Izbicki, “Clericis laicos and the Canonists,” in ''Popes, Teachers, and Canon Law in the Middle Ages'', ed. J. R. Sweeney and S. Chodorow, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1989,179-190; Izbicki, Thomas M. Izbicki, "Guido de Baysio's unedited gloss on 'Clericis laicos'," ''Bulletin of Medieval Canon Law'' (13 (1983): 62-67.


''Etsi de statu''

was a
papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...
issued by
Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...
in July 1297. The bull was essentially a revocation of , which had fully prohibited the taxation of clerical property by lay authorities without the explicit consent of the papacy. allowed it in cases of emergency. had been chiefly directed at EdwardI of
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and PhilipIV of
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, who had levied taxes on the clergy to finance their war over control of
Duchy of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine (, ; , ) was a historical fiefdom located in the western, central, and southern areas of present-day France, south of the river Loire. The full extent of the duchy, as well as its name, fluctuated greatly over the centuries ...
. France had responded, however, with an embargo on export of gold or silver, effectively prohibiting Rome from accessing any of its revenues from France. At the same time, Boniface had to contend in Rome with a suspiciously convenient uprising against him by the Colonna family.Cavendish, Richard. "Boniface VIII’s Bull Unam Sanctam", ''History Today'', Volume 52 Issue 11 November 2002
/ref> The Pope was obliged to back down and issue the more accommodating .


Text


''Clericis laicos'' in APOSCRIPTA Database - Lettres des papes (French CNRS, UMR 5648), letter n. 11000


References

{{Tax resistance 1296 works Economic history of the Holy See 13th-century papal bulls Medieval economic history Documents of Pope Boniface VIII