Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
Person 1235-1303 · about 68 years old · show in timeline

Pope Boniface VIII (Benedetto Caetani)

Benedetto Caetani, born in Anagni around 1235, became Pope Boniface VIII in 1294 after the abdication of Celestine V. He had his predecessor detained; Celestine died in 1296 in the castle of Fumone in a cell in which, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, he could hardly lie down. Against the cardinals of the Colonna family, with whom he was in dispute over his own family's possessions, he proclaimed a crusade in 1297; Palestrina was razed to the ground and strewn with salt, their property confiscated and partly given to the pope's relatives. According to the Britannica avarice, lofty claims and arrogance made him many enemies; in 1302 he issued the bull Unam sanctam. He died in 1303 after the attack at Anagni.

Life dates
1235-1303 (about 68 years old)
Country
France, Italy, Vatican City
Institutions
Papal States
Roman Curia
Category
Expropriation, Crusade
Level of evidence
B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

  1. Boniface had the abdicated Celestine V taken to Rome in custody. Celestine fled twice, was caught, held at Anagni and finally taken to the castle of Fumone, where he died ten months later, on 19 May 1296. The Catholic Encyclopedia considers the harsh treatment of the man of over eighty proven but leaves open who was responsible for it: the room was so narrow that the spot where he stood when saying Mass was the same as where his head lay when he rested; his two companions fell ill from the confinement.
    Evidence: Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913, Absatz 3
    „Boniface VIII, therefore, before leaving Naples, ordered Celestine V to be taken to Rome in the custody of the Abbot of Monte Cassino.“
    Pope Boniface VIII, Absatz 3. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913, Absatz 3
    „finally transferred to the strong Castle of Fumone at Ferentino. Here he remained until his death ten months later, 19 May, 1296.“
    Pope Boniface VIII, Absatz 3. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913, Absatz 3
    „but the rigorous treatment to which the old man of over eighty years was subjected—whoever may have been responsible for it—will not be easily condoned. Of this treatment there can now no longer be any question.“
    Pope Boniface VIII, Absatz 3. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913, Absatz 3
    „that the spot whereon the saint stood when saying Mass was the same as that whereon his head lay when he reclined“
    Pope Boniface VIII, Absatz 3. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913, Absatz 3
    „his two companions were frequently obliged to change places because the constraint and narrowness made them ill“
    Pope Boniface VIII, Absatz 3. Original · Archive copy

What happened to those affected?

  1. On 7 September 1303 Guillaume de Nogaret, envoy of Philip IV of France, and Sciarra Colonna surprised the pope at Anagni. After three days of arrest the citizens freed him; in Rome the Orsini confined him in the Vatican. He died in October 1303.
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.
    „With Sciarra Colonna, Nogaret surprised Boniface at Anagni, on the 7th of September 1303“
    Boniface (Abschnitt Boniface VIII.), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.
    „the pope had remained three days under arrest when the citizens of Anagni freed him. He was conducted to Rome, only to be confined in the Vatican by the Orsini.“
    Boniface (Abschnitt Boniface VIII.), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.. Original · Archive copy

Background

Course of events

  1. Benedetto Caetani was born in Anagni around 1235 and was a canon lawyer at the Curia. On 24 December 1294 he was elected pope in Naples, ten days after the abdication of Celestine V, to which he had, according to the Britannica, contributed. He died on 11 October 1303.
    Evidence: Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913, Absatz 1
    „Born at Anagni about 1235; died at Rome, 11 October, 1303.“
    Pope Boniface VIII, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.
    „He helped the ineffective Celestine V. to abdicate, and was himself chosen pope at Naples on the 24th of December 1294.“
    Boniface (Abschnitt Boniface VIII.), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.. Original · Archive copy

Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)

  1. According to the Britannica he ardently asserted the lordship of the papacy over all the kingdoms of the world; avarice, lofty claims and frequent arrogance made him many enemies. In 1296, with the bull Clericis laicos, he forbade any taxation of the clergy without his consent; in 1302 he issued the bull Unam sanctam, one of the strongest official statements of papal prerogative. According to the contemporary Villani, quoted by the Catholic Encyclopedia, he was too worldly-minded for his office and too fond of money both for the Church and for his family; his nepotism was open.
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.
    „who ardently asserted the lordship of the papacy over all the kingdoms of the world“
    Boniface (Abschnitt Boniface VIII.), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.
    „Avarice, lofty claims and frequent exhibitions of arrogance made him many foes.“
    Boniface (Abschnitt Boniface VIII.), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.
    „In 1296, by the bull Clericis laicos , the pope forbade the levying of taxes, however disguised, on the clergy without his consent.“
    Boniface (Abschnitt Boniface VIII.), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.
    „in 1302 Boniface himself drafted and published the indubitably genuine bull Unam sanctam , one of the strongest official statements of the papal prerogative ever made“
    Boniface (Abschnitt Boniface VIII.), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913, Abschnitt Charakter
    „too worldly-minded for his high office and too fond of money both for the Church and for his family. His nepotism was open.“
    Pope Boniface VIII, Abschnitt Charakter. Original · Archive copy

Response of the Church

  1. He came into conflict with the Colonna cardinals over property; according to the Britannica his attempt to build up great estates for his own family made most of the Colonna his enemies. On 10 May 1297 he deprived them of their dignities and excommunicated them. In September 1297 he declared war on them, in December he even proclaimed a crusade against them. After the surrender in September 1298 Palestrina was razed to the ground, the plough driven through and salt strewn over its ruins. After a further revolt the family's property was confiscated and largely given to Roman nobles and the pope's relatives.
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.
    „The attempt to build up great estates for his family made most of the Colonna his enemies.“
    Boniface (Abschnitt Boniface VIII.), Abschnitt Boniface VIII.. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913, Abschnitt Colonna
    „Thereupon Boniface on the 10th of May, 1297, issued a Bull "In excelso throno", depriving the rebellious cardinals of their dignities, pronouncing sentence of excommunication against them“
    Pope Boniface VIII, Abschnitt Colonna. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913, Abschnitt Colonna
    „In December of the same year he even proclaimed a crusade against his enemies.“
    Pope Boniface VIII, Abschnitt Colonna. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913, Abschnitt Colonna
    „Palestrina was razed to the ground, the plough driven through and salt strewn over its ruins.“
    Pope Boniface VIII, Abschnitt Colonna. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913, Abschnitt Colonna
    „Their property was confiscated, and the greater part of it bestowed on Roman nobles, more especially on Landolfo Colonna, the Orsini, and on the relatives of the pope.“
    Pope Boniface VIII, Abschnitt Colonna. Original · Archive copy

See also

Scholarly literature and reference works

  1. Reference work
    Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): Boniface (Abschnitt Boniface VIII.), 1 January 1911. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
  2. Reference work
    Thomas Oestreich, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 2 (1907), Wikisource-Ausgabe 1913: Pope Boniface VIII, 1 January 1913. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
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