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{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 1334 to 1342}}
{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 1334 to 1342}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
{{Infobox Christian leader
|type=Pope
| type = Pope
|honorific-prefix= [[List of popes|Pope]]
| honorific-prefix = [[List of popes|Pope]]
|name=Benedict XII
| name = Benedict XII
|title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| image = Papa Benedictus Duodecimus.jpg
|image=Benoît XII Paolo de Siena 1341 crypte de St Pierre de Rome.jpg
|caption=Effigy of Benedict XII
| caption = Portrait by [[Henri Serrur]]
|birth_name=Jacques Fornier
| birth_name = Jacques Fornier
|church = [[Catholic Church]]
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
|term_start=30 December 1334
| term_start = 30 December 1334
|term_end=25 April 1342
| term_end = 25 April 1342
|predecessor=[[John XXII]]
| predecessor = [[John XXII]]
|successor=[[Clement VI]]
| successor = [[Clement VI]]
|consecration=1317
| consecration = 1317
|consecrated_by=[[Niccolò Alberti]]
| consecrated_by = [[Niccolò Alberti]]
|cardinal= 18 December 1327
| cardinal = 18 December 1327
|created_cardinal_by = [[Pope John XXII|John XXII]]
| created_cardinal_by = [[Pope John XXII|John XXII]]
|birth_date= 1285
| birth_date = 1285
|birth_place= [[Saverdun]], [[France in the Middle Ages|Kingdom of France]]
| birth_place = [[Saverdun]], Kingdom of France
|death_date={{death date and age|1342|4|25|1285|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1342|4|25|1285|df=y}}
|death_place=[[Avignon]], [[County of Provence]]
| death_place = [[Avignon]], County of Provence
|other=Benedict
| other = Benedict
|coat_of_arms=Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XII.svg}}
| coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XII.svg
}}


{{Infobox popestyles
'''Pope Benedict XII''' ({{lang-la|Benedictus XII}}, {{lang-fr|Benoît XII}}; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born '''Jacques Fournier''',<ref>George L. Williams, ''Papal Genealogy:The Families and Descendants of the Popes'', (McFarland & Company Inc., 1998), 42.</ref> was head of the [[Catholic Church]] from 30 December 1334<ref>Takashi Shogimen, ''Ockham and Political Discourse in the Late Middle Ages'', (Cambridge University Press, 2007), 156.</ref> to his death in April 1342.<ref>Mike Carr, ''Merchant Crusaders in the Aegean, 1291-1352'', (The Boydell Press, 2015), 103.</ref> He was the third [[Avignon pope]]. Benedict was a careful pope who reformed monastic orders and opposed [[nepotism]]. Unable to remove his capital to Rome or Bologna, he started the great palace at Avignon. He decided against a notion of [[Pope John XXII]] by saying that souls may attain the "fulness{{sic}} of the [[beatific vision]]" before the [[Last Judgment]].<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Benedict |volume=3 |first=William Walker |last=Rockwell |page=718}}</ref> Whilst being a stalwart reformer, he attempted unsuccessfully to reunite the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Catholic Church]]es, almost three centuries after the [[East-West Schism|Great Schism]]; he also failed to come to an understanding with [[Emperor Louis IV]].
|image = File: Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XII.svg
|dipstyle = [[His Holiness]]
|offstyle = Your Holiness
|relstyle = Holy Father
|deathstyle = None
}}
'''Pope Benedict XII''' ({{lang-la|Benedictus XII}}, {{lang-fr|Benoît XII}}; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born '''Jacques Fournier''', was a cardinal and inquisitor, later head of the [[Catholic Church]] from 30 December 1334 to his death, in April 1342. He was the third [[Avignon pope]] and reformed monastic orders and opposed [[nepotism]]. Unable to remove his capital to Rome or Bologna, Benedict started the great palace at Avignon. He settled the [[Pope John XXII#Beatific vision controversy|beatific vision controversy]] of [[Pope John XXII]]{{efn|While John was a proponent of the controversial position during his lifetime, he never promulgated it in any official documents and renounced it prior to his death in 1334.<ref>{{cite book |title=Translating Resurrection: The Debate Between William Tyndale and George Joye in Its Historical and Theological Context |first=Gergely |last=Juhász |publisher=Brill |year=2015 }}</ref>}} with the bull ''Benedictus Deus'', which stated that souls may attain the "fullness of the [[beatific vision]]" before the [[Last Judgment]].{{sfn|Sommer|2021|p=326}} Despite many diplomatic attempts with [[Emperor Louis IV]] to resolve their differences, Benedict failed to bring the Holy Roman Empire back under papal dominance. He died 25 April 1342 and was buried in Avignon.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Little is known of the origins of Jacques Fournier. He is believed to have been born in [[Canté]] in the [[County of Foix]] around the 1280s to a family of modest means. He became a [[Cistercian]]<ref name="Sumption152-153">Jonathan Sumption, ''Trial by Battle'', Vol.1, (Faber and Faber, 1990), 152-153.</ref> [[monk]] and left the countryside to study at the [[University of Paris]]. In 1311 he was made [[Abbot]] of [[Fontfroide Abbey]] and quickly became known for his intelligence and organizational ability. In 1317 he was made [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Pamiers|Bishop of Pamiers]]. There he undertook a rigorous hunt for [[Cathars]],<ref>Lutz Kaelber, ''Schools of Asceticism: Ideology and Organization in Medieval Religious Communities'', (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998), 219.</ref> such as [[Guillaume Bélibaste]], which won him praise from religious authorities, but alienated the local people.
Jacques Fournier was born in Saverdun in the [[County of Foix]] around 1285.{{sfn|Pham|2004|p=184}}{{sfn|Boureau|2006|p=49}} He joined the [[Cistercians|Cistercian Order]] and studied at the [[Collège des Bernardins]] at the [[University of Paris]].{{sfn|Renouard|1970|p=38}} In 1311 he was made [[Abbot]] of [[Fontfroide Abbey]] and quickly became known for his intelligence and organizational ability.{{sfn|Pham|2004|p=184}}


In 1317, Jacques was made [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Pamiers|Bishop of Pamiers]].{{sfn|Boureau|2006|p=49}} It was here he undertook rigorous measures against [[Cathars]],{{sfn|Kaelber|1998|p=219}} assisting [[Bernard Gui]] in some investigations.{{sfn|Burr|2001|p=215}} Fournier's investigation captured [[Guillaume Bélibaste]],{{sfn|Prudlo|2015|p=154}} who was burned at the stake in 1321.{{sfn|Barber|2014|p=5}} Motivated by Philip V's [[Philip V of France#"Leper scare"|edict against lepers]], Jacques also investigated the supposed leper water-poisoning conspiracy and tortured the director of the Pamiers leprosarium, Guillaume Agasse, into giving a confession to the charges.{{sfn|Sherman|2018|p=36}}
⚫
His efforts against the Cathars of [[Montaillou]] in the [[Ariège (department)|Ariège]] were carefully recorded in the [[Fournier Register]], which he took to [[Rome]] and deposited in the [[Vatican Library]].<ref>Norman Davies, ''Europe: A History'', (Oxford University Press, 1996), 411.</ref> His transcription was edited by [[Jean Duvernoy]] and has been documented by [[Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie]]'s pioneering [[microhistory]], ''Montaillou, village occitan.''


⚫
His efforts against the Cathars of [[Montaillou]] in the [[Ariège (department)|Ariège]] were carefully recorded in the [[Fournier Register]], which he took to [[Rome]] and deposited in the [[Vatican Library]].{{sfn|Davies|1996|p=411}} His transcription was edited by [[Jean Duvernoy]] and has been documented by [[Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie]]'s pioneering [[microhistory]], ''Montaillou, village occitan.''
⚫
In 1326, upon the successful rooting out of the last – it was believed – Cathars of the south, he was made [[Bishop of Mirepoix]] in the Ariège, and, a year later, in 1327, he was made a [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]].


⚫
In 1326, upon the successful rooting out of the last – it was believed – Cathars of the south, Jacques was made [[Bishop of Mirepoix]] in the Ariège, and, a year later, in 1327, he was made a [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]].{{sfn|Boureau|2006|p=49}}
==Accession to papacy==
Fournier succeeded [[John XXII]] as [[pope]], after being elected in the [[Papal conclave, 1334|Conclave]] of 1334. The Conclave opened on 13 December, and it appeared that there might be a quick election. A two-thirds majority were prepared to elect Cardinal Jean-Raymond de Comminges, the Bishop of Porto, if he would only swear in advance to agree ''not'' to return the papacy to Rome. Comminges refused to make any promises in order to get elected. The Conclave therefore ground on through lengthy discussions. As Fournier himself said, "... in the discussion held over the election of a future pope, they could certainly have agreed on others more conspicuous for the repute of their great merits...",<ref>''habito super electionis futuri papae celebratione tractatu, licet consentire potuissent in alios majorum meritorum claritate conspicuos, et plurium virtutum titulis insignatos'': Baronio (ed. Theiner), Vol. 25, p. 21, under the year 1334, 46.</ref> in other words, there were a number of possible candidates. The Cistercian cardinal, Jacques Fournier, was elected on the evening of 20 December 1334, after Vespers, on the eighth day of the Conclave.<ref>Martin Souchon, Die Papstwahlen von Bonifaz VIII bis Urban VI (Braunschweig: Benno Goeritz 1888), pp. 45-46. J. P. Adams, [http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/SV1334.html ''Sede Vacante 1334''.] Retrieved: 2016-06-26.</ref>


Upon his elevation to cardinal, Jacques continued to wear his Cistercian [[cowl]], which garnered him the nickname the "white cardinal".{{sfn|Bueno|2018|p=15}} He often advised Pope John XXII on doctrinal matters, which included the heretical nature of magic.{{sfn|Bueno|2018|p=15}} Jacques was tasked by the pope with examining the works of [[Peter John Olivi]], [[Meister Eckhart]], [[William of Ockham]] and [[Michael of Cesena]].{{sfn|Bueno|2018|p=15}}
The election of Fournier happened as the result of an accident. According to the [[Catholic Encyclopedia]]:


==Election==
{{quote|The cardinals in conclave, most of whom opposed a return to Rome, demanded of Cardinal de Comminges whose election seemed assured, the promise to remain at Avignon. His refusal precipitated an unexpected canvass for candidates. On the first ballot, 20 December, 1334, many electors, intending to sound the mind of the conclave, voted for the unlikely Cardinal Fournier, who, though he was one of the few men of real merit in the college, was but lightly regarded because of his obscure origin and lack of wealth and following. He amazed the conclave by receiving the necessary two-thirds vote. On 8 January, 1335, he was enthroned as Benedict XII.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2 |date=1913 |publisher=Encyclopedia Press |page=430 |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Catholic_Encyclopedia,_volume_2.djvu/492 |access-date=21 July 2020}}</ref>}}
The [[1334 papal conclave|Conclave opened on 13 December 1334]], and it appeared that there might be a quick election. A two-thirds majority were prepared to elect Cardinal Jean-Raymond de Comminges, the Bishop of Porto, if he would only swear in advance to agree ''not'' to return the papacy to Rome. Comminges refused to make any promises in order to get elected.{{sfn|Peterson|1907}}{{sfn|Rollo-Koster|2015|p=56}} The Conclave therefore proposed Jacques Fournier's name, almost as a dare.{{sfn|Bueno|2016|p=247}} Owing to his inexperience in politics, it was believed he would not get the votes.{{sfn|Bueno|2016|p=247}} Upon Jacques' election the conclave was astonished, while Jacques stated, "You have elected an ignoramus".{{sfn|Bueno|2016|p=247}} Jacques Fournier took the name of Benedict XII as the pope on 8 January 1335.{{sfn|Bueno|2016|p=247}}


==Papacy==
==Papal policy and activity==
From the beginning of his pontificate, Benedict worked to reform the Curia and secular clergy in an effort to curb clerical avarice and nepotism as well as abuses in the granting of benefices. However, the religious orders were the primary target of his major reform efforts. By 1335–1336, Benedict had enacted changes that are viewed as one of the milestones of his pontificate.{{sfn|Bueno|2018|p=16}}


===Emperor Louis IV===
Benedict XII was a reforming pope who did not carry out the policies of his predecessor. He chose to make peace with [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis IV]], and as far as possible came to terms with the [[Franciscan]]s, who were then at odds with the [[Holy See|Roman See]]. He tried to curb the luxuries of the [[monastic order]]s, though without much success. He also ordered the construction of the [[Palais des Papes]] in [[Avignon]].
Following Benedict's election, ambassadors were received from [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Louis IV]] seeking a pardon and an end to the conflict.{{sfn|Lee|2018|p=259-260}}{{sfn|Mollat|1965|p=221}} Benedict, who was entreated by Louis' ambassadors why the emperor should be pardoned, had declared his intentions in favor of Louis.{{sfn|Mollat|1965|p=221}} By the end of 1335, however, political maneuvering by both [[Philip VI of France]] and Louis IV,{{efn|Louis IV entered into an alliance with Edward III of England.{{sfn|Lee|2018|p=260}}}} had pressured Benedict into delaying negotiations.{{sfn|Lee|2018|p=260}}


The interdict placed on the [[Holy Roman Empire]] had caused havoc; the rebellion of the archbishop of Mainz (1329–1332),{{sfn|Engel|2008|p=114}} disagreements between the Hospitallers, the Teutonic knights and the Francicans, while the secular clergy largely defied it.{{sfn|Mollat|1965|p=221}} Benedict again received ambassadors from Louis, after German bishops and the Estates of the Empire implored Louis to find a settlement.{{sfn|Mollat|1965|p=223}} An agreement was never reached.{{sfn|Lee|2018|p=260}} In response, at Rhens on 16 July 1338, the Estates passed a new declaration giving the Emperor authority over all rights and goods within the Empire without the need of papal approval and that all decrees against Louis by John XXII were "an offense against God" and illegal.{{sfn|Lee|2018|p=260}}
⚫
Benedict spent most of his time working on questions of [[theology]]. He rejected many of the ideas developed by John XXII. In this regard, he promulgated an [[apostolic constitution]], [[Benedictus Deus (Benedict XII)|''Benedictus Deus'']], in 1336. This dogma defined the Church's belief that the souls of the departed go to their eternal reward immediately after death, as opposed to remaining in a state of unconscious existence until the [[Last Judgment]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben12/B12bdeus.html |title=''Benedictus Deus'' on |publisher=Papalencyclicals.net |access-date=2013-06-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531034830/http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben12/B12bdeus.html |archive-date=2013-05-31 }}</ref> Though some claim that he campaigned against the [[Immaculate Conception]], this is far from clear. He engaged in long theological debates with other noted figures of the age, such as [[William of Ockham]] and [[Meister Eckhart]].


Despite this, Benedict sent his chaplain, Arnaud de Verdale, to entreat with Louis and was assured by the emperor and prince electors of a forthcoming embassy.{{sfn|Mollat|1965|p=224}} No ambassadors ever arrived from Louis and Benedict's attempt to restore the [[Holy Roman Empire]] to papal supervision came to nothing.{{sfn|Mollat|1965|p=224}}
⚫
Though born a Frenchman, Benedict felt no patriotism towards France nor its king, [[Philip VI of France|Philip VI]].<ref name="Sumption152-153" /> From the start of his papacy, relations between him and Philip were frigid.<ref name="Sumption152-153" /> After being informed of Philip's plan to invade Scotland, Benedict hinted that King [[Edward III of England]] would most likely win, regardless.<ref name="Sumption152-153" />


== Works ==
===Bologna===
Benedict planned on moving the papacy to Bologna by 1 October 1335.{{efn|According to [[Enrico Castelnuovo]] and Alessio Monciatti.{{sfn|Theis|2018|p=111}}}} He even hired, in August 1335, Jean Poisson to supervise repairs to [[St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter]], St. Paul basilicas, and the papal palace in Rome.{{sfn|Theis|2018|p=111-112}} The cost ran into several thousand florins.{{sfn|Theis|2018|p=112}} Valerie Theis, states the construction in Rome may have been a way of Benedict disguising his true intention of settling permanently in Avignon.{{sfn|Theis|2018|p=112}} Consequently, in 1335, he ordered the construction of the [[Palais des Papes]] in [[Avignon]], which was finished under [[Pope Clement VI]].{{sfn|Pluger|2003|p=198}}


===Theological discourse===
⚫
Benedict spent most of his time working on questions of [[theology]]. He rejected many of the ideas developed by John XXII. In this regard, he promulgated an [[apostolic constitution]], [[Benedictus Deus (Benedict XII)|''Benedictus Deus'']], in 1336.{{sfn|Sommer|2021|p=326}} This dogma defined the Church's belief that the souls of the departed go to their eternal reward immediately after death, as opposed to remaining in a state of unconscious existence until the [[Last Judgment]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben12/B12bdeus.html |title=''Benedictus Deus'' on |publisher=Papalencyclicals.net |access-date=2013-06-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531034830/http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben12/B12bdeus.html |archive-date=2013-05-31 }}</ref> Though some claim that he campaigned against the [[Immaculate Conception]], this is far from clear.

===Philip VI of France===
On 15 January 1336 Benedict requested Philip VI's assistance in bringing about peace in the western Mediterranean, where the crusade was being hampered by conflicts between Aragon and Genoa, Naples and Sicily.{{sfn|Housley|1986|p=29}} This was followed by the pope's letter, two months later, canceling the crusade, citing the belief that Christendom was too crippled by domestic quarrels.{{sfn|Housley|1986|p=29}} On 18 December, Benedict cancelled the six-year tenth crusading tithe.{{sfn|Housley|1986|p=29}}

⚫
Though born a Frenchman, Benedict felt no patriotism towards France nor its king, [[Philip VI of France|Philip VI]].{{sfn|Sumption|1990|p=152-153}} From the start of his papacy, relations between him and Philip were frigid.{{sfn|Sumption|1990|p=152-153}} After being informed of Philip's plan to invade Scotland, Benedict hinted that King [[Edward III of England]] would most likely win, regardless.{{sfn|Sumption|1990|p=152-153}} In 1340, Benedict's marshal kidnapped English envoys and handed them over to the French.{{sfn|Collins|2009|p=288}} Using papal sanctions, Benedict secured their release and had the marshal hanged.{{sfn|Collins|2009|p=288}}

===Italian intervention===
In 1339, Benedict moved the papal archives from Assisi to Avignon.{{sfn|Renouard|1970|p=41}} Unlike his predecessor, he refrained from papal intervention in Italy, issuing a large list of absolutes for Ghibelline cities, including Milan, giving release from interdict and excommunication in exchange for peace.{{sfn|Dale|2007|p=5-6}} In an effort to secure the acceptance of papal temporal sovereignty in Italy, Benedict negotiated with [[Azzone Visconti]].{{sfn|Dale|2007|p=6}} Azzo was prepared to renounce Louis of Bavaria, but he refused to accept papal rule over Piacenza, Lodi, and Crema, which were Lombard cities.{{sfn|Dale|2007|p=6}} He would never be forgiven for this rejection, and he died while excommunicated.{{sfn|Dale|2007|p=6}} Nevertheless, Luchino Visconti was appointed by Benedict as Azzo's papal vicar for Milan and ruler of Piacenza and Crema after Azzo's death in 1339.{{sfn|Dale|2007|p=6}}

==Death==
Benedict died 25 April 1342,{{sfn|Renouard|1970|p=42}} and was buried in Notre-Dame-des-Doms cathedral in Avignon.{{sfn|McBrien|2000|p=240}}

== Works ==
* {{cite book|title=Formulare advocatorum et procuratorum Romane curie et regii parlamenti|publisher=Ottaviano Scoto il giovane|location=Venezia|year=1536|language=la|url=https://gutenberg.beic.it/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=13731734}}
* {{cite book|title=Formulare advocatorum et procuratorum Romane curie et regii parlamenti|publisher=Ottaviano Scoto il giovane|location=Venezia|year=1536|language=la|url=https://gutenberg.beic.it/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=13731734}}


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Cardinals created by Benedict XII]]
{{Portal|Biography|Christianity|History}}
==Notes==
*[[List of popes]]
{{notelist}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|3}}


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |title=The Cathars: Dualist Heretics in Languedoc in the High Middle Ages |first=Malcolm |last=Barber |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 }}

*{{cite book |title=Satan the Heretic: The Birth of Demonology in the Medieval West |first=Alain |last=Boureau |translator-first=Teresa Lavender |translator-last=Fagan |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2006 }}
*{{cite book|last=Baronio|first=Cesare|editor=Augustinus Theiner|title=Annales ecclesiastici: A. D. 1-1571 denuo excusi et ad nostra usque tempora perducti ab Augustino Theiner|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BllAAQAAMAAJ|volume=Tomus vigesimus quintus (25)|year=1872|publisher=Typis et sumptibus Ludovici Guerin|location=Barri-Ducis|language=la}}[1333-1356]
*{{cite book |title=Defining Heresy |last=Bueno |first=Irene |publisher=Brill |year=2016 }}
* Guillemain, B. (1952). ''La politique bénéficiale du Pape Benoît XII. Paris: École des Hautes Études.
*{{cite book |chapter=Introduction: Benedict XII, the Guardian of Orthodoxy |first=Irene |last=Bueno |title=Pope Benedict XII (1334–1342): The Guardian of Orthodoxy |editor-first=Irene |editor-last=Bueno |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |year=2018 |pages=13–26 }}
* Mahn, J. B. (1950). ''Le Pape Benoit XII et les Cisterciens''. Paris: École des Hautes études.
*{{cite book |title=The Spiritual Franciscans: From Protest to Persecution in the Century after Saint Francis |first=David |last=Burr |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2001 }}
* Melville, G. (1982). "Source Documents on the Pontificate of Benedict XII," in: ''Historisches Jahrbuch'' 102 (1982), pp. 144-182.
*{{cite book |title= Keepers Of The Keys Of Heaven: A History Of The Papacy |first=Roger |last=Collins |publisher=Basic Books |year=2009 }}
* Vidal, Jean-Marie (1905). "Notice sur les oeuvres du Pape Benoit XII." in: ''Revue d'histoire écclesiastique'' 6 (1905), pp. 557-565.
*{{cite journal |journal=Journal of Medieval History |volume=33 |issue= 1 |year= 2007 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |title= Contra damnationis filios: the Visconti in fourteenth-century papal diplomacy |first=Sharon |last=Dale |pages=1–32 |doi=10.1016/j.jmedhist.2007.01.001 |s2cid=153655810 }}

*{{cite book |first=Norman |last=Davies |title=Europe: A History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 }}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=Mainz and the Middle Rhine Valley: Medieval Art, Architecture and Archaeology |first=Ute |last=Engel |publisher=Maney |year=2008 }}

*{{cite book |title=The Avignon Papacy and the Crusades, 1305-1378 |first=Norman |last=Housley |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1986 }}
Murphy, Cullen. ''God's Jury, - The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World''. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2012.{{better source|date=November 2017}}
*{{cite book |first=Lutz |last=Kaelber |title=Schools of Asceticism: Ideology and Organization in Medieval Religious Communities |publisher=The Pennsylvania State University Press |year=1998 }}
*{{cite book |title= Humanism and Empire: The Imperial Ideal in Fourteenth-Century Italy |first=Alexander |last=Lee |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2018 }}
*{{cite book |title=Lives of the Popes |first=Richard P. |last=McBrien |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2000 }}
*{{cite book |title=The Popes at Avignon, 1305-1378 |first=Guillaume |last=Mollat |publisher=Harper & Rowe |year=1965 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Peterson |first=John Bertram |title=Pope Benedict XII |encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia |volume=2 |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |year=1907 |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02430a.htm}}
*{{cite book |title=Heirs of the Fisherman |first=John-Peter |last=Pham |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 }}
*{{cite book |title=England and the Avignon Popes: The Practice of Diplomacy in Late Medieval Europe |first=Karsten |last=Pluger |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 }}
*{{cite book |title=Certain Sainthood: Canonization and the Origins of Papal Infallibility in the Medieval Church |first=Donald S. |last=Prudlo |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2015 }}
*{{cite book |first=Yves |last=Renouard |title=The Avignon Papacy: The Popes in Exile, 1305-1403 |translator-first=Denis |translator-last=Bethell |publisher=Faber & Faber |year=1970 }}
*{{cite book |title=Avignon and Its Papacy, 1309–1417: Popes, Institutions, and Society |first=Joëlle |last=Rollo-Koster |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2015 }}
*{{cite book |chapter=Jacques Fournier and Thirteenth-Century Inquisitorial Methods |first=Elizabeth |last=Sherman |title=Pope Benedict XII (1334–1342): The Guardian of Orthodoxy |editor-first=Irene |editor-last=Bueno |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |year=2018 |pages=27–56 }}
*{{cite book |title=Dreams, Visions, Imaginations: Jewish, Christian and Gnostic Views of the World to Come |editor-first1=Matthias |editor-last1=Konradt |editor-first2=Judith |editor-last2=Lieu |editor-first3=Laura |editor-last3=Nasrallah |editor-first4=Jens |editor-last4=Schröter |editor-first5=Gregory E. |editor-last5=Sterling |chapter=Between Jewish and Egyptian Thinking: The Apocalypse of Sophonias as a Bridge between Two Worlds? |first=Michael |last=Sommer |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2021 |pages=319–342}}
*{{cite book |first=Jonathan |last=Sumption |title=Trial by Battle |volume=1 |publisher=Faber and Faber |year=1990 }}
*{{cite book |chapter=A New Seat for the Papacy: Benedict XII, Avignon, and the Comtat Venaissin |first=Valerie |last=Theis |title= Pope Benedict XII (1334-1342): The Guardian of Orthodoxy |editor-first= Irene |editor-last=Bueno |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |year=2018 }}


{{Commons category|Benedictus XII|Pope Benedict XII}}
{{Commons category|Benedictus XII|Pope Benedict XII}}

Latest revision as of 16:40, 12 August 2024

Pope

Benedict XII
Bishop of Rome
Portrait by Henri Serrur
ChurchCatholic Church
Papacy began30 December 1334
Papacy ended25 April 1342
PredecessorJohn XXII
SuccessorClement VI
Orders
Consecration1317
by Niccolò Alberti
Created cardinal18 December 1327
by John XXII
Personal details
Born
Jacques Fornier

1285
Saverdun, Kingdom of France
Died25 April 1342(1342-04-25) (aged 56–57)
Avignon, County of Provence
Coat of armsBenedict XII's coat of arms
Other popes named Benedict
Papal styles of
Pope Benedict XII
Reference styleHis Holiness
Spoken styleYour Holiness
Religious styleHoly Father
Posthumous styleNone

Pope Benedict XII (Latin: Benedictus XII, French: Benoît XII; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was a cardinal and inquisitor, later head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death, in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope and reformed monastic orders and opposed nepotism. Unable to remove his capital to Rome or Bologna, Benedict started the great palace at Avignon. He settled the beatific vision controversy of Pope John XXII[a] with the bull Benedictus Deus, which stated that souls may attain the "fullness of the beatific vision" before the Last Judgment.[2] Despite many diplomatic attempts with Emperor Louis IV to resolve their differences, Benedict failed to bring the Holy Roman Empire back under papal dominance. He died 25 April 1342 and was buried in Avignon.

Early life

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Jacques Fournier was born in Saverdun in the County of Foix around 1285.[3][4] He joined the Cistercian Order and studied at the Collège des Bernardins at the University of Paris.[5] In 1311 he was made Abbot of Fontfroide Abbey and quickly became known for his intelligence and organizational ability.[3]

In 1317, Jacques was made Bishop of Pamiers.[4] It was here he undertook rigorous measures against Cathars,[6] assisting Bernard Gui in some investigations.[7] Fournier's investigation captured Guillaume Bélibaste,[8] who was burned at the stake in 1321.[9] Motivated by Philip V's edict against lepers, Jacques also investigated the supposed leper water-poisoning conspiracy and tortured the director of the Pamiers leprosarium, Guillaume Agasse, into giving a confession to the charges.[10]

His efforts against the Cathars of Montaillou in the Ariège were carefully recorded in the Fournier Register, which he took to Rome and deposited in the Vatican Library.[11] His transcription was edited by Jean Duvernoy and has been documented by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's pioneering microhistory, Montaillou, village occitan.

In 1326, upon the successful rooting out of the last – it was believed – Cathars of the south, Jacques was made Bishop of Mirepoix in the Ariège, and, a year later, in 1327, he was made a cardinal.[4]

Upon his elevation to cardinal, Jacques continued to wear his Cistercian cowl, which garnered him the nickname the "white cardinal".[12] He often advised Pope John XXII on doctrinal matters, which included the heretical nature of magic.[12] Jacques was tasked by the pope with examining the works of Peter John Olivi, Meister Eckhart, William of Ockham and Michael of Cesena.[12]

Election

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The Conclave opened on 13 December 1334, and it appeared that there might be a quick election. A two-thirds majority were prepared to elect Cardinal Jean-Raymond de Comminges, the Bishop of Porto, if he would only swear in advance to agree not to return the papacy to Rome. Comminges refused to make any promises in order to get elected.[13][14] The Conclave therefore proposed Jacques Fournier's name, almost as a dare.[15] Owing to his inexperience in politics, it was believed he would not get the votes.[15] Upon Jacques' election the conclave was astonished, while Jacques stated, "You have elected an ignoramus".[15] Jacques Fournier took the name of Benedict XII as the pope on 8 January 1335.[15]

Papacy

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From the beginning of his pontificate, Benedict worked to reform the Curia and secular clergy in an effort to curb clerical avarice and nepotism as well as abuses in the granting of benefices. However, the religious orders were the primary target of his major reform efforts. By 1335–1336, Benedict had enacted changes that are viewed as one of the milestones of his pontificate.[16]

Emperor Louis IV

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Following Benedict's election, ambassadors were received from Emperor Louis IV seeking a pardon and an end to the conflict.[17][18] Benedict, who was entreated by Louis' ambassadors why the emperor should be pardoned, had declared his intentions in favor of Louis.[18] By the end of 1335, however, political maneuvering by both Philip VI of France and Louis IV,[b] had pressured Benedict into delaying negotiations.[19]

The interdict placed on the Holy Roman Empire had caused havoc; the rebellion of the archbishop of Mainz (1329–1332),[20] disagreements between the Hospitallers, the Teutonic knights and the Francicans, while the secular clergy largely defied it.[18] Benedict again received ambassadors from Louis, after German bishops and the Estates of the Empire implored Louis to find a settlement.[21] An agreement was never reached.[19] In response, at Rhens on 16 July 1338, the Estates passed a new declaration giving the Emperor authority over all rights and goods within the Empire without the need of papal approval and that all decrees against Louis by John XXII were "an offense against God" and illegal.[19]

Despite this, Benedict sent his chaplain, Arnaud de Verdale, to entreat with Louis and was assured by the emperor and prince electors of a forthcoming embassy.[22] No ambassadors ever arrived from Louis and Benedict's attempt to restore the Holy Roman Empire to papal supervision came to nothing.[22]

Bologna

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Benedict planned on moving the papacy to Bologna by 1 October 1335.[c] He even hired, in August 1335, Jean Poisson to supervise repairs to St. Peter, St. Paul basilicas, and the papal palace in Rome.[24] The cost ran into several thousand florins.[25] Valerie Theis, states the construction in Rome may have been a way of Benedict disguising his true intention of settling permanently in Avignon.[25] Consequently, in 1335, he ordered the construction of the Palais des Papes in Avignon, which was finished under Pope Clement VI.[26]

Theological discourse

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Benedict spent most of his time working on questions of theology. He rejected many of the ideas developed by John XXII. In this regard, he promulgated an apostolic constitution, Benedictus Deus, in 1336.[2] This dogma defined the Church's belief that the souls of the departed go to their eternal reward immediately after death, as opposed to remaining in a state of unconscious existence until the Last Judgment.[27] Though some claim that he campaigned against the Immaculate Conception, this is far from clear.

Philip VI of France

[edit]

On 15 January 1336 Benedict requested Philip VI's assistance in bringing about peace in the western Mediterranean, where the crusade was being hampered by conflicts between Aragon and Genoa, Naples and Sicily.[28] This was followed by the pope's letter, two months later, canceling the crusade, citing the belief that Christendom was too crippled by domestic quarrels.[28] On 18 December, Benedict cancelled the six-year tenth crusading tithe.[28]

Though born a Frenchman, Benedict felt no patriotism towards France nor its king, Philip VI.[29] From the start of his papacy, relations between him and Philip were frigid.[29] After being informed of Philip's plan to invade Scotland, Benedict hinted that King Edward III of England would most likely win, regardless.[29] In 1340, Benedict's marshal kidnapped English envoys and handed them over to the French.[30] Using papal sanctions, Benedict secured their release and had the marshal hanged.[30]

Italian intervention

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In 1339, Benedict moved the papal archives from Assisi to Avignon.[31] Unlike his predecessor, he refrained from papal intervention in Italy, issuing a large list of absolutes for Ghibelline cities, including Milan, giving release from interdict and excommunication in exchange for peace.[32] In an effort to secure the acceptance of papal temporal sovereignty in Italy, Benedict negotiated with Azzone Visconti.[33] Azzo was prepared to renounce Louis of Bavaria, but he refused to accept papal rule over Piacenza, Lodi, and Crema, which were Lombard cities.[33] He would never be forgiven for this rejection, and he died while excommunicated.[33] Nevertheless, Luchino Visconti was appointed by Benedict as Azzo's papal vicar for Milan and ruler of Piacenza and Crema after Azzo's death in 1339.[33]

Death

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Benedict died 25 April 1342,[34] and was buried in Notre-Dame-des-Doms cathedral in Avignon.[35]

Works

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  • Formulare advocatorum et procuratorum Romane curie et regii parlamenti (in Latin). Venezia: Ottaviano Scoto il giovane. 1536.

See also

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Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ While John was a proponent of the controversial position during his lifetime, he never promulgated it in any official documents and renounced it prior to his death in 1334.[1]
  2. ^ Louis IV entered into an alliance with Edward III of England.[19]
  3. ^ According to Enrico Castelnuovo and Alessio Monciatti.[23]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Juhász, Gergely (2015). Translating Resurrection: The Debate Between William Tyndale and George Joye in Its Historical and Theological Context. Brill.
  2. ^ a b Sommer 2021, p. 326.
  3. ^ a b Pham 2004, p. 184.
  4. ^ a b c Boureau 2006, p. 49.
  5. ^ Renouard 1970, p. 38.
  6. ^ Kaelber 1998, p. 219.
  7. ^ Burr 2001, p. 215.
  8. ^ Prudlo 2015, p. 154.
  9. ^ Barber 2014, p. 5.
  10. ^ Sherman 2018, p. 36.
  11. ^ Davies 1996, p. 411.
  12. ^ a b c Bueno 2018, p. 15.
  13. ^ Peterson 1907.
  14. ^ Rollo-Koster 2015, p. 56.
  15. ^ a b c d Bueno 2016, p. 247.
  16. ^ Bueno 2018, p. 16.
  17. ^ Lee 2018, p. 259-260.
  18. ^ a b c Mollat 1965, p. 221.
  19. ^ a b c d Lee 2018, p. 260.
  20. ^ Engel 2008, p. 114.
  21. ^ Mollat 1965, p. 223.
  22. ^ a b Mollat 1965, p. 224.
  23. ^ Theis 2018, p. 111.
  24. ^ Theis 2018, p. 111-112.
  25. ^ a b Theis 2018, p. 112.
  26. ^ Pluger 2003, p. 198.
  27. ^ "Benedictus Deus on". Papalencyclicals.net. Archived from the original on 2013-05-31. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
  28. ^ a b c Housley 1986, p. 29.
  29. ^ a b c Sumption 1990, p. 152-153.
  30. ^ a b Collins 2009, p. 288.
  31. ^ Renouard 1970, p. 41.
  32. ^ Dale 2007, p. 5-6.
  33. ^ a b c d Dale 2007, p. 6.
  34. ^ Renouard 1970, p. 42.
  35. ^ McBrien 2000, p. 240.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Barber, Malcolm (2014). The Cathars: Dualist Heretics in Languedoc in the High Middle Ages. Routledge.
  • Boureau, Alain (2006). Satan the Heretic: The Birth of Demonology in the Medieval West. Translated by Fagan, Teresa Lavender. University of Chicago Press.
  • Bueno, Irene (2016). Defining Heresy. Brill.
  • Bueno, Irene (2018). "Introduction: Benedict XII, the Guardian of Orthodoxy". In Bueno, Irene (ed.). Pope Benedict XII (1334–1342): The Guardian of Orthodoxy. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 13–26.
  • Burr, David (2001). The Spiritual Franciscans: From Protest to Persecution in the Century after Saint Francis. University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • Collins, Roger (2009). Keepers Of The Keys Of Heaven: A History Of The Papacy. Basic Books.
  • Dale, Sharon (2007). "Contra damnationis filios: the Visconti in fourteenth-century papal diplomacy". Journal of Medieval History. 33 (1). Taylor & Francis: 1–32. doi:10.1016/j.jmedhist.2007.01.001. S2CID 153655810.
  • Davies, Norman (1996). Europe: A History. Oxford University Press.
  • Engel, Ute (2008). Mainz and the Middle Rhine Valley: Medieval Art, Architecture and Archaeology. Maney.
  • Housley, Norman (1986). The Avignon Papacy and the Crusades, 1305-1378. Clarendon Press.
  • Kaelber, Lutz (1998). Schools of Asceticism: Ideology and Organization in Medieval Religious Communities. The Pennsylvania State University Press.
  • Lee, Alexander (2018). Humanism and Empire: The Imperial Ideal in Fourteenth-Century Italy. Oxford University Press.
  • McBrien, Richard P. (2000). Lives of the Popes. HarperCollins.
  • Mollat, Guillaume (1965). The Popes at Avignon, 1305-1378. Harper & Rowe.
  • Peterson, John Bertram (1907). "Pope Benedict XII". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. Robert Appleton Company.
  • Pham, John-Peter (2004). Heirs of the Fisherman. Oxford University Press.
  • Pluger, Karsten (2003). England and the Avignon Popes: The Practice of Diplomacy in Late Medieval Europe. Routledge.
  • Prudlo, Donald S. (2015). Certain Sainthood: Canonization and the Origins of Papal Infallibility in the Medieval Church. Cornell University Press.
  • Renouard, Yves (1970). The Avignon Papacy: The Popes in Exile, 1305-1403. Translated by Bethell, Denis. Faber & Faber.
  • Rollo-Koster, Joëlle (2015). Avignon and Its Papacy, 1309–1417: Popes, Institutions, and Society. Rowman & Littlefield.
  • Sherman, Elizabeth (2018). "Jacques Fournier and Thirteenth-Century Inquisitorial Methods". In Bueno, Irene (ed.). Pope Benedict XII (1334–1342): The Guardian of Orthodoxy. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 27–56.
  • Sommer, Michael (2021). "Between Jewish and Egyptian Thinking: The Apocalypse of Sophonias as a Bridge between Two Worlds?". In Konradt, Matthias; Lieu, Judith; Nasrallah, Laura; Schröter, Jens; Sterling, Gregory E. (eds.). Dreams, Visions, Imaginations: Jewish, Christian and Gnostic Views of the World to Come. De Gruyter. pp. 319–342.
  • Sumption, Jonathan (1990). Trial by Battle. Vol. 1. Faber and Faber.
  • Theis, Valerie (2018). "A New Seat for the Papacy: Benedict XII, Avignon, and the Comtat Venaissin". In Bueno, Irene (ed.). Pope Benedict XII (1334-1342): The Guardian of Orthodoxy. Amsterdam University Press.
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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Pope
30 December 1334 – 25 April 1342 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Pilfort de Rabastens
 Bishop of Pamiers
1317 – 1326 		Succeeded by
Dominique Grenier
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