The Popes of Avignon: A Century in Exile

"A Century In Exile" is the subtitle of this book yet it sums up its contents very well. In actuality the 'exile' was not only self imposed yet closer to 70 years than 100, with a move back to Rome in the latter years of the Avignon papcy. Still having my college world history textbook from The Ohio State University from back in the nineteen-sixties I see this huge book allows only pages 41, 42, & 45 devoted to the Avignon years. Not withstanding, this subject has always remained of interest with never a book concerning those years catching my attention until this one. Most readers holding a true interest in this subject will just have to allow high marks for this author's work. A man who not lives and works in Avignon but one who offers a bookIt offers that many readers will want to read again. The story begins in 1308 when Pope Clement V announced the new home or seat of power of the papacy would no longer be in Rome but outside France in small city of 5,000 named Avignon. The following year the exile from Rome began, an exile that would not be fully completed until September, 1370. The small city of Avignon grew from a small population of a few thousand to reach at its apex 30,000 souls. It was witness to, among other events, an influx of great wealth, great building, the Hundred Year's War, brigandry and outright blackmail, and the Black Death in 1348 with renewing outbreaks every 5 years thereafter. Some individuals saw improvement in all this while some others such a Petrarch saw Avignon as the new 'Babylonian whore'. He fervently desired a return to Rome and the Holy Roman Empire. Avignon, once a sleepy, backwater area of the Provence (Province of Rome) had now become an "international community" with over 40 banking and money handling institutions, money poured in from all over the known world. Kings, queens and other potentates visited the city, spending days and weeks as guests of the ruling pope. Artists and artisans from around the world also rushed to Avignon for commissions and golden florens, with many having to live and sleep in streets or fields. In the early years, there simply was not enough room for the Cardinals and Pope, let alone workmen. Eventually things evened out abit but the city was always cramped and crowded until the Black Death when fully 40% of the inhabitants died and left property. Land and buildings not taken over by the church was then available for any with the money to buy. Between the years 1308 and 1422 (counting the anti-pope years) there were a total of 9 popes each with his own approach to being ruler. The Avignon popes by 1363 could be 'described in simplistic terms as "puppet," "miser,""monk," "emperor," and "bookkeeper." With the descriptive indicating 'how' each ruled. Though he had many flaws both human and spiritual one pope that stood out from the rest was Clement VI. Two desires almost all the popes held was a return to the Holy Land, or a final crusade (which never happened

When I was in parochial high school, we had a course in Church History. The part of the book about the popes in Avignon was titled exactly as I titled my review. It was a very brief mention, with some emphasis on the anti-popes, and that was about it. This very informative book fills in all the gaps that my Church History book left blank. The author tells us why the popes moved to Avignon, why they stayed, and finally, why they returned to Rome. Obviously, political pressure was involved in the whole process, but fear of the Roman mobs was a contributing factor. We get a very good view of the town and its surroundings, and also all of the improvements that were made by the various popes who resided in Avignon. It seems at that time that the maority of cardinals were either French or Italian, and national pride and opposition made everything appear much worse. It didn't help that all of this took place during the English-French 100 Years War, and that the popes were temporal rulers of large amounts of land, mostly on the Italian peninsula. Being a secular ruler always seemed to involve the popes in political disputes of one kind or another. It's very difficult to imagine a papacy still based in Avignon, with all of the history and glory that attaches itself to Rome. Read the book and discover for yourself the travails the Church put itself through for nearly an entire century.

Edwin Mullins has written another fascinating book about the history of the church during the middle ages. The first that I read dealt with the great abbey at Cluny. In this book, he tells the history of the papal move to Avignon and the rich history of papal rule from this exile outpost following the move from Rome. In moving and accessible prose, Mullins leads us through a period when the French kings had control over the papacy. It was a time of great growth and luxury as well as a time of terror and greed which led up to the return to Rome and the age of the Renaissance. The Popes of Avignon is well worth reading for anyone interested in the church of the late middle ages.

Rome, Vatican City, two locations synonymous with Roman Catholicism as their past and current capitals. But what of Avignon? "The Popes of Avignon" tells the story of the fourteenth century home of the papacy, after the time of anarchy in Italy drove the church's leaders fleeing to Avignon in France. These popes are commonly forgotten, but their influence over a unique time in Catholic history is worth learning about. "The Popes of Avignon" is educational and scholarly, a strong consideration to history readers with an interest in the past of Christianity as a whole.

"The Popes of Avignon: A Century in Exile" is a must-read for anyone interested in Church history, especially that seventy-year period (1308 - 1378) in which the papacy took flight from Rome and set up residence in Avignon. Edwin Mullins does a tremendous job of explaining the many factors at work during this period including the late medieval feudal system, shifting political tides, the Hundred Years War between France and England and the scourge of the black death. He describes the reasons for the move to Avignon and the effect on the town as it grew exponentially in wealth and population. Mullins also offers very balanced portraits of each of the popes (and anti-popes) who would attempt to reign over the Church during this tumultuous period.