The Spiritual Franciscans: From Protest to Persecution in the Century After Saint Francis

7 The Collapse of the Clementine Settlement

WE SAW IN THE LAST CHAPTER that Clement V’s settlement at Vienne conceded some points to the spirituals and denied others. Clement took their complaints seriously, acknowledged grave abuses, and told Franciscan leaders to reform. Yet he refused to divide the order and let the spirituals go their own way. Moreover, he confirmed the key role of ministerial discretion in determining the scope of usus pauper, thereby limiting the spirituals’ chance to exercise autonomy within the order. It remained to be seen how effective this solution would be. Angelo’s Initial Optimism Angelo Clareno’s correspondence from the period suggests that he was almost pathetically committed to optimism concerning the Clementine settlement, and a number of spirituals may have felt the same. Even in 1312, however, an objective observer might have predicted that, from a practical viewpoint, THE COLLAPSE OF THE CLEMENTINE SETTLEMENT S E V E N THE SPIRITUAL FRANCISCANS Clement’s refusals would have greater long-term significance than his concessions . The spirituals were still an embattled minority, vulnerable to their superiors’ hostility. If the Franciscan organization was as far off course as Ubertino seemed to think, there was no reason to assume that the leaders would repent simply because Clement told them to do so. In his chronicle, Angelo notes (with the advantage of hindsight) that they pretended to accept Exivi de paradiso, but in their hearts, they despised it.1 Why, then, were the spirituals hopeful? Angelo offers a partial answer. In a letter of 1312 he announces that Clement is on the spirituals’ side and is in the process of punishing wicked superiors. He is already turning his attention to southern France and Angelo hopes that he will go on to do something about Tuscan leaders, who continue to persecute the spirituals.2 Another letter, written slightly later, is equally optimistic, announcing that “the lord pope has deposed all the leaders who attacked the way of the spirit and the doctrine of Brother Petrus Iohannis [Olivi].”3 Still another says that pious hermits who live in obedience to their bishops are protected by the constitutions of Vienne from molestation at the hands of “certain persons” and from the inquisitors as well.4 In these letters Angelo consistently suggests that, much as he would like to go home, he must stay in Avignon to exercise his influence in the ongoing negotiations. By the 1320s the rosy glow of optimism had long since faded. Angelo would simply write in his chronicle that “when the council was over the friars’ business remained unsettled.”5 That is a more sober analysis, yet it still assumes— as do the earlier letters—that when the Council of Vienne was officially dissolved on May 6, 1312, the Franciscan settlement remained a work in progress. The assumption was not a bad one. The council only lasted seven months, and throughout most of it, if Clement slept poorly, it was not primarily because he was agonizing over the Franciscans. His main concerns were Boniface VIII and the Templars. The two problems were related, inasmuch as in both cases Clement had to satisfy King Philip IV without giving him all he demanded. In the case of Boniface, that meant undoing the dead pope’s actions against Philip and his associates without acceding to Philip’s desire that Boniface be condemned as a heretic. In the case of the Templars, it meant suppressing the order without pronouncing it heretical—as Philip preferred— or acceding to the king’s position on how to dispose of its property. The Templars were not officially suppressed until April 3, and negotiations concerning them dragged on even after that date. The process concerning Boniface VIII was closed only on May 6, the same day Exivi de paradiso and Fidei catholicae fundamento were promulgated. In short, the pope was busy elsewhere and 160 THE COLLAPSE OF THE CLEMENTINE SETTLEMENT could not have been expected to give the Franciscans all the attention they deserved during the council. Of course, the council relied heavily on commissions that studied particular issues and then submitted their conclusions to the pope. Nevertheless, in the case of Franciscan poverty, as in those of Boniface and the Templars, it was natural to assume that the pope would add his own ingredients to the recipe, particularly since much of the problem involved not abstract doctrine, but practical decisions on governance. Administrative Shifts The most immediate decision facing...