Attack of Anagni

History

The attack of Anagni is the most famous event and most outstanding of the fight opposing the king of France Philippe Beautiful the to the pope Boniface VIII. Philippe IV, at the beginning of 1303, is threatened of Excommunication. Advised by its new chancellor, Guillaume de Nogaret, it retorts by the convocation of a council of which the goal would be to judge the pope, that several qualify " of indigne" , and to deposit it. Nogaret is charged to go in Italy in order to notify the wills of the king to the pontiff. Boniface VIII, which learned the intentions from Philippe IV before the arrival of Nogaret, prepares the bubble Super Patri Solio which excommunicates it officially.

Learning, Nogaret decides to organize a knack against the pope before the publication and the implementation of the bubble, the September 8th. It recruits a troop of 600 riders and 1500 pedestrians carried out by two war leaders, by addition enemies of the pope, Sciarra Colonna and Rinaldo de Supino. In the night from September 7th to 8th 1303, they invest the small town of Anagni, where the pope resides during the summer. They succeed in seizing without too much evil the pontifical palate. However, the goals of Nogaret and Colonna are not the same ones. Nogaret wants to simply to notify the quotation him to appear with the council; Colonna wants to seize the person of the pope and to oblige it to give up her load. Nogaret manages to calm its accomplice and reads his bill of indictment with the pope solemnly. The following day, the population of Anagni, was seized again. Higher of number, it succeeds in driving out the troop of Sciarra Colonna. Nogaret manages to flee. Released, Boniface VIII sets out again for Rome where he dies one month afterwards. Its successor, Benoit XI, repeals the bubble Super Patri Solio , but the persons in charge of the attack of Anagni are quoted to appear. The new pope dies in his turn the July 7th 1304 before the judgment pronouncing their sentence is promulgated.

It is at the 19th century which birth took the myth affirming that Nogaret would have slapped the pope. Actually, no contemporary witness speaks about this “slap”, which is more one metaphor that a real and historical act.

References

Random links:Ghost in the Shell | Judeo-Christianity | Ken Jenkins | Hugues Lapaire | Mehboob Bawa | Louis_Blanchette