French monarch born in Fontainebleau, France, where he also died, whose reign was marked by a prolonged dispute with the papacy that he provoked with the transfer of the curia to Avignon. Son of Philip III the Bold and Isabella of Aragon, after assuming the throne, he worked to rationalize internal administration until he waged a costly war against England (1294) that devastated royal resources. To recover his finances, he decided to impose tithes on the clergy (1296), which led to the beginning of conflicts with the papacy. The dispute led to the arrest (1301) of the Bishop of Pamiers, Bernard Saisset.
The following year he suffered a resounding military defeat in Courtrai, in the war against Flanders, and Pope Boniface VIII took the opportunity to announce the universal supremacy of the papacy (1302). Still at war, he imprisoned the pope (1303) and two years later (1305) signed a peace treaty in which he imposed harsh penalties and indemnities on Flanders. Finally, Pope Clement V reached an agreement with the king and transferred the pontifical seat to Avignon (1309). He then expelled the Jews from France and confiscated their assets (1309) and closed the Templar Order in France (1310), transferring its assets to the Hospitaller Order. With royal authority guaranteed, with the nation at peace and with religious influences under control, he dedicated himself to strengthening the state treasury with the creation of a court of accounts and the decree of new taxes.
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