Conflict between Philip IV and Boniface VIII

Timeline

1. 1296Rome · LazioPope Boniface VIII issued the bull Clericis laicos, strictly forbidding all secular rulers from taxing church property or demanding gifts without explicit papal permission, with excommunication for violators and interdict over their kingdoms. The bull targeted the tithes levied on the Church by England and France for the Gascon War and asserted the papacy's exclusive jurisdiction over church finances.
2. 1296Paris · ParisPhilip IV issued a royal decree prohibiting the export of horses, weapons, gold and silver coin, and other goods, cutting off the papacy's main source of revenue in the Kingdom of France—the gifts and taxes paid to Rome by the French Church. Because papal finances depended heavily on France, this economic countermeasure left Boniface VIII at a disadvantage, while the French royal council asserted that subjects had a duty to contribute to the realm and questioned the clergy's tax privileges.
3. 1297Rome · ItalyBoniface VIII successively issued the bulls Ineffabilis amor and Etsi de statu, clarifying that Clericis laicos did not forbid voluntary contributions by subjects in emergencies and allowing rulers to levy church taxes upon demonstrating necessity. In 1297 the pope also canonized Louis IX to win over France. Although this conflict temporarily eased, hostility deepened on both sides, laying the groundwork for the Anagni incident of 1302 and the later Avignon Captivity.