adj.
orig. Bertrand de Got
born 0441; 1260, Bordelais region, France
died April 20, 1314, Roquemaure, Provence
Pope (130514), the first to reside at Avignon, France.
He became archbishop of Bordeaux in 1299 and was elected pope six years later. By creating a majority of French cardinals , he ensured the election of a line of French popes. He moved the seat of the papacy to Avignon, under pressure from King Philip IV of France, who also forced Clement to annul Pope Boniface VIII 's decisions that were unfavourable to France. The king also compeled the pope to dissolve the Templars , which Philip brutally suppressed. Clement opposed Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII after 1313 and appointed the king of Naples as imperial vicar on Henry's death. His decretals, the Clementinae , were a notable contribution to canon law.