With the arrival of Clement V in 1309, seven popes ruled the Western Church from Avignon until 1378. Joelle Rollo-Koster traces the compelling story of the transplanted papacy in Avignon, the city the popes transformed into their capital. Through an engaging blend of political and social history, she argues that we should think more positively about the Avignon papacy, with its effective governance, intellectual creativity, and dynamism. It is a remarkable tale of an institution growing and defending its prerogatives, of people both high and low who produced and served its needs, and of the...

This book traces the compelling story of the transplanted papacy in Avignon, the city mainly French popes transformed into their capital. Through an engaging blend of political and social history Joelle Rollo-Koster tells the fascinating tale of a misunderstood era that brings to life the fourteenth-century capital of Christianity.