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intransigence. They were who gathered in an assembly in Paris and asked to the Pope, in
February the 1st of 1297, the authorization to subsidize Felipe IV, which was facing at that
time the treason of the Earl of Flanders. He, in fact, had allied with the King of England, who
was trying to recover the Guyenne, and was threatening the North of France. Boniface VIII
must yield before the facts and authorize the contributions, leaving the Clericis laicos in dead
letter.
In April of 1297, Boniface sent to Paris the Cardinals Albano and Preneste carrying a
new bull: on it he ordained to the monarchs in conflict the establishment of a one-year truce
while the definitive Treaty of peace is being arranged; the negotiation would be in charge of the
Pope. Philip received them, but before to permit the reading of the rescript, he made the
following warning: «tell to the Pope that is our conviction that only to the King corresponds to
command in the Kingdom. That We are the King of France and we don’t recognize the
competence of anyone above us to intervene in the matters of the Kingdom. That the King of
England and the Count of Flanders are vassals of the King of France and that we do not accept
other advice than the voice of the Honor to treat our subjects».
The bull was read, but Philip did not respond until June of 1298, when the fate of the
weapons was adverse before the united forces of England and Flanders. Then he accepted the
arbitration of Boniface VIII but not in quality of Pope, but only as «Benedict Gaetani»: thus he
avoided to admit the papal jurisdiction in the matters of the Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the controversy about the legitimacy of Boniface VIII continued more alive
than ever. In France, the Lords of the Dog were in charge to update the debate, while in Italy
the agitation ran by account of the Colonna’s: the preference for Boniface VIII or Pope
Celestine V had been transformed there in synonym of Guelphs or Ghibellines. The Colonna,
receiving secret help from Philip IV, and now the allies of the King Fadrique of Sicily, son of
Peter III of Aragon and Constance of Swabia, were present in the view of the Pope as the
staunchest candidates for a Golem vendetta. They just needed a chance, and this one appeared
when the anger of Esteban Colonna took him to assault a papal caravan that was carrying the
pontifical treasure from Anagni to Rome. Esteban Sciarra Colonna had not acted with the
intention to rob but with the certainty of rescuing the goods of the Church which were in
power of a usurper; for this reason he carried the treasure at the light of the day to his castle of
Palestrina.
The lesson that Boniface VIII would apply to the Colonna, and the Ghibellines, It would
be exemplary, although characteristic of the Golem mentality. First he presented the act of
Sciarra Colonna to the people of Rome as an indescribable crime, for which he blamed his entire
lineage: –«The Cardinal Pedro is the chief of the Ghibellines and both, he and the Cardinal
Jacob were guilty for the two-years retardation of the papal election in Perugia. Now, another
member of that family dares to revolt against the authority of the Pope, the highest of the
Universe, and dares to steal this treasure: that accursed lineage must be banished from the
Church». The proclamation of the illegality of Boniface VIII by the Colonna’s was in vain, their
contributions in the accusations about the doubts that the University of Paris sustained about
the resignation of the Pope Celestine V, or the request of information of a General Council of
the Church to utter on the case: in less than a month, and with the approval of the Sacred
College, the Cardinals Jacobo and Peter were excommunicated and deposed, as well as Juan
Colonna and his sons, Agapito, Jacobo and Esteban Sciarra. In addition of taking them away

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