Understanding Why Pope Boniface VIII and Clement V are Guilty of Simony in Dante’s The Inferno

Houston Moore

In the years leading up to 1321, the year The Inferno was published, the Catholic church was facing a controversial time both religiously and politically. One idea present in The Inferno is Dante’s criticism of the Catholic popes Boniface VIII and Clement V. Boniface VIII was in office before Clement V, who began the Avignon Papacy in 1305, which was a period when the Catholic popes resided in Avignon, France instead of Rome, which is the traditional home of the pope. Dante placed both Boniface VIII and Clement V in the Eighth Level of Hell in the third ditch reserved for those guilty of stealing from the church for their own gains, which is known as simony. Dante didn’t elaborate in The Inferno as to why they were put in Hell or why he believed they were guilty of simony. However, by consulting The Inferno and scholarly secondary sources, I argue the reason Dante condemned the popes to Hell was their different relationships with Philip the Fair. Beginning with Dante’s political career before his exile from Florence in 1302, the readers, by using Dante as a lens, can gain a greater understanding of Catholic and French politics during the early 1300s.  

• Houston Moore graduated from Spring Hill High School in Chapin, South Carolina. He will graduate from Lander University in May 2023 with a public history major with a minor in European studies.