The movement of the papacy from Rome to Avignon was a blow to efforts of the church to establish sovereignty in its claimed spiritual and temporal power. Boniface VIII and Philip IV had spent years in a virtual chess match for power, culminating in Boniface’s Unam Sanctam bull of 1302. The bull asserted “It is altogether necessary to salvation for every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff,” (Madigan, 373). This clearly did not sit well with the king and French clergy, and Boniface suffered for it. His successor Clement V took a completely different direction giving support to Philip and moving the papal seat to Avignon. Madigan notes that this move made the papacy “the abject tool of French royal power,” and “lapsed into luxury and grandeur,” (Madigan, 370).

The lush and corrupt behavior of the papal power in Avignon was not without criticism. The Italian poet Petrarch had much to say in disapproval and disgust of what the papacy had become, comparing it to the “infamous prostitute who fornicates with the kings of the earth,” (Coogan, 91). The prostitute reference alludes to Babylon of the book of Revelation, and Petrarch made the comparison clear. 

Revelation 17 describes a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, dressed in wealth. Her name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth.” The beast she was riding is described as having 7 heads, representing 7 hills and kings, and 10 horns, representing 10 kings who are yet to come. The prophesy warns that the beast and the 10 horns will hate the prostitute and leave her in ruin. The woman is finally described as being “the great city that rules over the kings of the earth, (Revelation 17:18).

Petrarch uses this story to illustrate the sins of the church, calling it a kingdom of greed ruled by vices and ambition. He makes a specific reference to Revelation 17:6 comparing the church to the prostitute as being drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs (Coogan, 92). Petrarch calls out the papacy’s sexual impurities and taking advantage of the innocent to draw attention to how harmful and absolute the corruption had become, something very much like the Revelation description of Babylon. He then tells a shocking story of an old cardinal taking in fraud a young bride and in order to “console” her and have his way, puts on his Cardinal hat. This of course was meant to manipulate the girl to tying her hope of salvation to him, allowing him to have whatever he wanted with her. The story shows how much Petrarch mistrusted the current state of the church and saw it full of abuses and illegitimacy.

In viewing and describing the Avignon papacy through an apocalyptic lens, Petrarch shows a sense of urgency in drastic reform – inferring that this would be the end of the church if not for dramatic repentance and change. He also paints the picture of the sinful age as “obscene” in order to contrast it starkly to the “beauty of God,” (Coogan, 91). By doing so, Petrarch hopes to draw his reader away from the ugliness of sin and more towards God – thus having a positive effect on spiritual growth.