The fourteenth century heralded a new stage in the history of the Church, when papal rule was forced to find new patterns of cooperation with emerging national states. The Avignon pontificate of Clement V (1305-14) found a compromise among conflicting interests, and thus paved the way for the Church in the modern era. In contrast to the characterisation of the Avignon period as the 'Babylonian captivity' of the papacy, this book offers a new evaluation of Clement's reign, the goals of papal policy, and its evaluation by contempories.