Right of Spoil of the Popes of Avignon, 1316-1415

The popes of Avignon, beginning with the election of John XXII in 1316 & ending with the deposition of Benedict XIII in 1415, laid claim to the movable property of some 1,200 ecclesiastical persons, exercising a power that has subsequently been named “jus spolii,” the “right of spoil.” This term to designate the right of the pope to collect the goods of deceased clerics for his own use seems to appear for the first time at the end of the 15th cent. Chapters: Intro. Definitions; The Law of Succession to Clerics’ Property; The Pope as Protector of Clerical Property & the Testamentary License; “Jus spolii” & “plenitudo potestatis”; The Admin. & Documen’n. of Spoils; The Extent & Incidence of the Right of Spoil; & Repertory of Cases of the Papal Right of Spoil.