The meeting point between past and new patterns of political behaviour makes the pontificate of Clement V (1305–14) an ideal case-study for research concerning the papacy and attitudes towards it in an era of transition. Of the many changes characteristic of the early fourteenth century, it is worth noting the consolidation of the western monarchies and the consistent involvement of the bourgeoisie in the political process. This evolution called for a re-assessment of past norms, first and foremost of the priorities of contemporaries as Christians and as members of the body politic. The choice was no longer between two universal factors, papacy and empire, but between apparently harmonious but actually conflicting loyalties; between a pope with universal claims journeying in southern France and national monarchs who, especially in France and England, were attempting to strengthen their respective standing as advocatus ecclesiae. Such a designation, especially for Philip the Fair and Edward I, hints at their status as equals, if not superiors, to the pope in the ecclesiastical affairs of their respective kingdoms. The expansion of the political arena to embrace the emerging bourgeoisie and the changing balance of power between regnum and sacerdotium turned appeal to propaganda into an integral part of the political process. From the perspective of papal leadership, it created new challenges with which to contend.

Notwithstanding the many studies devoted to Clement's pontificate, much remains to be done in order to find a suitable basis for analysing papal policy and the reactions to it. Generations of historians have fallen easy prey to some of the difficulties faced by fourteenth-century chroniclers in perceiving, let alone supporting papal policy.