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This essay argues that Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) used clothing in a highly intentional and performative manner to communicate his status and authority. His audience, however, was quite limited - essentially, the small community of those who aspired to hold or influence the power of the Holy See - and the messages conveyed were not particularly complex. Attempting a reception history of papal attire c.1300, the essay surveys remarks regarding clothing in late thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century chronicles and analyses in depth the evidence of two sources: ambassadorial reports to King James II of Aragon (1291-1327) and the De electione et coronatione sanctissimi patris domini Bonifatii pape octavi of Cardinal Jacopo Caetani Stefaneschi (c.1270-1343). A suggestive finding is that performativity, or the highly theatrical use of garments, appears to have been used by Boniface VIII to foster dissemination of simple communications across great distances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pope Boniface VIII canonized Louis IX in 1297. Historians have generally regarded the canonization as part of Boniface’s capitulation to Philip IV (the Fair) of France at the end of the first phase of their famous conflict. This paper argues that in spite of this capitulation, Boniface, in three canonization-related texts, defined Louis’ sanctity as rooted in his good kingship as a way of criticizing Philip. Between Louis’ death in 1270 and canonization in 1297, advocates of Louis’ sanctity tended to focus on his humility, his acts of piety, and his crusades. Because their task was to distinguish Louis from other kings as a saint, his kingship was generally seen as incidental to his sanctity. In 1297, however, Boniface described Louis’ sanctity in terms of his ideal rule, drawing on language reminiscent of the speculum principis tradition. This characterization stood in juxtaposition to the pope’s criticism of Philip’s kingship and, I argue, was designed to establish a standard of royal conduct by which to criticize Philip. I end by examining how, after 1297, Philip himself used this characterization of Louis’ sanctity to defend himself and his policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]