Pope Boniface VIII

Pope Boniface VIII is presented as a powerful and discerning pontiff whose authority can turn an outlaw’s fortunes. In the story of Ghino di Tacco and the Abbot of Cluny, he first appears as the pope at Rome during the abbot’s journey to the baths of Siena; after hearing the abbot’s account of his captivity, he grants the request that brings Ghino from robbery into papal favor and service.

Papal Authority and Setting

Pope Boniface VIII’s authority reaches beyond the court at Rome. In an earlier reference, Musciatto Franzesi is preparing to travel to Tuscany with the brother of the King of France, who has been summoned there at the Pope’s request. The brief mention places Boniface among the political figures able to call powerful visitors into the affairs of Tuscany.

The later story gives that authority a more personal dimension. The Abbot of Cluny, described as one of the richest prelates in the world, has obtained the Pope’s permission to travel to the baths of Siena for his illness. On the road, Ghino di Tacco captures the abbot and his entire household. The episode brings the Pope into the aftermath of an encounter between ecclesiastical rank and armed force: the abbot returns to Rome not merely as a victim seeking redress, but as a witness prepared to advocate for his captor.

The Abbot’s Appeal

After Ghino has treated the abbot as his guest and offered him a choice between leaving and staying, the abbot’s anger gives way to goodwill. He takes only a few necessary possessions and horses, leaving the rest to Ghino, then returns to Rome. When Pope Boniface VIII asks with a smile how the baths benefited him, the abbot answers that he found a worthy physician nearer at hand and explains what happened.

The abbot then asks the Pope to restore his favor to Ghino. His case rests on a distinction between Ghino’s character and his present livelihood: the abbot judges him a man of worth and argues that fortune, rather than an innate disposition, has driven him into robbery. He asks the Pope to give Ghino a means of living according to his condition, trusting that such support will allow him to prove his worth. The appeal converts the abbot’s captivity into an occasion for mercy: the man who could have been treated as an enemy becomes the subject of a request for protection.

Pardon, Office, and Change

Pope Boniface VIII does not grant the request without qualification. He says he will do so if Ghino is indeed as worthy as the abbot claims, and tells the abbot to have him come to court in complete safety. The assurance makes the Pope’s authority practical: it gives Ghino a protected route from the stronghold at Radicofani to the papal court.

Ghino comes at the abbot’s urging. The Pope soon judges him a worthy man, receives him into favor, has him made a knight of the Knights Hospitaller, and bestows on him a grand priory. Ghino holds the office for the rest of his life and proves a loyal friend and servant of the Church and of the Abbot of Cluny. The change is not simply a pardon: papal recognition and an office provide the alternative livelihood the abbot had requested, while Ghino’s subsequent service supplies the confirmation the Pope had required.

Narrative Significance

The episode makes the Pope’s decision the final step in a chain of reciprocal generosity. Ghino spares the abbot’s household and leaves its property untouched; the abbot, rather than seeking punishment, risks his standing to recommend Ghino; the Pope turns that recommendation into a secure appointment. The story thus presents papal power not only as the capacity to summon or command, but as the ability to convert an advocate’s judgment into a new social position.

Pope Boniface VIII’s role also completes the story’s reversal of expectations. The abbot first travels to the baths in search of a cure, but later calls Ghino his physician because the robber’s treatment and the abbot’s resulting change of heart have proved more consequential than the baths. The Pope’s favorable response carries that transformation into public life: a notorious robber is received at court and becomes an acknowledged servant of the Church.