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Pope Clement VI issues the Bull Unigenitus

Pope Clement VI (Latin: Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope.

Pope Clement VI (Latin: Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Black Death (1348–1350), during which he granted remission of sins to all who died of the plague.

Roger steadfastly resisted temporal encroachments on the Church's ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and, as pope Clement VI, entrenched French dominance of the Church and opened its coffers to enhance the regal splendour of the Papacy. He recruited composers and music theorists for his court, including figures associated with the then-innovative Ars Nova style of France and the Low Countries.

Historical Significance

Pope Clement VI (Latin: Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352.

Events Before

  1. Petrarch crowned a poet on the Capitoline Hill in Rome

    Francis Petrarch, born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters...

  2. Sack of Saluzzo (Italy) by Italian-Angevine troops under Manfred V of Saluzzo

    Sack of Saluzzo (Italy) by Italian-Angevine troops under Manfred V of Saluzzo

  3. Count Hartmann II becomes the ruler of Vaduz, Liechtenstein

    Count Hartmann II becomes the ruler of Vaduz, Liechtenstein

  4. Fictional character of "The Hobbit" Bilbo Baggins returns to his home at Bag End, Shire Reckoning

    Fictional character of "The Hobbit" Bilbo Baggins returns to his home at Bag End, Shire Reckoning

  5. Pope Clement VI names John IV of Arkel as bishop of Utrecht

    Pope Clement VI names John IV of Arkel as bishop of Utrecht

Events After

  1. Holy Spirit glides above fire in "The Miracle of Amsterdam" (legend)

    Holy Spirit glides above fire in "The Miracle of Amsterdam" (legend)

  2. "Quaden Maendach" in Ghent: battles between fullers & weavers

    "Quaden Maendach" in Ghent: battles between fullers & weavers

  3. Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners

    Alexios Apokaukos, also Latinized as Alexius Apocaucus, was a chief minister and head of the navy in the Byzantine Empire, during the reigns of emperors Andronikos III Palaiologos and John V...

  4. Blanche of Lancaster is born

    Blanche of Lancaster is born

  5. Battle of Crécy: Edward III's English longbows defeat Philip VI's army south of Calais in northern France; cannons are u

    Battle of Crécy: Edward III's English longbows defeat Philip VI's army south of Calais in northern France; cannons are used for the first time in battle

More from the 1340s

Black Death Massacre: Between 100 and 3,000 Jews are killed in Black Death riots in Erfurt, Germany; part of a wave of p

Black Death Massacre: Between 100 and 3,000 Jews are killed in Black Death riots in Erfurt, Germany; part of a wave of pogroms across Western Europe

Papal bull of Pope Clement VI issued during the Black Death states Jews are not to blame and encourages their protection

Papal bull of Pope Clement VI issued during the Black Death states Jews are not to blame and encourages their protection

Battle of Crécy: Edward III's English longbows defeat Philip VI's army south of Calais in northern France; cannons are u

Battle of Crécy: Edward III's English longbows defeat Philip VI's army south of Calais in northern France; cannons are used for the first time in battle

Battle of Rio Salado (or Tarifa): King Afonso IV of Portugal and King Alfonso XI of Castile defeat Sultan Abu al-Hasan '

Battle of Rio Salado (or Tarifa): King Afonso IV of Portugal and King Alfonso XI of Castile defeat Sultan Abu al-Hasan 'Ali of Morocco and Yusuf I of Granada in the last Marinid invasion of the Iberian Peninsula

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on January 27, 1343?
Pope Clement VI (Latin: Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Black Death (1348–1350), during which he granted remission of sins to all who died of the plague.
Why is Pope Clement VI issues the Bull Unigenitus significant?
Pope Clement VI (Latin: Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352.

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January 27 in HistoryYear 1343