Criticism of the church during the period of the Avignon papacy included learned treatises, but also works written for a more popular audience. In this poem, probably written in the 1330s, Raimon de Cornet, a troubadour poet from southern France who was himself a priest, criticizes the entire church hierarchy: pope, cardinals, and bishops.

I see the pope his sacred trust betray,

For while the rich his grace can gain alway,

His favors from the poor are aye withholden.

He strives to gather wealth as best he may,

Forcing Christ’s people blindly to obey,

So that he may repose in garments golden.

The vilest traffickers in souls are all

His chapmen, and for gold a prebend’s stall

He’ll sell them, or an abbacy or miter [the hat of a bishop].

And to us he sends clowns and tramps who crawl

Vending his pardon briefs from cot to hall —

Letters and pardons worthy of the writer,

Which leaves our pokes [money-pouches], if not our souls, the lighter.

No better is each honored cardinal.

From early morning’s dawn to evening’s fall,

Their time is passed in eagerly contriving

To drive some bargain foul with each and all.

So if you feel a want, or great or small,

Or if for some preferment [church position] you are striving,

The more you please to give the more ’t will bring,

Be it a purple cap or bishop’s ring.

And it need ne’er in any way alarm you

That you are ignorant of everything

To which a minister of Christ should cling,

You will have revenue enough to warm you —

And, bear in mind, the lesser gifts won’t harm you.

Our bishops, too, are plunged in similar sin,

For pitilessly they flay the very skin

From all their priests who chance to have fat livings.

For gold their seal official you can win

To any writ, no matter what’s therein.

Sure God alone can make them stop their thievings.

’T were hard, in full, their evil works to tell,

As when, for a few pence, they greedily sell

The tonsure [the haircut of a monk or priest] to some mountebank or jester,

Whereby the temporal courts are wronged as well,

For then these tonsured rogues they cannot quell,

Howe’er their scampish doings may us pester,

While round the church still growing evils fester.

Source: James Harvey Robinson, Readings in European History, vol. 1 (Boston: Ginn and Company, 1904), pp. 375–376.

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