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Hundreds of Knights had already lost their lives through torture, prison and death by fire, when the General Council of Vienne, the last to be held for a hundred years, ended the tragedy of the Order in 1312. Philippe was to have his will not through a decision given by judges but thanks to a measure taken by the apostolic administration so that, as Clement said in his sermon, "Our beloved son the King of France may not be given scandal." This was not the only favour which Philippe, who personally attended the Council with an elaborate retinue, was there shown by the Pope. Though the Council restored to Boniface VIII his honour, Clement also declared the King, a man of "well-meaning zeal," free of all blame in connection with the attack at Anagni, He also forgave William Nogaret, who protested his innocence. He himself, the viceroy of Christ, had washed his hands like Pilate, and given that peace which the world alone can give. Meanwhile he remained deaf to the still modest, but gravely concerned voices which pleaded for the reform of the Church and the conversion of the Papacy. An English chronicler of the time prayed thus: "Oh, Lord Jesus, either remove the Pope or weaken the power with which he acts against his people. For whoever misuses the power entrusted to him merits that it be taken away from him."
Meanwhile Henry VIII of Luxembourg had followed the murdered Albrecht of Habsburg as King of Germany. Clement himself had been favourably disposed toward Henry from the beginning and had sponsored his candidacy in order to stave off the threatened election of Charles of Valois, brother of Philippe le Beau. It was with his con- sent that this knighdy ruler, himself half a Frenchman, came to Rome in 1312 to be jubilantly welcomed by Ghibelline Italy as its saviour from self-destruction, and to receive the Imperial crown from the hands of three cardinals. But the peace did not last long. Henry, en- couraged by his successes in upper Italy, made an alliance against the Anjou monarch, Robert of Naples, with Frederic of Sicily, an old enemy of the Curia. Then he publicly proclaimed Robert the foe of the Empire; and once again Pope and Emperor were at swords points. But death prevented a war. Henry died at Sienna in 1313 and was buried in the Campo Santo at Pisa. The next year Clement also said farewell to earth, which had been kind to him. The French King followed soon thereafter.
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