Paix chrétienne et guerre sainte au temps des papes d’Avignon. Benoît XII et la croisade entre politique, ecclésiologie et théologie morale

Abstract – Since the early times of crusading history, the notions of Christian peace and holy war proved to be strictly interwoven. By focusing on diplomatic evidence from the first half of the 14th century, the article explores the particular ways these two concepts were used and re-adapted in the time of the Avignon papacy, against the backdrop of increasing conflicts in Europe, limited capability of intervention by the papacy, changing crusading arenas, and the popes’ still lively universal ambitions. In particular, the comparative analysis on three different contexts – the Iberian Peninsula, the Eastern Empire, and Cilician Armenia – and a special focus on the pontificate of Benedict XII (1336-1342) offer a new insight into the multiple declinations of the ideas of peace and war in papal diplomacy, at the crossroad among ecclesiology, political strategies, and moral theology.