the latter was about to pronounce the sentence of excommunication
against the king. After a nine-hours' truce the palace was stormed, and
Boniface was found lying in his bed, a cross clasped to his breast; that
he was sitting in full regalia on the papal throne is a legend. Nogaret
claimed that he saved the pope's life from the vengeful Colonna.
Threatened, but not maltreated, the pope had remained three days under
arrest when the citizens of Anagni freed him. He was conducted to Rome,
only to be confined in the Vatican by the Orsini. He died on the 11th or
12th of October 1303, not eighty-six years old, as has commonly been
believed, but perhaps under seventy, at all events not over
seventy-five. "He shall come in like a fox, reign like a lion, die like
a dog," is a gibe wrongly held to be a prophecy of his unfortunate
predecessor. Dante, who had become embittered against Boniface while on
a political mission in Rome, calls him the "Prince of the new Pharisees"
(_Inferno_, 27, 85), but laments that "in his Vicar Christ was made a
captive," and was "mocked a second time" (_Purgatory_, 20, 87 f.).

AUTHORITIES.--Digard, Faucon and Thomas, _Les Registres de Boniface
VIII_ (Paris, 1884 ff.); Wetzer and Welte, _Kirchenlexikon_, vol. ii.
(2nd ed., Freiburg, 1883), 1037-1062; Herzog-Hauck,
_Realencyklopadie_, vol. iii. (3rd ed., Leipzig, 1897), 291-300,
contains an elaborate bibliography; J. Loserth, _Geschichte des
spateren Mittelalters_ (Munich, 1903), 206-232; H. Finke, _Aus den
Tagen Bonifaz VIII._ (Munster, 1902) is dreary but epoch-making;
_Gottingische gelehrte Anzeigen_, Jahrgang 166, 857-869 (Berlin,
1904); R. Scholz, _Die Publizistik zur Zeit Philipps des Schonen und
Bonifaz VIII._ (Stuttgart, 1903); K. Wenck, "War Bonifaz VIII. ein
Ketzer?" in von Sybel's _Historische Zeitschrift_, vol. xciv. (Munich,
1905), 1-66. Special literature on _Unam Sanctum_: C. Mirbt, _Quellen
zur Geschichte des Papsttums_ (2nd ed., Tubingen, 1901), 148 f.;
_Kirchenlexikon_, xii. (1901), 229-240, an exhaustive discussion; H.
Finke, 146-190; J.H. Robinson, _Readings in European History_, vol. i.
(Boston, 1904), 346 ff. On _Clericis laicos_: Gee and Hardy,
_Documents Illustrative of English Church History_ (London, 1896), 87
ff. (W. W. R.*)

BONIFACE IX. (Piero Tomacelli), pope from 1389 to 1404, was born at
Naples of a poor but ancient family. Created cardinal by Urban VI., he
was elected successor