King Philip IV of France kidnapped and beat up Pope Benedict VIII (and he died of his wounds). Then the Church elected a French pope, Clement V, to try to appease Philip. Clement V, fearing for his life, leaves Rome and moves into Avignon, which was a territory under the rule of the Pope, but technically in France. His successors lived there for some time out of fear and also because of the fighting going on in Italy and in France.