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Pope Clement V died at Rocquemaure-en-Gard, France, on April 20, 1314. The electoral meeting took place in the Dominican house at Lyons, where on August 7, 1316, Cardinal Jacques d'Euse was dully elected by a comitee of Cardinals and took the name John XXII following a deadlocked conclave. At the moment of Pope Clement V's death, there were twenty-four living cardinals and all of them participated in the election. The vacancy of a little less than two years and four months was prolonged because the cardinals in this election grouped themselves into three parties, each of which had aims inimical to the other two. The Italian party of eight cardinals (Napoleone Orsini, Niccolo Alberti, Giacomo Caetani Stefaneschi, Francesco Caetani, Guglielmo Longhi, Luca Fieschi, and Pietro and Giacomo Colonna) was committed to returning the papacy to Italy as quickly as possible. The Gascon party of ten cardinals, made up of relatives and close associates of Clement V (de Pellegrue, de Fougères, Nouvel, Teste, de Farges, de Garve, Daux, du Four, Raymond, and Godin), wished to retain the very considerable power they had acquired under the malleable Clement. The French or Provencal party of six cardinals (the senior and junior Fredols, de Bec, Caignet de Fréauville, de Mandagot, and d'Euse) stood in the middle and remained neutral.
WI the Italian party managed to "buy" the votes of the Provencal party Cardinals managing to elect a Pope that would move Papacy back to Rome? How is this altering History? How is France reacting to that? Any thoughts?
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