4. According to Dante, Pope Boniface VIII can be found in the eighth circle of hell
As Dante and Virgil make their way through the circles of hell on their journey recorded in the epic poem, The Inferno, they encounter Pope Boniface VIII, whose papacy lasted nine years, ending in the year 1303. Boniface declared during his reign that the authority of the pontiff exceeded that of the crowned heads of Europe in matters both temporal and spiritual, making all kings and queens subject to the rule of the pope. Several kings disagreed, including Philip IV, King of France, and battles between the two was a feature of Boniface’s papacy. In 1302 Boniface published a Papal Bull in which he stated that it was “absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman pontiff”.
King Philip of France was determined to tax the wealthy Catholic Church within his dominions, which Boniface opposed, and which led to open conflict between Rome and the French. In 1303 Boniface excommunicated Philip and was denounced as a heretic in response. The powerful Colonna family in Italy allied itself with the French against the pope. Boniface died in 1303, and following his death he was charged with heresy by his enemies in life. Among the offenses he was charged with was the crime of sodomy. Boniface was defended by the Knights Templar before his accusers, which in part led to the order of Pope Clement to dissolve the Knights in 1312.