Editing Pope Clement VI (section)

===Pope and Empire===
Clement continued the struggle of his predecessors with [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis IV]]. On 13 April 1346, after protracted negotiations, he excommunicated the Emperor, and directed the election of [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]].  After the death of Louis in October 1347  Charles received general recognition, ending the schism which had long divided Germany.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Clement/Clement VI|display=Clement s.v. Clement VI.|volume=6|pages=484–485}}</ref>

In response to increasing Turkish piracy in the Aegean, Clement proclaimed a [[Smyrniote crusades|crusade with the objective to recapture Smyrna]] which had been taken by the [[Aydinids]] in 1317. The crusaders were able to capture Smyrna on 28 October 1344 which was held by Latin Christians until 1402.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Savvides |first1=Alexios G. C. |editor1-last=Murray |editor1-first=Alan V. |title=The Crusades: An Encyclopedia [4 volumes] |date=30 August 2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-57607-863-1 |pages=1116–1118 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rETPEAAAQBAJ |access-date=1 September 2024 |language=en |chapter=Smyrna Crusade (1344)}}</ref> He also had a role in the [[Neapolitan campaigns of Louis the Great|Hungarian invasion]] of the [[Kingdom of Naples]], which was a papal fief; the contest between [[Louis I of Hungary]] and [[Joanna I of Naples]], accused of ordering the assassination of [[Andrew, Duke of Calabria|her husband]] and the former's brother, concluded in 1348 in a trial held in Avignon, at which she was acquitted.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Casteen|first=Elizabeth|date=3 June 2011|title=Sex and Politics in Naples: The Regnant Queenship of Johanna I|journal=Journal of the Historical Society|volume=11|issue=2|pages=183–210|issn=1529-921X|oclc=729296907|doi=10.1111/j.1540-5923.2011.00329.x}}</ref> Among the other benefits, Clement took advantage of the situation to obtain by her the rights over the city of [[Avignon]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

Pope Clement was also involved in disputes with King [[Edward III of England]] as a result of the latter's encroachments on ecclesiastical jurisdiction.  He also faced problems with the kings of [[Crown of Castile|Castile]] and [[Aragon]].  His  negotiations for reunion with the Armenians<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7E7yEAAAQBAJ |title =Super Quibusdam |isbn = 9798869171863 |last1 = Curtin|first1 = D. P.|date = November 2009|publisher =Dalcassian Publishing Company }}</ref> and the Byzantine emperor, [[John VI Kantakouzenos]], turned out to be fruitless.<ref name="EB1911"/>

In Italy the Papacy faced a serious challenge to its authority with the commencement of [[Cola di Rienzo]]'s agitation in [[Rome]]. Pope Clement had appointed Cola to a civil position (Senator) at Rome, and, although at first approving of Rienzo's establishment of the tribunate, he later realized the implications of a permanent antagonist to papal government in the form of a popularly elected Tribune, and sent a Papal Legate who excommunicated Rienzo and, with the help of the aristocratic faction, drove him from the city in December 1347.<ref name="EB1911"/>