that all the entrances to his kingdom should be guarded, so that no message nor letter from the Pope should enter into France. When Pope Boniface heard this, he pronounced sentence of excommunication against the said Philip, king of France; and the king of France to justify himself, and to make his appeal, summoned in Paris a great council of clerics and prelates and of all his barons, excusing himself, and bringing many charges against Pope Boniface of heresy, and simony, and murders, and other base crimes, by reason whereof he ought to be deposed from the papacy. But the abbot of Citeaux would not consent to the appeal, rather he departed, and returned into Burgundy in despite of the king of France. In such wise began the strife between Pope Boniface and the king of France, which had afterwards so ill an end; whence afterwards arose great strife between them, and much evil followed thereupon, as hereafter we shall make mention. In these times there came to pass a very notable thing in Florence, for Pope Boniface having presented to the commonwealth of Florence a fine young lion, which was confined by a chain in the court of the palace of the Priors, there came in thither an ass laden with wood, which when it saw the said lion, either through the fear he had of him or through a miracle, straightway attacked the lion fiercely, and so struck him with his hoofs that he died, notwithstanding the help of many men which were there present. This was held for a sign of great changes to come, and such like, which certainly came to pass to our city in these times. But certain of the learned said that the prophecy of the Sibyl was fulfilled where she said: "When the tame beast shall slay the king of beasts, then will begin the destruction of the Church"; and this was shortly made manifest in Pope Boniface himself, as will be found in the chapter following. Sec. 63.--_How the king of France caused Pope Boniface to be seized in Anagna by Sciarra della Colonna, whence the said Pope died a few days afterwards._ [Sidenote: 1303 A.D.] [Sidenote: Purg. xx. 85-90.] [Sidenote: Inf. xix. 52-57.]