Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"By the beginning of the fourteenth century, factionalism and violence between rival Roman aristocrats had become so dangerous that Pope Clement V moved the entire papal court to Avignon. . . . This move, in 1309, marked the beginning of the period known as the Avignon Papacy, which lasted until 1377. Perhaps it is no accident that all seven popes who resided at Avignon were French. However, France was not a united nation: the north was under the influence of the French kings, whereas the south was aligned to the Holy Roman Empire. . . . However, the Avignon period damaged the pope's prestige--the papal court took on the luxury of a royal court and leading members of the clergy lived like princes." [Furtado: 1001 Days] While Avignon removed the papacy from the political turmoil and conflict in Rome, it did assure that the papacy was under effective French control . . . The English, Germans, and Italians were resentful of French power and the authority of the Avignon popes was not accepted in all countries, while Rome itself suffered severely from the loss of papal revenues. Latin Christendom was effectively divided against itself." [DK Timelines, p. 232] "Beginning of the Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy during which the Popes moved to Avignon." [Wikipedia: Timeline of Middle Ages]