How did William of Ockham become involved in the Franciscan poverty controversy?

William of Ockham’s involvement in the Franciscan poverty controversy began while he was residing at a convent in Avignon, where he encountered others who were being persecuted for their opposition to Pope John XXII regarding the order's interpretation of poverty.1

The conflict centered on whether Jesus and his Apostles owned the goods they used. The Franciscan general, Michael of Cesena, maintained that they had renounced all ownership, justifying the Franciscans' own commitment to absolute poverty. Pope John XXII, however, opposed this view, eventually declaring the doctrine that Christ and his Apostles lived in absolute poverty to be heretical in his bull Cum inter nonnullos (1323).12

Instructed by his superior to study papal bulls on the matter, Ockham concluded that John XXII was a heretic who had forfeited his mandate. In 1328, Ockham fled Avignon with Michael of Cesena and Bonagratia of Bergamo to seek the protection of Emperor Louis IV. From there, Ockham wrote extensively in defense of the strict Franciscan notion of poverty and against the authority of the papacy.12