



Gregory XI, the last Avignon Pope, left that city and sailed to Rome -- but when, exactly? It seems there may be some disagreement among historians about whether Gregory arrived in Rome in 1376 or 1377. Thesays that Gregory arrived in Rome on January 17, 1377. The first entry in the first volume of Ludwig Pastor'sis from a Christopher of Piacenza to Louis II Gonzaga, capitano del popolo of Mantua. Christopher says he sailed with the Pope's fleet from Avignon to Rome, describes a very friendly welcome for the Pope in Rome, and dates his letter the 13th of December 1376. Where are all these other people getting the date of 17. January 1377? Did they all get it from Britannica, and where did Britannica get it? Pastor, in his notes to Christopher's letter, mentions some reasons to doubt some of the dates in Christopher' description of the Pope's journey, but these have mostly to do with his having traveled on a different ship than the Pope. He gives no indication that he doubts that Christopher knew what day it was -- indeed, that he knew what month it was, when he wrote his letter.I don't know. I am but a humble farmer. All I'm saying is that I'm confused about this discrepancy.Pastor says that he has transcribed Christopher's letter from the original in the Gonzaga archives in Mantua, and gives it as follows: