Urban V demands England resume its feudal payments to the Papacy which they had allowed to lapse for 35 years. These payments had begun nearly a hundred years before the birth of Wycliffe when King John, in a desperate bid to secure Papal support against his angry Barons, sold England to the Pope as a fiefdom. The Pope had demanded the English pay the Papacy a levy of 1000 marks to show they loyalty as leigmen. 

Now, with thirty-five years of unpaid debts, Urban V not only demanded that the payments resume but he also wanted all the arrears resolved as well. England had no money to pay the Pope. Edward III was embroiled in what would later be known as the Hundered Years War, the English commons were tired of contantly paying taxes to support armies and England was sufferinfg beneath the  maurading weight of the plague which had swept away close to half the labour force. The English economy was struggling. Yet the Pope kept insisting he wanted his money. The King of England kept refusing to pay. Finally, enraged the Pope demanded that Edward III appear before him to answer for his stubborn disobedience to the Papacy. 

Edward III was a warrior, a man well versed in war and unlike his ancestor John, he had no need of Papal support to secure his throne. Stung by the insult to English sovereignty the king decided to take action.