It was written during the period of the acrimonious dispute between King Philip IV and Pope Boniface VIII, which culminated in the Papal bull Unam sanctam of 1302.
The furious reaction of Philip and his ministry expressed in the Disputatio (written in simple language for a popular audience) can be understood within the context of a conflict between the increasing power of secular rulers in France and England, who were attempting to tax the clergy to support warfare.
The knight's intention is to prove that soft-living wealthy clerics, who have more money than needed, should hand the extra income over to secular leaders, whose job it is to deal in more earthly affairs.
Disputatio was a sharp criticism of the church and foreshadowed further 14th century arguments that pitted royalist national sovereignty against the principles of papal supremacy.
John of Paris also wrote a related work entitled "On Royal and Papal Power" about the autonomous nature of kingdoms, an early expression of the concept of sovereignty.