Western Civilization

to elect a new pope, the citizens of Rome, fearful that

the French majority would choose another Frenchman

who would return the papacy to Avignon, threatened

that the cardinals would not leave Rome alive unless

they elected a Roman or at least an Italian as pope.

Indeed, the guards of the conclave warned the cardinals

that they “ran the risk of being torn in pieces” if they

did not choose an Italian. The terrified cardinals duly

elected the Italian archbishop of Bari, who was subse-

quently crowned as Pope Urban VI (1378–1389) on

Easter Sunday.

Following his election, Urban VI made clear his

plans to reform the papal curia and even to swamp the

college of cardinals with enough new Italian cardinals

to eliminate the French majority. After many of the

cardinals (the French ones) withdrew from Rome in

late summer and were finally free of the Roman mob,

they issued a manifesto, saying that they had been

coerced by the mob and that Urban’s election was

therefore null and void. The dissenting cardinals there-

upon chose one of their number, a Frenchman, who

took the title of Clement VII and promptly returned to

Avignon. Since Urban remained in Rome, there were

now two popes, initiating what has been called the

Great Schismof the church.

Europe’s loyalties soon became divided: France,

Spain, Scotland, and southern Italy supported Clement,

while England, Germany, Scandinavia, and most of

Italy supported Urban. These divisions generally fol-

lowed political lines. Because the French supported the

Avignonese pope, so did their allies; their enemies, par-

ticularly England and its allies, supported the Roman

pope.

The Great Schism badly damaged the faith of Chris-

tian believers. The pope was widely believed to be the

leader of Christendom and, as Boniface VIII had

pointed out, held the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

Since each line of popes denounced the other as the

Antichrist, such a spectacle could not help but under-

mine the institution that had become the very founda-

tion of the church.

The Conciliar Movement

As dissatisfaction with the papacy grew, so did the calls

for a revolutionary approach to solving the church’s

institutional problems. Final authority in spiritual mat-

ters must reside not with the popes, reformers claimed,

but with a general church council representing all mem-

bers. The Great Schism led large numbers of serious

churchmen to take up this theory ofconciliarismin

the belief that only a general council of the church could

end the schism and bring reform to the church in its

“head and members.” In desperation, a group of cardi-

nals from both lines of popes finally heeded these theo-

retical formulations and convened a general council.

This Council of Pisa, which met in 1409, deposed the

two rival popes and elected a new one. The council’s

action proved disastrous when the two deposed popes

refused to step down. There were now three popes, and

the church seemed more hopelessly divided than ever.

Leadership in convening a new council now passed

to the Holy Roman emperor, Sigismund. As a result

of his efforts, a new ecumenical church council met at

Constance from 1414 to 1418. It had three major

objectives: to end the schism, to eradicate heresy, and

to reform the church in “head and members.” The

ending of the schism proved to be the Council of Con-

stance’s easiest task. After the three competing popes

either resigned or were deposed, a new conclave

elected a Roman cardinal, a member of a prominent

Roman family, as Pope Martin V (1417–1431). The

council was much less successful in dealing with the

problems of heresy and reform.

Culture and Society in an Age of Adversity

Q FOCUSQUESTIONS:What were the major

developments in art and literature in the fourteenth

century? How did the adversities of the fourteenth

century affect urban life?

In the midst of disaster, the fourteenth century proved

creative in its own way. The rapid growth of vernacular

literature and new inventions made an impact on

CHRONOLOGYThe Decline of the Church

Pope Boniface VIII 1294–1303

Unam Sanctam 1302

Papacy at Avignon 1305–1378

Pope Gregory XI’s return to Rome 1377

Start of the Great Schism 1378

Pope Urban VI 1378–1389

Failure of Council of Pisa to end schism 1409

Council of Constance 1414–1418

End of schism; election of Martin V 1417

Culture and Society in an Age of Adversity 265

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