URBAN
217
URBAN
esolved on violent measures and declared their inten-
ions in a letter of the utmost impertinence. On
August this letter was followed by the famous
Declaration", a document more passionate than
xact, which assumed at once the parts of historian,
urist, and accuser. Seven days later they iniblished
n encyclical letter, repeating false and injurious
ccusations against Urban, and on 27 August left
Liiagni for Fondi, where they enjoyed the protection
f itslord (I'rban's arch-enemy), and were near Joanna
f Xaj)lcs; the latter at first had shown great interest
1 Urban, but was soon disappointed by his capricious
rays. On 1.5 September the three Italian cardinals
Dined their colleagues, influenced, perhaps, by the
ope of becoming pope themselves, or perhaps
rightcned by the news that Urban was about to
reatc twenty-nine cardinals in order to supply the
acancies left by the thirteen French ones. Charles
' of France, more and more doubtful of the lawful-
ess of Urban's election, encouraged the Fondi faction
choose a rightful pope and one more agreeable to 'ranee. A letter from him arrived on IS September, nd hastened a violent solution. On 20 September tobert of Geneva was chosen pope, and on this day tie Western Schism began.
The Italians abstained from the election but were onvinced of its canonical character. Robert assumed lie name of Clement VII. The obediences of the Ko popes assumed definite Umits between Scptem- er, 137S, and June, 1379. All Western Europe sxcept England, Ireland, and the English dominions
1 France) submitted to Clement VII, the greater art of Germany, Flanders, and Italy (with exception f Naples) recognized Urban. The obedience of Irban was more numerous, that of Clement more nposing. Meanwhile, Urban created twenty-eight ardinals, four of whom refused to accept the purple, t is very difficult to decide exactly how far the schi.sm > to be attributed to Urban's behaviour. Indis- utably the long exile at Avignon was its principal au.se, as it diminished the credit of the popes and iver.sely increa.sed the ambition of the cardinals, who ere always striving to obtain more influence in the ovcrnment of the Church. Whatever may have een the causes of this event, it is certain that the lection of Urban was lawful, that of Clement unca- onical.
If the first days of Urban's pontificate were un- appy, his whole reign was a series of misadventures, t is true that he was successful in reducing Cast el ant' Angelo and subduing a revolt of the Romans, ut these are the only successes of his reign. Naples as soon in turmoil. Queen Joanna went over to le Clementines and was deposed by IVban. Charles f Durazzo took her place. He arrested the queen nd took possession of the kingdom, but soon lost ivour with the pope for not fulfilling his engagements iwards Francesco Prignano (Urban's unworthy and nnioral nephew), in whose regard Urban is not ee from neiiotism. The pope now went to the )uth of Italy, against the advice of his cardinals, as received at Aver.sa by the king himself, but nprisoncd on the night of his arrival (30 Oct., 1.383). hrough his cardinals a compromise was reached, nd Urban left .\ versa for Nocera. Here he had to ndure the most unworthy treatment from Margaret, le wife of Charles. The iiiisiinderstanding between 'rban and Charles increased after the death of the itter's enemy, Louis of .\njou; the pope, obstinate nd intractable, continued in a half -hostile, half- ependent, attitude towards Charles, and created )urtccn cardinals, only the Neapolitans accepting le dignity. He became daily more estranged from le older members of the .Sacred College. No one inver.sant with the ideas current at this time in the acred College will wonder that the example of 1378 )und imitation. Highly irritated by Urban's incon-
siderate behaviour, the Urbanist cardinals meditated
a more practical way of proceeding; they proposed to
depose or, at least, arrest him. But their plot was
revealed to him, and six of them were imprisoned and
their possessions confiscated. Those who did not
confess were tortured, and the King and Queen of
Naples, being suspected as accomplices, were excom-
municated. In consequence Nocera was besieged
by the king. Urban courageously fief ended the
place, twoorthreetimesadayanathematizing his foes
from the ramparts. After nearly five months, Nocera
was relieved by the Urbanists, Urban escaping to
Barletta, whence a Genoese fleet transported him and
the imprisoned cardinals to Genoa. During the
voyage the Bishop of Aquila, one of the conspirators,
was executed, and the cardinals, excepting Adam
Aston, were put to death at Genoa, in spite of the
intervention of the doge. It may be taken for cer-
tain that the cardin.als had conspired against Urban,
with a view of deposing him; that they intended to
burn him as an heretic may be a fantastic rumour.
At all events he acted very unwisely by treating them
so cruelly, for he then alienated faithful adherents,
as is proved by the manifesto of the five cardinaKs,
who remained at Nocera and renounced his obedience.
After King Charles was murdered in Hungary
(February, 1386) Urban again undertook to establish
his authority in that kingdom; he left for Lucca,
refused to treat with the dowager-queen IMargaret,
and declined the proposal of a general council, which
some German princes proposed at the insistence
of Clement VII, though he himself had formerly
proposed the same expedient. He insulted the
ambassadors and pressed the German king, Wen-
ceslaus, to come to Rome. In August, 1,'B87, he
proclaimed a crusade against Clement, and in Sep-
tember set out for Perugia, where he remained
till August, 1.388, recruiting soldiers for a campaign
against Naples, which had again fallen into the hands
of the Clementines, and the possession of which was
very important for his own safety. The soldiers, not
receiving their pay, deserted, and Urban returned to
Rome, where his refractory temper brought him into
difliculties that could only be removed by .an inter-
dict. It was at Rome, also, that he fixed the interval
between the jubilees at thirty-three years, the first
of which was to be celebrated the next year, 1390.
But he did not live to open it. Urban might have
been a good pope in more peaceful circumstances; but
he certainly was unable to heal the wounds which the
Church had received during the exile of Avignon. If
the genius of a Gregory VII or an Innocent III was
scarcely able to triumph over the ambition of the
cardinals, the bad conduct of the higher and lower
clergy, and the unruline.ss of the laity, these impedi-
ments could not but shipwreck the inconstant and
quarrelsome Urban.
A. The .^oiirres. — Loserth, Gesch^ de.i sp^teren Mitlelalters (Munirli and Berlin. 1903), 400-2; particularly Ratnald, Annnles, ad ann. 137S-S9; Bl'LErs. Hist. univ. Paris.. IV (Paris. 1668); Balcze, Vila- pap. aven. (Paris, 1693); Gayet, Le grand schismr d'Occident (2 vols., Florence and Berlin, 1889) ; Theo- DERlri DE NiEM, De schismaU lihri ires. ed. Erler, (Leipzig, 1890); Saiterland, Aktenslueke j. Gesch. Urbaru VI in Hist. Jahrbuch der Gdrres-Gesdhchaft. XIV (1893), 820-32; Gohei.inijs Persona. Coamodromium, ed. Jansen (Munster, 1900); Pastor, Ungedruckle Akten 2. Gesch. der P/tpsle (Freiburg, 1904); Blie- METZRIEDER in Rtxtd u. Mitteitnngen ans dem hcnediktiner u. ci.')(crei>n»errtr«f**n (1908-1910): Mitleilungen des Vrrrin.s f. die Gesch. der DeiUschen in Bdhmen (1908), 47-61; Hist. Jahrbuch der Giirres-Gesellscha/t (1909), 231-73.
B. Criticism of the Sources.— .Iahr, Die Waht Urbans Vl, 1S7S (Halle, 1.S92); Valois, Ln France el le granA schisme d'Occident (4 vols., Paris, 1896-1902).
C. Literature. — In addition to above .see: Pastor, The History of the Popes, tr. from the German, bv Antrobi's, I (2nd ed., London, 1902); Creiohton, The Papacu, Its History from the Schism to the Great Sack of Rome (London, 1897); Locke, The Age of the Great Western Schism (Edinburgh, 1,897); Brann, The Schism of the West and the Freedom of Papal Elections (New York, ISO.**); Christophe, Hist, de la papaut^ pendant le XIV' siMe (Lyons and Paris. 186.'*): Lindner, Papst Urban VI in Zeitschr. f. Kirchengesch., Ill (18791, 409-28, 52.^>-4fi; Idem, Die Waht
