by withdrawing it from the turmoils of the Anglo-French War,
and bring within the bounds of possibility the much-needed
reformation in ecclesiastical affairs. In 1367 it
became an accomplished fact. Turning a deaf ear
to the remonstrances of the French king and the
French cardinals, the pope quitted Avignon on the 13th of
April 1367; and on the 16th of October he entered Rome, now
completely fallen to ruin. The ensuing year, after his returnTemporary Return to Rome.
to the Eternal City, witnessed the second great landmark in
the reign of Urban V.—the Roman expedition of Charles IV.,
and the renewal of amicable relations between the Empire and the
Church. Unfortunately, the pope failed to deal satisfactorily
with the highly complicated situation in Italy; and the result
was that, on the 27th of September 1370, he returned to Avignon,
where he died on the following 19th of December.
It was the opinion of Petrarch that, had Urban remained in Rome, he would have been entitled to rank with the most distinguished men of his era; and, if we discount this single act of weakness, he must be classed as one of the noblest and best of popes. Especial credit is due to his struggles against the moral corruptions of the day, though they proved inadequate to eliminate all traces of the prevalent disorders.
Gregory XI., though equally distinguished for his erudition and pure morals, his piety, modesty and wisdom, was fated to pay dearly for the weakness of his predecessor in abandoning Rome so early. He lived to see the national spirit of Italy thoroughly aroused againstGregory XI., 1370–1378. a papacy turned French. The disastrous error of almost exclusively appointing Provengals, foreigners ignorant of both the country and the people, to the government of the Papal States, now found a terrible Nemesis: and there came a national upheaval, such as Italy had not yet witnessed. The feud between Italian and Frenchman broke out in a violent form; and it was in vain that St Catherine of Siena proffered her mediation in the bloody strife betwixt the pope and the Florentine republic. The letters that she addressed to the pontiff, on this and other occasions, are documents, which are, perhaps, unique in their kind, and of great literary beauty. It was also St Catherine who prevailed on Gregory XI. to return to Definite Return to Rome. Rome. On the 13th of September 1376 he left Avignon; on the 17th of January 1377 he made his entry into the city of St Peter. Thus ended the exile in France; but it left an evil legacy in the schism under Gregory’s successor. Gregory, the last pope whom France has given to the Church, died on the 27th of March 1378, after taking measures to ensure a speedy and unanimous election for his successor.
The conclave, which took place in Rome, for the first time for 75 years, resulted in the election of Bartolomeo Prignano (April 8, 1378), who took the name of Pope Urban VI. Canonically the election was perfectly valid;[1] so that the only popes, to be regarded as legitimate, areUrban VI., 1378–1389. the successors of Urban, It is true that his election was immediately impugned by the cardinals on frivolous grounds; but the responsibility for this rests, partially at least, with the pope himself, whose reckless and inconsiderate zeal for reform was bound to excite a revolution among the worldly cardinals still yearning for the fleshpots of Avignon. This revolution could already be foreseen with tolerable certainty, when Urban embroiled himself even with his political friends—the queen of Naples and her husband, Duke Otto of Brunswick. Similarly, he quarrelled with Count Onorato Gaetano of Fondi. The cardinals, excited to the highest pitch of irritation, now knew where they could look for support. Thirteen of them assembled at Anagni, and thence, on the 9th of August, issued a passionate manifesto, announcing the invalidity of Urban’s election, on Election of Anti-Pope Clement VII. the ground that it had been forced upon the conclave Anil-pope by the Roman populace. As soon as the rebellious cardinals were further assured of the protection of the French king, Charles V., they elected, with the tacit consent of the three Italian cardinals, Robert of Geneva as anti-pope (Fondi, Sept. 20). Robert assumed the style of Clement VIL; and thus Christendom was brought face to face with the worst misfortune conceivable—the Great Schism (1378–1417).
The chief responsibility for this rests with the worldly College of Cardinals, who were longing to return to France, and thence drew their inspiration. This college was a creation of the Avignon period; which must therefore, in the last resort, be considered responsibleThe Great Schism. for this appalling calamity. Severe censure, moreover, attaches to Charles V., of France. There may be room for dispute, as to the extent to which the king’s share in the schism was due to the instigation of the revolted cardinals; there can be not the slightest doubt that his attitude was the decisive factor in perpetuating and widening the breach. The anti-pope was recognized not only by Charles of France, but by the princes of the Empire dependent on him, by Scotland and Savoy, and finally by the Spanish dominions and Portugal. On the other hand, the emperor Charles IV. and his son Wenceslaus, the greater part of the Empire, England, Hungary, Poland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, together, with the majority of the Italian states—Naples excepted—remained loyal to the pope. Urban, in fact—who meanwhile had created a new College of Cardinals with members of different nationalities—enjoyed one great advantage; his rival failed to hold his own in Italy, with which country the actual decision virtually lay. Unfortunately, in the time that followed, Urban was guilty of the grossest errors, pursuing his personal interests, and sacrificing, all too soon, that universal point of view which ought to have governed his policy. The struggle against his powerful neighbour on the frontier. Queen Joanna of Naples, rapidly became his one guiding motive; and thus he was led into a perfect labyrinth of blunders. He excommunicated the queen as a stiff-necked adherent of the French anti-pope, and in 1381 conferred Naples on the ambitious Charles of Durazzo, with whom he was soon inextricably embroiled; while, a little later, he fell out with his new College of Cardinals. On the ijth of October 1389, he died, with few to lament him.
After the death of Urban VI., fourteen cardinals of his obedience assembled, and after long negotiations elected the scion of a noble Neapolitan family, Cardinal Pietro Tomacelli (Nov. 2, 1389). The title which he took was that of Boniface IX. The new pope—a manBoniface IX., 1389–1404. of high moral character, great sagacity, eloquence, and of a kindly disposition—at once instituted an entirely different policy from that pursued by his predecessor. This was especially the case in his treatment of Naples. In May 1390 Ladislaus, the son of Charles of Durazzo, who had been assassinated in the February of 13S6, received the royal crown at the hands of a papal legate. To his cause Boniface IX. closely attached himself; and his support of the king against the Angevins cost him enormous sums, without which Ladislaus could not have secured his victory over the French claimant. By these means, the schism was averted from Italy, and Naples won for the Roman obedience. The situation in the papal state, which Boniface found in the greatest confusion, was at the outset far more difficult to deal with. But here also he attained in time a considerable measure of success, although the methods employed were scarcely above criticism. His greatest success, however, was gained in the Eternal City itself; for he contrived, after many vicissitudes, to induce the Romans to armul their republican constitution and acknowledge the papal supremacy, even in municipal matters.
To give this supremacy a firmer basis, Boniface fortified the Vatican and the Capitol, and restored the castle of St Angelo—which had previously been used as a quarry—providing it with walls and battlements, and erecting a tower in the centre. This castle, indeed, yielded a safe shelter to the pope in January 1400, when the Colonnas made their attempt to surprise Rome. However, the adventure failed; and by the aid of Ladislaus, the castles of the Colonnas in the vicinity of Rome were destroyed. In 1401 this powerful family made its submission, accepting the favourable terms which the pope had had the good sense to
- ↑ See Pastor, Geschichte der Päpste, i., 121.
