Crises and Consolidations - The Catholic Church Divided - The Great Western Schism (1378-1417)

4 important questions on Crises and Consolidations - The Catholic Church Divided - The Great Western Schism (1378-1417)

Which popes rivaled eachother and when? What is the name of this period?

  • Between 1378 and 1409, rival popes - those based in Avignon and those of Rome - claimed to rule as vicar of Christ. From 1409 to 1417, those based in Bologna added their own claim.
  • The popes at each place excommunicated one another, surrounded themselves with their own colleges of cardinals and loyal followers, and forced European states to choose among them. 
  • This period is called The Great Western Schism (1378-1417) and it was both a spiritual and a political crisis.

What influence did this schism have on other issues?

In some regions, the schism polarized a single community: for example, around 1400 at Tournai, on the border of France and Flanders, two rival bishops, each representing a different pope, fought over the diocese.

What did Boniface IX do?

  • Urban's successor, Boniface IX (1389-1404), reconquered the papal states and set up governors (many of them his family members) to rule over them.
  • Desperate for more revenues, the popes at Rome turned all their prerogatives into sources of income.
  • Boniface put Church benefices on the open market. He also commercialized penance, a move that was made possible by the development of the doctrine of Purgatory, the place where the souls of the dead were "purged" of their sins. 
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What was seen as an option to end the schism?

Solutions to end the schism eventually coalesced around the idea of a Church council. The "conciliarists" - those who advocated convening a council that would have authority over even the pope - included both university men and princes anxious to flex their muscles over the Church.

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