In 1409, there were three popes in Europe, and all hell broke loose...

The Catholic Church had long been involved with European politics by the early fourteenth century.

Papal authority had been weakened during the Avignon Papacy, which began in 1309 when Pope Clement V, a Gascon with strong French ties, moved the papal court from Rome to Avignon.

Seven successive popes resided in Avignon until 1377, and all were Frenchmen who maintained close ties with the French crown.

Many Italians viewed the papacy as subservient to French political interests, and resentment built among the Roman nobility who traditionally saw Rome as the rightful seat of papal power. 

The papacy’s absence from Rome for nearly seven decades created significant administrative and spiritual problems.

The Church faced criticism for corruption and financial exploitation, as papal officials imposed heavy taxes to fund the construction of a grand Avignon court.

Popular calls for reform increased, and rival factions developed within the College of Cardinals.

By the time Pope Gregory XI decided to return to Rome in 1377, tensions between French and Italian interests in the Church had reached a breaking point.

Gregory’s death in 1378 triggered one of the most divisive papal elections in history. 

The conclave that followed Gregory XI’s death met in Rome under immense public pressure as crowds in the city demanded the election of an Italian pope, fearing that the cardinals might choose another Frenchman who would return to Avignon.

On 8 April 1378, the cardinals elected Bartolomeo Prignano, the Archbishop of Bari, who took the name Urban VI.

Urban was not a cardinal at the time of his election, and his selection surprised many observers.

Initially the cardinals accepted him, but Urban soon alienated them by criticising their wealth and demanding reforms to reduce clerical excesses. 

Discontent among the cardinals quickly turned into open rebellion. Several French cardinals fled Rome and declared that Urban’s election had been invalid because it had been conducted under duress from the Roman populace.

In September 1378, they elected a rival pope, Robert of Geneva, who became known as Clement VII.

Clement established his court in Avignon, which began the Western Schism proper as Europe became divided between supporters of Urban VI in Rome and Clement VII in Avignon. 

Urban VI’s supporters viewed Clement VII as an illegitimate usurper, while Clement’s followers declared Urban a heretic.

Each pope created his own College of Cardinals and appointed bishops loyal to his cause, leading to a complete duplication of Church authority across Europe.

The two papal courts issued excommunications against one another, which further undermined unity.

Urban died in 1389 and was succeeded by Boniface IX, while Clement VII died in 1394 and was replaced by Benedict XIII.

Successive popes in Rome and Avignon continued to claim legitimacy, but refused to abdicate. 

The term “anti-pope” became widely used to describe the papal claimants at Avignon, yet neither side acknowledged the other as rightful.

The schism endured for decades because both papal factions gained support from different European kingdoms.

The papacy itself became a pawn in political struggles, and rival monarchs used their allegiance to a particular pope to further their own ambitions.

By the early fifteenth century, the failure to resolve the schism through negotiation had eroded the credibility of both papal lines. 

France, Scotland, Castile, and Aragon generally supported the Avignon papacy, while England, the Holy Roman Empire, and many Italian states supported the Roman pope.

These alliances generally mirrored the political conflicts of the period, particularly the ongoing Hundred Years’ War between England and France.

As a result, different kings used papal allegiance as a means of securing church revenues and political support within their realms. 

Also, the rival popes relied heavily on secular rulers for protection and financial resources.

Each court granted privileges to sympathetic monarchs. But, this meant taht the schism became less about theology and more about the balance of power in Europe.

The presence of two popes also allowed monarchs to exploit the situation by threatening to transfer their allegiance if their demands were not met. 

By the start of the fifteenth century, many churchmen recognised that the papal schism had caused severe damage to the authority of the Church.

Conciliarists, who believed that a general council could override papal authority, began to argue for a council to settle the dispute.

After several failed negotiations, a group of cardinals from both sides convened the Council of Pisa in March 1409.

The council aimed to depose both existing popes and elect a new one who would be widely accepted.

However, Gregory XII and Benedict XIII both rejected the council’s legitimacy and continued to claim their authority. 

On 5 June 1409, the council declared both Benedict XIII in Avignon and Gregory XII in Rome to be deposed.

The cardinals then elected Pietro Philarghi, who became Alexander V. Alexander died the following year, and Baldassare Cossa succeeded him as John XXIII.

Instead of resolving the crisis, these events created a third papal claimant. Both Benedict and Gregory refused to step down, leaving Christendom with three competing popes.

The failure of Pisa only highlighted the limits of conciliar authority and the deep-rooted power of the papal factions. 

The Western Schism finally ended through the Council of Constance, which met between 1414 and 1418.

Emperor Sigismund of the Holy Roman Empire, who played a central role in organising the council and who pressured all factions to reach a settlement, secured widespread participation.

Gregory XII agreed to resign in 1415, which provided a breakthrough. The council then deposed both John XXIII, the successor of Alexander V, and Benedict XIII, who continued to resist but had lost most of his support. 

In November 1417, the council elected Oddone Colonna as Pope Martin V. His election gained widespread recognition, and the schism effectively ended.

The papacy returned to Rome, and Martin worked to rebuild papal authority after decades of turmoil. 

Ordinary believers had witnessed multiple claimants to the papal throne who excommunicated each other and who undermined medieval ideas of papal supremacy.

The later concept of papal infallibility was not yet defined, as it would only be formally declared in 1870.

However, clerical corruption became a frequent target of criticism, as rival popes imposed heavy taxes to fund their courts and military campaigns.

The schism also weakened papal authority over secular rulers, as monarchs realised that the Church relied heavily on their support. 

The chaos of having three popes in 1409 left a deep scar on the Church’s reputation.

Many historians have linked the disillusionment caused by the schism to the later calls for reform that culminated in the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century.

Ultimately, the failure of Church leaders to resolve the division for nearly forty years demonstrated the extent to which papal authority had become dependent on political power rather than spiritual leadership.