XIV.

XII. His successor INNOCENT VI. whose C E N T. name was STEPHEN ALBERT, was much more re-PART II. markable for integrity and moderation. He was Innocent a Frenchman, and before his election had been VI. bishop of Ostia. He died in the year 1362, after Urban V. having governed the church ten years. His greatest blemish was, that he promoted his relations with an excessive partiality, but in other respects he was a man of merit, and a great encourager of pious and learned men. He kept the monks closely to their duty, carefully abstained from reserving churches, and, by many good actions, acquired a great and deserved reputation. He was succeeded by WILLIAM GRIMOAR D, abbot of St Victor at Marseilles, who took the name of URBAN V. and was entirely free from all the grosser vices, if we except those which cannot easily be separated from the papal dignity. This pope, being prevailed on by the intreaties of the Romans, returned to Rome in the year 1367, but, in 1370, he came back to Avignon, to reconcile the differences that had arisen between the kings of England and France, and died there the same year.

In

XI.

XIII. He was succeeded by PETER ROGER, a Gregory French ecclesiastic of illustrious descent, who assumed the name of GREGORY XI. a man, who, though inferior to his predecessors in virtue, exceeded them far in courage and assurance. his time Italy in general, and the city of Rome in particular, was distressed with most outrageous and formidable tumults. The Florentines carried on successfully a terrible war against the ecclesiastical state [u]. Upon which GREGORY, in hopes of quieting the disorders of Italy, and also of recovering

Y 3

[n] See, chiefly, COLUZII SALUTATI Epistola, written in the name of the Florentines, part I. p. 47-100. p. 148. 162. See also Præfat. ad part II. p. xviii. the new Florentine edition by LAUR. MEHUS.

XIV.

CENT.covering the cities and territories which had been PART II. taken from St Peter's patrimony, transferred the papal seat from Avignon to Rome, in the year 1376. To this he was in a great measure determined by the advice of one CATHRINE, a virgine Sens, who, in this credulous age, was thought to be inspired with the spirit of prophecy, and made a journey to Avignon on purpose to persuade him to take this step [w]. It was not, however, long before GREGORY repented that he had followed her advice: for by the long absence of the popes from Italy, their authority was reduced to such a low ebb, that the Romans and Florentines made no scruple to insult him with the grossest abuse, which made him resolve to return to Avignon; but before he could execute his determination he was taken off by death, in the year 1378.

A great schism ari

ses in the

Romish church.

1378

XIV. After the death of GREGORY XI. the cardinals assembled to consult about choosing a successor, when the people of Rome, fearing lest the vacant dignity should be conferred on a Frenchmen, came in a tumultuous manner to the conclave, and with great clamours, accompanied with many outrageous threatenings, insisted that an Italian should be advanced to the popedom. The cardinals, terrified by this uproar, immediately proclaimed BARTHOLOMEW DE PREGNANO, who was a Neapolitan, and archbishop of Bari, and assumed the name of URBAN VI. This new pontif, by his unpolite behaviour, injudicious severity, and intolerable arrogance, had made himself many enemies among people of all ranks, and especially among the leading cardinals. These latter therefore, tired of his insolence, withdrew from Rome to Anagni, and from thence to Fondi, a city in the kingdom of Naples where they

elected

[w] See LONGUEVAL, Hist. de l'Eglise Gallicane, tom xiv, P. 159. 192.

XIV.

elected to the pontificate ROBERT count of Ge-C ENT. neva, who took the name of CLEMENT VII. and PART II. declared at the same time, that the election of URBAN was nothing more than a mere ceremony, which they had found themselves obliged to perform, in order to calm the turbulent rage of the populace. Which of these two is to be considered as the true and lawful pope, is, to this day, matter of doubt; nor will the records and writings, alleged by the contending parties, enable us to adjust that point with any certainty [x]. URBAN remained at Rome: CLEMENT went to Avignon in France. His cause was espoused by France and Spain, Scotland, Sicily, and Cyprus, while all the rest of Europe acknowledged URBAN to be the true vicar of CHRIST.

XV. Thus, the union of the Latin church under one head was destroyed at the death of GREGORY XI. and was succeeded by that deplorable dissension, commonly known by the name of the great western schism [y]. This dissension was fomented with such dreadful success, and arose to such a shameful height, that, for the space of

Y 4

fifty

[x] See the acts and documents in CES. EGASS. De Boulaz, Hist. Acad. Paris, tom. iv. p. 463. s.—Luc. WADDING, Annal. Minor. tom. ix. p. 12. s.— -STEPH. BALUZII Vit. Pontif. Avenion. tom. i. p. 442. 998. s.-Acta Sanctor. tom. i. April. p. 728. I have also some documents never yet published, which throw great light upon this controversy, though they do not absolutely determine the point in dispute.

[y] An account of this dissension may be seen in PIERRE DU PUY, Histoire Generale du Schisme qui a été en l'Eglise depuis b An. 1378. jusqu'en l'An. 1428, which, as we are informed in the Preface, was compiled from the Royal Records of France, and is entirely worthy of credit. Nor should we wholly reject LEWIS MAIMBOURG's Histoire du grand Schisme d'Occident, though in general it be deeply tainted with the leaven of party spirit. A great many documents are to be met with in Boulay, Histor. Acad. Paris. tom. iv. and v. and also in EDM. MARTENE Thesauri Anecdotor. tom. ii. p. 1074. I always pass over the common writers upon this subject, such as ALEXANDER, RAYNALD, BZOVIUS, SPONDANUS, and DU PIN,

Its bad con

sequences.

XIV.

CEN T. fifty years, the church had two or three different PARTIL heads at the same time; each of the contending

popes forming plots, and thundering out anathemas against their competitors. The distress and calamity of these times is beyond all power of description; for, not to insist upon the perpetual contentions and wars between the factions of the several popes, by which multitudes lost their fortunes and lives, all sense of religion was extinguished in most places, and profligacy rose to a most scandalous excess. The clergy, while they vehemently contended which of the reigning popes was the true successor of CHRIST, were so excessively corrupt, as to be no longer studious to keep up even an appearance of religion or decency: and in consequence of all this, many plain well-meaning people, who concluded that no one could possibly partake of eternal life, unless united with the vicar of CHRIST, were overwhelmed with doubt, and plunged into the deepest distress of mind [x]. Nevertheless these abuses were, by their consequences, greatly conducive both to the civil and religious interests of mankind; for by these dissensions the papal power received an incurable wound; and kings and princes, who had formerly been the slaves of the lordly pontifs, now became their judges and masters. And many of the least stupid among the people had the courage to disregard and despise the popes on account of their odious disputes about dominion, to commit their salvation to God alone, and to admit it as a maxim, that the prosperity of the church might be maintained and the interests of religion secured and promoted without a visible head, crowned with a spiritual supremacy.

XVI.

[x] Concerning the mischievous consequences of this schism, we have a large account in the Histoire du drois public Eccles. Francois, tom. ii. p. 166. 193. 202. s.

XIV.

for abolish

XVI. The Italian cardinals attached to the CENT. interests of URBAN VI. upon the death of that pope in the year 1389, set up for his successor, at Rome, PETER THOMACELLI, a Neapolitan, who Proposals took the name of BONIFACE IX. and CLEMENT ing the VII. dying in the year 1394, the French cardi- schism. nals raised to the pontificate PETER DE LUNA, a Spaniard, who assumed the name of BENEDICT XIII. During these transanctions various methods were proposed and attempted for healing this melancholy breach in the church. Kings and princes, bishops and divines, appeared with zeal in this salutary project. It was generally thought that the best course to be taken in this matter was, what they then styled, the Method of cession: but neither of the popes could be prevailed on, either by entreaties or threatenings, to give up the pontificate. The Gallican church, highly incensed at this obstinacy, renounced solemnly, in a council held at Paris in the year 1397, all subjection and obedience to both pontifs; and, upon the publication of this resolution in the year 1398, BENEDICIT XIII. was, by the express orders of CHARLES VI. detained prisoner in his palace at Avignon [a].

mities of

of the Men

XVII. Some of the popes, and especially BE-The enorNEDICT XII. were perfectly acquainted with the the monks, prevailing vices and scandalous conduct of the especially greatest part of the monks, which they zealously dicants. endeavoured to rectify and remove: but the disorder was too inveterate to admit of a cure. The Mendicants, and more especially the Dominicans and Franciscans, were at the head of the monastic orders, and were, indeed, become the heads of the church; so extensive was the influence they had acquired, that all matters of importance, both

[a] Besides the common historians, and LONGUEVAL'S Histoire de l'Eglise Gallicane, tom. xiv. see the Acts of this council in BOULAY'S Hist. Acad. Paris, tom. iv. p. 829.