Both parties appealed to the nations for sup port. to general, the northern peoples sym pathized with the Roman Pope, France and Spain with the French one; but the really important result of the Great Schism (1378-1418) way the discussion it aroused as to the nature of the Papacy and its relations to the Church at large. The feeling was constantly gaining force that the Church as a whole was misrepresented by a sys tem threw a11 the weight of the Papal authority into the hands of a small body of persons at Rome. To change these persons to Frenchmen was no relief. What was demanded was a larger share to the nations in the Church constitution. These opinions gained in clearness as the difficulty of breaking the schism through the action of the cardinals became more apparent. The remedy was that most feared by the curial party at all times, a general council, but years passed before a way could he found for calling a council that would be respected. Finally, in 1409, the 'union cardinals' on both sides united in this work, and the Council of Pisa supported them in making a new election. The Pope chosen. Alexander V., lived but a few months, and the same interests succeeded in putting for ward John XXI IL, who failed utterly to main tain the respect of the Church as against the two claimants set aside at Pisa, who now re newed their claims.
The Church thus found itself in a triple schism, honeycombed with the heresy of Wiclif and Huss and burdened with ecclesiastical abuses which every one saw, but which no one knew how to remedy without danger to the system itself. The Council of Constance (1414-18) met under these conditions. It first attacked heresy by ex amining and burning John Huss. who, relying upon the safe conduct of the Emperor Sigisnmnd, had voluntarily put himself into its power. It then proceeded to endless discussions of abuses and the means of relief. only at last to express a series of pious wishes and leave their execution to the Pope, whose election was accomplished by a joint commission of the cardinals and the Council. Naturally, the new Pope, Martin V., of the Roman family of the Cotonna. failed to consider himself bound by the action of a council that could not agree within itself upon vital questions. and his 'reforms' were of the most superficial kind. The Papacy had come out of the trial of schism and opposition unchanged in its quality. It could not avert the assembling of the Council of Basel (1431-481, but it steadily opposed it. So long as the Council could keep the respect of Europe it could maintain its ex istence, and at least succeeded in demonstrating its capacity to do things that the Papal adminis tration had failed to accomplish: but the longer it lasted the more apparent it became that Europe was not ready to exchange the traditional authority of Rome for the novel tyranny of an irresponsible council. Especially when the Coun cil proceeded of its own right to choose a pope, without reference to the Roman tradition, it became clear that such a pope could not lie sup• ported. What the Council of Basel really ac complished was to furnish to the nations a pre text for asserting their rights over their own local churches more firmly than ever, as, for ex ample. in the case of France, through the Prag matic Sanction of Bourges (1438). When this was done the governments were comparatively in different to the general question of the Papal con stitution itself, and Nicholas V. (1447-55) stands at the beginning of a period more splendid than any other in the Papal annals. The Papacy now entered into the politics of Europe us one among the temporal powers (see PAPAL STATES) , fell in with the prevailing enthusiasm for art and letters, and sought to direct the course of the Renaissance movement. In the
meantime opposition was slowly and silently gathering in the North. which culminated in the Reformation movement, and directly challenged the traditional supremacy of the Papacy. The Protestant Reformation affirmed as the ground of its justification the financial tyranny. the spiri tual indifference, and the anti-national propa ganda of the Papacy. It formulated as its pro gramme a return to what it claimed to be the early principles of a private interpretation of Scripture and a personal approach of every Chris tian man to his God without other mediation than that of his personal faith. Against this demand the Papacy set itself with all the re sources of its past. Between the two ideas there was no compromise. and the result was seces sion. As late as 1541 it was hoped by many sanguine persons on both sides that some com mon ground might be discovered, but the Council of Trent (1545-63) reaffirmed in unmistakable terms the existing principles of the Papacy as it had come to he. Recogmizimg the need of 'reform' in many details, the Council earefnlly avoided any action that might seem like compromise with rebellion. While not admitting in theory the fact of schism, the Papacy henceforth was obliged to recognize it, in practice and to devote all its energy to maintaining its hold upon what it had left and extending its sway over new lands. For later history, see ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH PAPAL STATES.
ltinuomtAPitY. Mirbt, Quellot zur Gest-11011r (1(.3 Papstthums ed.. T(ibingen, P101) : /tut Ilonianuil Magnum (19 vols., Itome, 1655-1857 ) : Jaff(% Regesta Pontifieum Romano inn, to 1198 (2d ed., Leipzig, 1885-88) ; I'ottha.t. gcsta Ponti(icum Homonorum. j ( Berlin, I874-'5); Pflugk-Hartung. Acta Pontifieunt Roinanorum Inrdita 18N1-88) ; Langen. GeRch ichte (fir rOmisel:n Kirehe, qui.11enmassig dargrstellt (Bonn. 1881 113) : Gregorovins. History of the City of Home in the Middle Ages (Eng. trans.. London. 1894-1902) : Rennu)nt. (cschichte (I( r Stadt Horn.
Berlin, 1867-70) ; Greenwood. Cathcdra tri (London. 1856.72) ; ',ices of the Poprs in the Et,/ii Middle .Iges, vol. i. (Saint Louis. 1902) ; Barry, The Papal Monarchy, 600-13110 (New York, 1902) : :Wiliam History of Latin ('hristianity. to 1448. new ed. (London. : Miller, Medi/rya/ Home t New York. 19021; Tout, 7'hr Empire and the Papacy, 913-1:73 ( London. 18!18) : Lorenz, Popstieahl und Kaiserthum (Ber lin, 1874); Emerton. Mcdia cal Europe (Boston. 1896) Bryce, The Holy Roman Empire (London. 1889); Pastor, History of the Popes from the ('lose of the Middle Ages (Eng. trans., Lon don. 1891-98) ; Valois, La Franey it le grand sehisme iroceident 1896-1902): bier, Le grand schismc d'aveident 1901) : Creighton. History of the Papacy from the Great Schism to the Sack of Home (Lon don, 1897-99) ; Janssen. History of the (;er rnaia from the ('lose of the Middle Apes (Eng. trans., London. 1896-19031; Ranke. His tory of the Popes in the Sixteenth owl Serra teen th ( 'rat uries I Eng. trans., London, I 56) ; RoeqUain. La roar de Home el !'(sprit de ri'forme runt Luther (Paris, 1893-971: Puller. The Primitirc Saints and the See of Home (3d ed., London, 1900) ; 11ivington, Tic Primitive Church and the See of Peter (ib., 1894) : Allies, The Throne of the Fisherman (ib., 18871.
The following list is taken from Wetzer and Welte's kirelonlexikon. and may be assumell to represent the conclusions of the best modern Roman Catholic scholarship. Down to Pius 11. it follows in general the results reached in Duchesne's learned edition of the Libir Pontifi rolls I Paris. 18861: for the later dates. use has been made of Gams. 8, ries Episroporum, and of lieumont, Gesehiehte der Stadt nom 1 Berlin. 1870).