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Religion1378–1417

Western Schism

Also called: Great Western Schism, Papal Schism, Council of Constance

From 1378 to 1417 rival popes sat in Rome and Avignon, splitting the Western Church in two (for a time in three). The Council of Constance ended it by electing a new pope.

Papal election at the Council of Constance (November 1417), when Martin V was chosen and the schism ended — Richental Chronicle, c. 1464
Papal election at the Council of Constance (November 1417), when Martin V was chosen and the schism ended — Richental Chronicle, c. 1464

Chronik des Ulrich Richental · Public domain · Source

When Pope Gregory XI died in Rome in 1378, the Italian Urban VI was elected under pressure from the Roman crowd. The French cardinals then declared the election invalid and set up Clement VII, who returned to Avignon. France, Scotland and Naples followed Avignon, while England and most of the Holy Roman Empire backed Rome, dividing Europe in two. In 1409 the Council of Pisa deposed both popes and elected a new one, but neither stepped down, leaving three popes.

The Council of Constance (1414–1418), convened at the urging of the German king Sigismund, removed all three and in November 1417 elected Martin V, ending the schism. The council also condemned Wycliffe and Hus as heretics. The claim that a general council stands above the pope (conciliarism) gained ground, and papal authority fell sharply, preparing the soil for the Reformation. A year before the schism began (1377), the Jikji was printed with metal type at Heungdeoksa temple in Cheongju, Goryeo.

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The map in 1378

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States at the time
Papal States
France
Holy Roman Empire
Places
Rome, Palace of the Popes, Avignon, Constance

People

  • John Wycliffe1384

    related figure · Oxford theologian who attacked the wealth of the Church and papal authority and had the Bible translated into English — a forerunner of the Reformation

1 part of this event

  1. 1415Execution of Jan Hus

    On 6 July 1415 the Bohemian theologian Jan Hus, a critic of the Church, was condemned as a heretic by the Council of Constance and burned, leading to the Hussite Wars.

Before and after

Earlier
1358 The Jacquerie and Wat Tyler’s Rebellion
Later
1432 Northern Renaissance and Erasmus

Themes that include this event

  • Late Medieval Europe and the Renaissance1077 – 1517

    From Canossa to the eve of the Reformation — papal power at its height and in decline, towns and parliaments, royal power growing through the Hundred Years’ War and the Black Death, and the Renaissance and printing