The Princes' Concordat (german: Fürsten-Konkordat) was an agreement concluded in January 1447 between

Pope Eugenius IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

and the prince-electors of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. It outlined generous concessions on the part of the Pope, particularly covering the appointment of Church positions, in exchange for the support of the German princes.

Terms

In the concordat, which is a term used for a treaty between the popes and secular powers, Eugenius IV agreed to acknowledge the Basle decrees and the position of the General Council as superior to the Pope's person in religious matters. It also restored the Archbishops of Trier and Mainz, who were earlier deposed by the Pope for supporting Anti Pope

Felix V Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. He was a claimant to the papac ...

, who was elected by the

Council of Basle The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...

in 1439. In exchange, the German Princes acknowledged Eugenius IV as legitimate Pope. The Emperor Frederick III was given the right to appoint some of the Bishops throughout the empire without need for Papal approval. Much of the negotiations for the Concordat was done through the efforts of the Emperor Frederick III's secretary Enea Silvio Piccolomini, future Pope

Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

. The terms of the agreement were repeated in the

Concordat of Vienna The Concordat of Vienna was a treaty concluded on 17 February 1448 between the Holy Roman Empire and the Holy See. Background In the Princes' Concordat, concluded in January 1447 between Pope Eugenius IV and the prince-electors of the Holy Roma ...

concluded the next year. The terms of the agreement were not to Eugenius IV's liking, but he felt compelled to make the concessions to the Emperor as he needed his assistance against the Council of Basle and the Catholic reform movements of that time. Already in February 1447, in the Bull '' Salvatoria'', he proclaimed his successors to be free to annul the terms of the agreement. This action has clouded the validity of the concordat so that it was only concluded during the time of his successor,

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene made ...

References

Treaties of the Holy See (754–1870) Treaties of the Holy Roman Empire {{History-stub