The 1378 papal conclave which was held from April 7 to 9, 1378, was the
papal conclave
A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...
which was the immediate cause of the
Western Schism
The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Vatican Standoff, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon bo ...
in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. The conclave was one of the shortest in the
history of the Catholic Church
The history of the Catholic Church is the formation, events, and historical development of the Catholic Church through time.
The tradition of the Catholic Church claims the Catholic Church began with Jesus Christ and his teachings; the Catholi ...
.
The conclave was also the first since
1159
Year 1159 ( MCLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
* September 7 – Pope Alexander III succeeds Pope Adrian IV, as the 170th pope.
* The Heiji Rebellion brea ...
held in the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
and in
Old St. Peter's Basilica
Old St. Peter's Basilica was the building that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where the new St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began dur ...
(the elections and conclaves in Rome prior to the
Avignon Papacy
The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon – at the time within the Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles, Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire; now part of France – rather than i ...
having been held mostly in the
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...
).
Pope Gregory XI
Pope Gregory XI ( la, Gregorius, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pope ...
died on March 26, 1378, in Rome, having returned from
Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
to pursue his territorial interests in the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
during the
War of the Eight Saints
The War of the Eight Saints (1375–1378) was a war between Pope Gregory XI and a coalition of Italian city-states led by Florence that contributed to the end of the Avignon Papacy
The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during whic ...
. Although the French cardinals constituted a majority of the
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...
due to the preceding Avignon Papacy, they succumbed to the will of the Roman mob, which demanded the election of an Italian pontiff. They elected Bishop Bartolommeo Prignano, who took the name
Pope Urban VI
Pope Urban VI ( la, Urbanus VI; it, Urbano VI; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death in October 1389. He was the most recent pope to be elected from outside the ...
. This was the last time a
non-cardinal was elected pope.
[Miranda, Salvador. 1998.]
Papal elections of the 14th Century (1303-1394)
.
Proceedings
![Basilica di San Pietro 1450](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Basilica_di_San_Pietro_1450.jpg)
Before his death, Gregory XI substantially loosened the laws of the conclave: he instructed the cardinals to begin immediately after his death (rather than waiting the nine days prescribed by the ''
Ordo Romanis'') to prevent "factional coercion", he gave the cardinals permission to hold the conclave outside of Rome and move it as many times as necessary, and also seemingly suspended the two-thirds requirement, replacing it with "the greater part" (an ambiguous statement, in the original).
The cardinals were divided into three factions: the first constituting the four Italian cardinals (two Romans, one Florentine, and one Milanese), the second constituting the seven "
Limoges
Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...
" cardinals (referred to individually as "Limousins"
[Baumgartner, 2005, p. 56.]), and the third constituting the five remaining French cardinals.
The conclave was delayed one day because of a violent storm, and thereafter the seven Limoges cardinals wishing to leave Rome as Gregory XI had authorized them to were persuaded by the others that such an act would place the college in even more danger.
It was midnight on the second day before the servants of the cardinals succeeded in clearing the Old Basilica of those not permitted to remain in the conclave.
According to the ''
Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'', even Robert of Geneva (future
Antipope Clement VII
Robert of Geneva, (french: Robert de Genève; 1342 – 16 September 1394) elected to the papacy as Clement VII (french: Clément VII) by the cardinals who opposed Pope Urban VI, was the first antipope residing in Avignon, France. His election l ...
) and Pedro Martínez de Luna y Gotor (future
Antipope Benedict XIII
Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor (25 November 1328 – 23 May 1423), known as in Spanish and Pope Luna in English, was an Aragonese nobleman who, as Benedict XIII, is considered an antipope (see Western Schism) by the Catholic Church ...
)—the two claimants of the Avignon line during the ensuing Schism—were among those who voted for Prignano.
Prignano had previously lived in France, which may have softened the blow of his election to many of his French electors. The selection was supposedly "
unanimous
Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or impl ...
", with the exception of
Giacomo Orsini
The House of Orsini is an Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome. Members of the Orsini family include five popes: Stephen II (752-757), Paul I (757-767), Celestine II ...
, who claimed that he was not "free" enough to vote.
Prignano was accompanied by several other prelates (to conceal the identity of the selected candidate) to the Vatican to accept his election.
To further the confusion, Orsini gave the ''
Habemus Papam'' without identifying Prignano.
Upon the conclusion of the election, the Roman mob entered the site of the conclave, under the impression that an aged Roman cardinal Tebaldeschi (who had been left in possession of the papal insignia
) had been elected, an impression that the remaining cardinals did not disabuse them of as they fled to their personal quarters.
The remaining cardinal informed the crowd of the election of Prignano who was hiding in the "most secret room" until his election could be announced.
[Blumenfeld-Kosinski, 2006, p. 4.]
Cardinal electors
Sixteen of the twenty-three active cardinals took part in the conclave. Two possible other cardinals—
Piero Tornaquinci and
Pietro Tartaro—were not accepted into the ranks of the college for the election. Six more cardinals remained in Avignon, and Jean de la Grange was absent as well.
Absentee cardinals
Aftermath
![Western schism 1378-1417](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Western_schism_1378-1417.svg)
The following September, the French cardinals reunited in Avignon, moved to
Fondi
Fondi ( la, Fundi; Southern Laziale: ''Fùnn'') is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. I ...
, and elected
Antipope Clement VII
Robert of Geneva, (french: Robert de Genève; 1342 – 16 September 1394) elected to the papacy as Clement VII (french: Clément VII) by the cardinals who opposed Pope Urban VI, was the first antipope residing in Avignon, France. His election l ...
, who gained the support of all thirteen of his electors (at the time the entire College numbered twenty-two due to the death of
Francesco Tebaldeschi).
Sources
Inquisitor
Nicholas Eymerich
Nicholas Eymerich ( ca, Nicolau Eimeric) (Girona, ''c.'' 1316 – Girona, 4 January 1399) was a Roman Catholic theologian in Medieval Spain and Inquisitor General of the Inquisition in the Crown of Aragon in the later half of the 14th century. He ...
witnesses the conclave, and then went on to write one of the first tracts against Urban VI, ''
Tractatus de potestate papali'' (1383), which argued in favor of the legitimacy of the Avignon line of papal claimants.
[Blumenfeld-Kosinski, 2006, p. 57.] Several other eyewitnesses record the chant of the Roman crowd: "We want a Roman or at least an Italian" ( it, Romano lo volemo, o al manco Italiano).
[Blumenfeld-Kosinski, 2006, p. 3.] The contemporary curial document ''
Factum Urbani'' attests to the general atmosphere of confusion, fear, and panic.
For example, canonist
Gilles Bellemère recounts removing his clerical garb for fear of the mob and the constant ringing of bells.
Pro-Urban sources—such as
Alfonso de Jaén, the confessor of
Bridget of Sweden
Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – 23 July 1373) born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, also Birgitta of Vadstena, or Saint Birgitta ( sv, heliga Birgitta), was a mystic and a saint, and she was also the founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after t ...
, her daughter Catharine, and
Dietrich of Nieheim Dietrich of Nieheim (Niem or Nyem) (22 March 1418), medieval historian, was born at Nieheim, a small town subject to the see of Paderborn.
Life
Nothing is known about his family, and but little about his life previous to his entry into the service ...
—claim that the situation in Rome was less restless.
The marked discrepancy between the classes of sources can be explained by the fact that the alleged duress of the mob became the primary argument in favor of the legitimacy of the Avignon claimants.
Notes
References
*Theodericus de Nyem
ietrich Niem Georg Erler (editor), ''Theoderici de Nyem de scismate libri tres'' (Lipsiae 1890).
*Gayet, Louis. 1889. ''Le grand schisme d'Occident Les Origines'' 2 volumes (Paris-Florence-Berlin 1889).
*Valois, Noël. 1890. "L' élection d'Urbain VI. et les origines du Grand Schisme d'Occident," ''Revue des questions historiques'' 48 (1890), 353–420.
*Valois, Noël. 1896. ''La France et le Grand Schisme d'Occident'' Tome premier (Paris: Alphonse Picard 1896).
*Ullmann, Walter. 1948. ''The Origins of the Great Schism: A Study in Fourteenth-Century Ecclesiastical History'' (London 1948; Hamden CT: Archon Books 1967).
*Heimann, C. 2001. ''Nicolaus Eymerich'' (Münster, 2001).
*Baumgartner, Frederic J. 2005. ''Behind Locked Doors''. Macmillan. .
*Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Renate . 2006. ''Poets, Saints, and Visionaries of the Great Schism, 1378-1417''. Penn State Press. .
J. P. Adams, ''Sede Vacante 1378'' retrieved 02/26/2016.
retrieved 02/26/2016.
{{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Christianity , portal3= Vatican City , b=y, b-search=Biblical Studies/Christianity/Roman Catholicism/History
, commons=y, commons-search=Papal conclave
, n=y, n-search=Roman Catholic Church
, q=y, q-search=Popes
, s=y, s-search=Popes
, v=y, v-search=Christian History
, wikt=y, wikt-search=Pope
, d=y
14th-century elections
1378
14th-century Catholicism
Avignon Papacy
1378
Western Schism