The 1431 papal conclave (March 2–3) convened after the death of Pope Martin V and elected as his successor Cardinal Gabriele Condulmer, who took the name

Eugene 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 ...

. It was the first papal conclave held after the end of the

Great 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 ...

List of participants

Pope Martin V died on February 20, 1431. At the time of his death, there were 20 publicly known members 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 app ...

, but only 18 were considered to be valid electors. Fourteen of them participated in the conclave: The Council of Constance confirmed the cardinals created by all three obediences of the time of the Schism. Seven participants were named cardinal by Pope Martin V, three by "Pisan"

Antipope John XXIII Baldassarre Cossa (c. 1370 – 22 December 1419) was Pisan antipope John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church regards him as an antipope, as he opposed Pope Gregory XII whom the Catholic Church now recognizes as t ...

, two by "Roman"

Pope Gregory XII Pope Gregory XII ( la, Gregorius XII; it, Gregorio XII; – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario," or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was oppos ...

, one by "Roman"

Pope Innocent VII Pope Innocent VII ( la, Innocentius VII; it, Innocenzo VII; 1339 – 6 November 1406), born Cosimo de' Migliorati, was head of the Catholic Church from 17 October 1404 to his death in November 1406. He was pope during the period of the Western ...

and one by

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 ...

of Avignon.

Absentees

Four electors did not participate in this conclave: All the absentee electors were created by Martin V, except Pierre de Foix, who was elevated by Pisan

Non-electors

Pope Martin V initiated the custom of creating cardinals without publishing their names at the time (similar to in pectore). At the time of his death the names of two of his secret nominees remained unpublished and, therefore, they were not regarded as members of the Sacred College. They were Juan Casanova, administrator of Elne, and Guillaume Ragenel de Montfort, bishop of Saint-Malo, and they both were later created again by Eugene IV. However, two cardinals also created initially ''in pectore'' but later published were not allowed to participate in this conclave, because some necessary rites had not been accomplished at the death of Martin V:

The election of Pope Eugene IV

The Mass of the Holy Spirit was sung on Thursday March 1, 1431 by Cardinal Giordano Orsini, the Bishop of Albano, ''prior Cardinalium''. On March 2 all cardinals present in Rome entered the conclave in Santa Maria sopra Minerva. On 2 March, the electors prepared and subscribed the

conclave capitulation A conclave capitulation was a compact or unilateral contract drawn up by the College of Cardinals during a papal conclave to constrain the actions of the pope elected by the conclave. The legal term '' capitulation'' more frequently refers to the ...

. The terms of the Capitulation, which contained at least eight clauses,Gregorovius believed that the document as quoted was incomplete, ''History of Rome in the Middle Ages'' Volume VII. 1, p. 26. included: * Half of papal revenue was to be shared with the College of Cardinals * No major issues were to be decided without the consent of the College The first scrutiny took place on the following day, 3 March, and ended with unanimous election of Cardinal Gabriele Condulmer, who took the name of

. On Sunday 11 March he was solemnly crowned on the steps of the patriarchal Vatican Basilica by Cardinal

Alfonso Carrillo de Albornoz Alfonso Carrillo de Albornoz (died 1434) was a Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of anci ...

of S. Eustachio, the Cardinal Protodeacon.

Notes

Sources

Francis Burkle-Young “Papal elections in the Fifteenth Century: the election of Eugenius IVAnnales ecclesiastici
*Konrad Eubel: ''Hierarchia Catholica'', Vol. I-II, Monasterium 1913-1914

Bibliography

* F. Petruccelli della Gattina, ''Histoire diplomatique des conclaves'' Volume I (Paris: 1864), 236-252. * William Cornwallis Cartwright, ''On the Constitution of Papal Conclaves'' (Edinburgh 1878) 125-129. * Ferdinand Gregorovius, ''The History of Rome in the Middle Ages'' (translated from the fourth German edition by A. Hamilton) Volume 7 part 1 ook XIII, Chapter 1(London 1900) 22-26. * Ludwig Pastor, ''History of the Popes'' (tr. R.F. Kerr) Volume I (St. Louis 1906). * Peter Partner, ''The Papal State under Martin V'' (London 1958). {{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 1431 15th-century elections 1431 1431 in Europe 15th-century Catholicism 15th century in Europe