Charles of Sicily, Martin came to the support of his royal friend Avitli all his influence, and even by the spir- itual censures he had at his command sought to main- tain French domination in Sicily. He excommunicated Peter of Aragon, whom the Sicilians had elected king ; but his excommunication was of no more avail than the arms of the Angevins, for the Sicilians stood firm against both. Martin also excommunicated the Byzantine em- peror Michael, and by this measure widened the breach between the Greek and Latin churches. He died in 1285, and was succeeded by Honorius lY. It is to the use of the censures of the Church in the unpopidar cause of Charles of Anjou that many Church historians ascribe the decline and ultimate extinction of the authority in temporals which the papacy had hitherto exercised. Not only did he lower the popular esteem of the papal authority, but he made himself a laughing-stock b}^ his rashness and inability to make good his threats. Let- ters of this pope are found in D'Achery, Spicileg. iii, 684. His biography ( Vita) was written by Bernard, Grindon, and by Muratori. See Muratori, Annali d'ltcdia, vii, 435-442 ; Artaud de Montor, Hist, des souverains Pon- tifes Romains, iii, 55-63; Bower, Hist. Popes, vi, 324; Hefele, Concilienqesch. vi, 188 sq. ; Leo, Gesch. r. Itulien, vol. iv. (J. H. AY.)
Martin V {Otto de Colonna), pope from 1417 to 1431, was the son of Agapetus de Colonna, and a de- scendant of one of the most ancient and illustrious fam- ilies of Italy. Martin studied canon law at Perugia, and on his return to his native city, Rome, was created by LTrban YI prothonotary and referendary; liy Boni- face IX nuncio to the States of Italy; under Innocent YII he received the appointment of cardinal deacon of St. George ad Aulicum Aureum ; and by John XXIII he was appointed apostolic legate for the patrimony of St. Peter, and vicar-general of the apostolic sec in Umbria. When (Jrogory XII, because of a breach of his oath of office, became so inipopular as to be deserted by his car- dinals, Martin alone adhered to him steadfastly until he was deposed by the Council of Pisa. He was likewise a faithfid supporter of his immediate predecessor, pope John, and even followed him in his flight from Con- stance, thus clearly foretokening the imcompromising stand which he afterwards took against all opposition to what he conceived to be the papal prerogative.
The general discontent with the abusive reign of pope John XXIII, which Gerson, the noted chancellor of the University of Paris, had severely attacked, not even hesitating to say that the pontiff ^vas " no longer ser- vant of servants, but John, the lord of lords," as well as other auspicious events, had resulted in the general Council of Constance (q. v.), whose moving spirits seemed determined on reform. Their two great objects were the restoration of the Church's unity, and the reforma- tion of the abuses which had crept in. One of their first steps, largely influenced by tlie emperor Sigismund, was to depose pope John. There still remained, how- ever, two rival pontiffs, Benedict XIII and Gregory XII, each claiming the title of supreme head of the Church. The latter of these vras induced to abdicate, and the for- mer, being without any temporal support, was ignored by the council. The election <if a pope was forthwith considered. The choice fell upon cardinal Otto de Co- lonna by an overwhelming majority of the electors from the five nations represented in the council, and the unanimous vote of the cardinals. Neander {Ch. Hist. V, 126) thus narrates tlie proceedings for the election: "The Germans set the example of sacrificing their own wishes and interests to the good of the Cliurrh. declar- ing themselves ready to give their votes for an Italian ; they also prevailed on the English to yield. The French and" Spaniards fvere refractory at first ; but finally, after the invocation of the Holy Ghost, -on St, Martin's day, in November, they were prevailed upoji to give place for the Holy Spirit as a spirit of concord ; and on the same day cardinal Otto of Colonna was chosen pope, af- ter the "election had lasted three days." The election
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having taken place on St. Martin's day, the new pope, in honor of that saint, assumed the title of Martin V. The whole assembly was in an ecstacy of joy at the re- sult, especially because it exhibited the unanimity of hitherto conflicting parties. Martin was immediately invested with the papal robes and placed on the altar, where the emperor hastened to do him homage by kiss- ing his feet.