§ 13. The Schism Begun. 1378.
The death of Gregory XI. was followed„-b-Y,.the schism_pf Western Christendom, which lasted forty years, and proved to be a greater misfortune for the Church than the Avignon captivity. Anti-popes the Cliurch had had, enough of them since
118 THE MIDDLE AGES. A.D. 1294-1517.
the days of Gregory VII., from Wibert of Ravenna chosen by the will of Henry IV. to the feeble Peter of Corbara, elected under Lewis the Bavarian. No\v, two lines of popes, each elected by a college of cardinals, reigned, the one at RomeT^e otheFTn Avignon, and both claiming to be in the legitimate succession from St. Peter.
Gregory XI. foresaw the confusion that was likely to follow at his death, and sought to provide against the catastrophe of a disputed election, and probably also to insure the choice of a French pope, by pronouncing in advance an election valid, no matter where the conclave might be held. The rule that tlie conclave should convene in the locality where the pontiff died, was thus set aside. Gregory knew well the passionate feeling in Rome against the return of the papacy to the banks of the Rhone. A clash was almost inevitable. While the pope lay a-dying, the cardinals at several sittings attempted to agree upon his successor, but failed.
On April 7, 1378, ten days after Gregory's death, the conclave met in theJVatican, and^the next day elected the Nea- ^litan, Bartholomew Prignano^ arckbiahop jamjiri. Of the sixteen cardinals present, four were Italians, eleven Frenchmen, and one Spaniard, Peter de Luna, who later became famous as Benedict XIII. The French party was weakened by the absence of the six cardinals, left behind at Avignon, and still another was absent. Of the Italians, two were Romans, Tebaldeschi, an old man, and Giacomo Orsini, the youngest member of the college. The election of an Italian not a member of the curia was due to factions which divided the French and to the compulsive attitude of the Roman populace, which insisted upon an Italian for pope.
The French cardinals were unable to agree upon a candidate from their own number. One of the two parties into which they were split, the Limousin party, to which Gregory XL and his predecessors had belonged, numbered six cardinals. The Italian mob outside tlie^ Vatican was as much a factor in the situation as the divisions in the conclave itself. A scene of wild and unrestrained turbulence prevailed in the square of St. Peter's. The crowd pressed its way into the
§ 13. THE SCHISM BEGUN. 1378. 119
very spaces of the Vatican, and with difficulty a clearing was made for the entrance of all the cardinals. To prevent the exit of the cardinals, the Banderisi, or captains of the thirteen districts into which Rome was divided, had taken possession of the city and closed the gates. The mob, determined to keep the papacy on the Tiber, filled the air with angry shouts and threats. " We will have a Roman for pope or at least an Italian." — Romano^ roma7io, lo volemo^ o almanco Italiano was the cry. On the first night soldiers clashed their spears in the room underneath the chamber where the conclave was met, and even thrust them through the ceiling. A fire of combustibles was lighted under the window. The next morning, as their excellencies were saying the mass of the Holy Spirit and engaged in other devotions, the noises became louder and more menacing. One cardinal, d'Aigrefeuillet whispered to Orsini, "better_electthe^ devil than die."
It was under such circumstances that the archbishop of Bari was chosen. After the choice had been made, and while they were waiting to get the archbishop's consent, six of the cardinals dined together and seemed to be in good spirits. But the mob's impatience to know what had been done would brook no delay, and Orsini, appearing at the window, cried out " go to St. Peter. " This was mistaken for an announcement that old Tebaldeschi, cardinal of St. Peter's, had been chosen, and a rush was made for the cardinal's palace to loot it, as the custom was when a cardinal was elected pope. The crowd surged through the Vatican and into the room where the cardinals had been meeting and, as Valois puts it, " the pillage of the conclave had begun." To pacify the mob, two of the cardinals, half beside themselves with fright, pointed to Tebaldeschi, set him up on a chair, placed a white mitre on his head, and threw a red cloak over his shoulders. The old man tried to indicate that he was not the right person. But the throngs continued to bend down before him in obeisance for several hours, till it became known that the successful candidate was Prignano.
In the meantime the rest of the cardinals forsook the building and sought refuge, some within the walls of St. Angelo,