160 THE MIDDLE AGES. A.D. 1294-1517.
decree of deposition pronounced at Pisa, and France's withdrawal of allegiance, had not broken the spirit of the old man. His dogged tenacity was worthy of a better cause.* Among the propositions the pope had the temerity to make was that he would resign provided that he, as the only surviving cardinal from the times before the schism, should have liberty to follow liis abdication by himself electing the new pontiff. Who knows but that one who was so thoroughly assured of his own infallibility would have chosen himself. Benedict persisted in calling the Council of Constance the " congregation," or assembly. On Nov. 14 he fled to Peiiiscola, a rocky promontory near Valencia, again condemned the Swiss synod, and summoned a legitimate one to meet in his isolated Spanish retreat. His own (turdinals were weai;y of the conflict, and Dec. 13, 1415, declared him depose^. His long-time supporter, Vincent Ferrer, called him a perjurer. The following month the kingdom of Aragon, which had been Benedict's chief support, withdrew from his obedience and was followed by Castile and Scotland.
Peter de Luna was now as thoroughly isolated as any mortal could well be. The council demanded his unconditionalaj?dication^ and was strengthened by the admission of his old supporters, the Spanish delegates. At the thirty-seventh session, 1417, he was deposed. By Sigismund's command the decision was announced on the streets of Constance by trumpeters. But the__indomitable Spaniard continued to defy the synod's sentence till his death, nine years later, and from the lonely citadel of Peiiiscola to sit as sovereign of Christendqpi. Cardinal HergenWither concludes his description of these events by saying that Benedict " was a pope without a church and a shepherd without sheep. This very fact proves the emptiness of his claims." Benedict died, 1423,^ leaving be- Jiind him four cardinals. TIuhh; of these elected the canon, Gil Sanduz do Miinoz of narcclona, who took tlu; name_j^f Clement VIII. Five years later Gil resignedj, and waaj,p-
' Pastor, Hefele, and Ilergenriither call it stulibornnoss, ILirtnarkiykeit. Dollinger is more favorable, and does not withhold his admiration from I'eter. ' Valois, IV. 450-454, gives strong reasons for this date as against 1424.
§ 16. THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE. 1414-1418. IGl
pointed by Martin V. bishop of MajorQp,, on which island he was a pope with insular jurisdiction. ^ The fourth cardinal, Jean Carrier, elected himself pope, and took the name of Benedict XIV. He died in prison, 1433*
It remained for the council to terminate the schism of years by electing a new pontiff and to proceed to the discussions of Church reforms. At the fortieth session, Oct. 80, 1417, it was decided to postpone the second item until after the election of the new pope. In fixing this order of business, the cardinals had a large influence. There was a time in the history of the council when they were disparaged. Tracts were written against them, and the king at one time, so it was rumored, proposed to seize them all.^ But that time was past; they had kept united, and their influence had steadily grown.
The papal vacancy was filled, Nov. 11, 1417, by the elcQtion of Cardinal Oddo CJolonna, who took the name of Martin ^. The election was consummated in the Kaufhaus, the central commercial building of Constance, which is still standing. Fifty-tliree electors participated, 6 deputies from each of the 5 nations, and 23 cardinals. The building was walled up with boards and divided into cells for the electors. Entrance was had by a single door, and the tliree keys were given, one to the king, one to the chapter of Constance, and one to the council. When it became apparent that an election was likely to be greatly delayed, the Germans determined to join tlie Italians in voting for an Italian to avoid suspicion that advantage was taken of tlie synod's location on German soil. The Germans then secured the co-operation of the English, and finally the French and Spaniards also yielded. ^ The pope-elect was thus the creature of the council.
1 Mansi, XXVIII. 1117 sqq., gives Clement's letter of abdication. For an account of Benedict's two successors and their election, see Valois, IV. 455-478.
2 Fillastre's Journal, p. 224. For the tracts hostile to the cardinals, see Finke, Fomchungen, p. 81 sq.
3 Richental, p. 116 sqq., gives a detailed account of the walling up of the Kaufhaus and the election, and of the ceremonies attending Martin's coronation. He also, p. 123, tells the pretty story that, before the electors met, ravens, jackdaws, and other birds of the sort gathered in great numbers on the
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