Rome on the Eve of the Great Schism

Abstract

POPE GREGORY XI (1370-78) had intended from the beginning of his reign to move the papal court from Avignon to Rome. The most serious obstacles stood between intention and realization. The majority of the sacred college was French and antagonistic to the plan. The French king and his brother, the duke of Anjou, were steadfastly opposed. The security of the papal possessions on the Rhone was questionable. If Gregory moved, disorders in Avignon and the surrounding countryside might arise. Even more disheartening, the Papal States in Italy certainly provided no secure residence and source of income for the papal court. Gregory's persistence in the face of such difficulties awes the reader of his diplomatic correspondence. A strong sense of religious mission combined with the politician's feeling for the realities of power. When in December of 1375 the cities of the Papal States revolted to the cry of Liberta ! and Rome itself seemed about to follow suit, Gregory, rather than hesitate, urged on the preparations for his departure. Leaving Avignon in September 1376, he entered Rome triumphantly on 17 January 1377. Fifteen months later he was dead, and Rome became the scene of bitter rivalry between the new Italian pope (Urban VI) and the cardinalate which had elected him. The Great Schism of the church was beginning. These last fifteen months of Gregory's life have remained clouded in obscurity.' The original papal registers are gone, and all that remains are copies of a relatively small number of the pontiff's letters from 1377 and 1378.2 On the basis of the scant information contained in these letters, the researcher would despair of shedding much light on this short period, important as it is. For certainly the period in Rome immediately prior to the outbreak of the Great Schism is of the highest importance to historical understanding. Luclkily, certain individuals involved in the events of 1378 felt the historical significance of this moment. In the collection of depositions made by participants and witnesses to the events of the Schism, main stress was placed on the events after the death of Gregory, but a careful reading uncovers worthwhile amounts of information relating to the last year of the pope's life.3 Finally, remnants of court hearings in Rome during this