The Western Schism Splits the Papacy
Two, then three, rival popes excommunicate each other while Europe picks sides
Quick facts
- Rival claimants
- Urban VI (Rome), Clement VII (Avignon), later Alexander V (Pisa)
- Duration
- 1378 to 1417
- Resolved by
- Council of Constance, election of Martin V
What happened
After nearly seventy years with the papacy based in Avignon, Pope Gregory XI moved the papal court back to Rome in 1377 and died there the following year. Roman crowds pressured the cardinals into electing an Italian, Urban VI, but Urban's violent temper and reformist zeal quickly alienated the same cardinals who had chosen him. Most of them fled Rome for Anagni and, still with Urban reigning, elected a rival pope on 20 September 1378: Robert of Geneva, who took the name Clement VII and set up a second papal court back in Avignon. France, Castile, and Scotland backed Clement; England and much of the German Empire backed Urban. A third line of claimants was added in 1409 when the Council of Pisa tried to end the split and instead elected Alexander V, leaving three men simultaneously claiming to be pope.
Why it matters
For nearly forty years, Latin Christendom had no single, undisputed pope, which normalized the idea that church councils, not the papacy alone, could hold ultimate authority. That precedent shaped how later reformers like Jan Hus, and eventually Luther, argued against Rome. The schism was resolved only by the Council of Constance in 1417, which deposed the rival claimants and elected Martin V.
How we know
The rival popes' own bulls, letters, and the records of the councils that judged them survive and have been studied by church historians for centuries; the Christian History Institute's account and the World History Encyclopedia both draw directly on this documentary record.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Jan Hus · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Christian History Institute. The Great Papal Schism · Reputable sourcechristianhistoryinstitute.org · The domain "christianhistoryinstitute.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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