The Papacy in the Late Middle Ages

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Pope Martin V

Martin V (1417-1431)

With the election of Oddone Colonna as Pope Martin V, the Great Schism was over, though some weren't ready to admit it. Martin was elected agreeing to all the stipulations of the Council of Constance, but he spent most of his pontificate finding ways to re-assert papal supremacy and to undercut the authority of the councils.

He was a career bureaucrat, serving in a variety of offices in and out of the Curia. At the time of his election, he wasn't even a priest, so he had to be promoted through the orders. He was elected pope on 11 November and didn't become a bishop until 14 November.

That he would succeed as pope was by no means assured. Benedict XIII was still holding out, as was John XXIII. It would be years before the last of the rivals finally submitted. After all, Pisa had not settled the Schism, either.

Even getting to Rome (Martin was in Constance at the time of his election) showed the difficulties that beset the papacy in the wake of the Schism. Italy had largely passed out of papal control. Martin had to negotiate with Naples to gain access to Rome, for Joanna of Naples had troops there. The pope had to recognize her claim to be called Queen. But Martin couldn't even get close to Rome until he had settled with various condotierri, especially with Bracco di Montone, who controlled much of central Italy. So it wasn't until fall of 1420 that Pope Martin entered Rome.

Martin came from a prominent Roman family, the Colonna, and once in Rome he made sure his family prospered. This can and should be called nepotism, but it was also practical politics. Martin knew he could rely on family members, and there was urgent need for reliable men. The Colonna had fierce rivals, most notably the Orsini, so some otherwise-qualified men could not be used because of ancient feuds.

Internally, Martin's main accomplishments were to begin to bring at least some measure of order to a historically disorderly city, to rebuild crumbling buildings and to erect new ones; in short, to take care of basic services within Rome. Outside the city, he managed to assert at least some measure of control and authority in the Papal States.

Perhaps the most difficult problem, though, was the relationship with the councils. The bull Frequens stated plainly that the pope was to call a council in five years' time. This set the stage for a showdown. Would the pope rule Christendom? Or would a Council rule, with the pope as an executive officer, implementing the Council's will? Martin was nowhere near strong enough to resist a Council that was well organized, but he was crafty. He called the council, just as he was supposed to. It actually met, at Pavia, in 1423. But he used every means at his disposal to make sure that it was poorly attended. Then plague struck the city and Martin transferred it to Siena. By that time, so few prelates were in attendance, Martin was able to dissolve it. He called another , but managed to get it delayed and so the next council (Basel) didn't meet until the pontificate of Eugenius.

By that time, Martin had been pope for well over a decade, and the conciliar movement had lost at least a bit of its focus. Martin was not a great reformer, but he squelched at least some abuses in Rome and generally presented a picture of a respectable pope doing a respectable job. If that was the case, what need of a council?