²⁷¹ Petrarc. Op. Epist. s. tit 7. 8.10. 11.16.—Three sonnets against the Roman Coart—Et, De Vita Solitar. 1.3. 4. c. 3.
Although the weakness of the emperor Charles IV. had opened a new career to pontifical ambition, yet the return of some degree of light, and the perpetual commotions in the city of Rome, which kept innocent VI. at Avignon, which compelled Urban V. to return to it²⁷² and which would have sent Gregory XI. back, when he died; finally, the schism with which this pope’s death was followed; all these causes concurred in depriving the Holy See of the fruits of the policy and enterprises of Clement VI.
²⁷² Urban V. when dying, expressed these words: “I firmly believe all that the Holy Catholic Church holds and teaches; and if I ever advanced doctrines contrary to the church I retract and subject them to its censure." Here is one pope, says Fleury, who did not think himself infallible.—Eccles. Hist. 1. 97, n. 18.
In 1378, the cardinals, assembled to give a successor to Gregory XI. proclaimed Barthelemi Pregnano, who took the name of Urban VI., and they a few months after withdrew to Fondi, where they elected Robert of Geneva, or Clement VII.: they pretended that the election of Urban was but a formality to appease the fury of a people which wished to control their choice. Clement was installed in Avignon: France, Spain, Scotland and Sicily acknowledged him: the rest of Europe supported Urban, who resided at Rome, and published in England a crusade against France. Urban died in 1389, and the cardinals of his party supplied his place by Peter Tomacelli or Boniface IX. On the other hand, Clement being deceased in 1394, the French cardinals raised to the pontificate Peter de Lune, a Spaniard, who was called Benedict XIII. Modes of reconciliation were proposed from all quarters; France especially evinced her anxiety to extinguish the schism: but neither of the pontiffs would lis-ten to relinquishing the tiara; and the spiritual arms directed by each pope against the other became harmless in their hands. What one did against the supporters of the other; what dangers they encountered; what cardinals, what kings, what cities, they excommunicated; how many threats, how many bulls, how many censures they published, we will not undertake to relate here: we shall only remark, that the Church of France, after useless efforts to reestablish concord, ended by withdrawing, in the year 1298, from obedience to either one or the other pontiff.: