The Papacy in the Late Middle Ages
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| Pope Gregory XI |
Pope Gregory XI (1370-1378)
The next pope was actually the nephew of a previous one, Clement VI. He was a theologian by training, having attended the University of Perugia. He was, like his uncle, quite interested in political affairs and took an energetic role on the international scene, with mixed success. Despite his interests elsehwere, though, he was drawn into Italian politics for the first half of his reign.
Cardinal Albornoz had won a great victory against the Visconti, and the family did not forget or forgive. Duke Bernabo Visconti of Milan moved against papal lands in 1370. The following year, Gregory excommunicated him. War raged and it was not until the pope hired the famous mercenary John Hawkwood that he was finally able to gain favorable terms, in 1374.
There followed a fairly remarkable series of events that ended with the pope returning to Rome. It began when the city of Florence allied with Milan in 1375. They were concerned that papal influence would grow too strong along the southern border of Tuscany. They, along with Bernabo, began stirring up anti-papal sentiments in the Papal States, with great success.
Gregory responded strongly. He placed the city under interdict and excommunicated the entire citizenry. Florence was a city of merchants, and the financial results of Gregory's actions were severe. The city fathers turned to a powerful ally: St. Catherine of Siena. They sent her to Avignon, to plead with the pope on their behalf.
She did so, without success, not least because the Florentines continued to meddle in the Papal States even as she was in Avignon asking for clemency. Sending a saint on a political mission can have unexpected results, though, and so it was in this case. While she was at Avignon, Catherine pleaded again, as she had done by letters before, that the pope should return to Rome.
In this plea, she was successful. Most of the cardinals howled with outrage—their estates were in Provence, their castles were in Provence, their connections were in Provence, they were comfortable in Provence. Rome, as everyone knew, was a dirty and dangerous and poor place, far from the French court. The French king likewise insisted the pope should stay in Avignon. But such was the persuasive power of Catherine, Gregory decided he should go.
He left Avignon on 13 September 1376. He took about four months to arrive, stopping off at Genoa and Corneto, entering Rome on 17 January.
At first, it looked like the cardinals were right. Rome was indeed a mess, and the Roman people were as difficult and unruly as they had ever been. Papal forces under Robert of Geneva tried to put down rebels and ended up perpetrating a massacre at the town of Cesena. There had been riots in Rome for one reason or another before this, and now more broke out. Gregory finally decided he needed for his own safety to get out of town, and he went to Anagni in May 1377.
By fall, order in Rome had been restored, and Gregory returned. Within a few weeks, he was dead. He was negotiating a peace treaty at the time, after which he fully intended to return to Avignon.
But he died in Rome. And when he died, many cardinals were still in Avignon. This was the real reason for the Great Schism that followed—that there were enough cardinals in both places to create two bases of power. All the cardinals by this time were so entrenched in their power and privileges, they were determined to do whatever they needed to protect themselves.