deciding which was the true successor
of Peter was so great that not only were the kingdoms of Europe divided
in their allegiance, but doctors of the church and canonized saints
could be found among the supporters of either line. There can be no
doubt that respect for the pontificate greatly suffered by the schism,
which was in some respects a direct preparation for the greater
division brought about by the Protestant secession.

[Sidenote: Councils--Pisa, 1409, Constance, 1414-18]

The attempt to end the schism at the Council of Pisa resulted only in
the election of a third pope. The situation was finally dealt with by
the Council of Constance which deposed two of the popes and secured the
voluntary abdication of the third. The synod further strengthened the
church by executing the heretics Huss and Jerome of Prague, and by
passing decrees intended to put the government of the church in the
hands of representative assemblies. It asserted that it {15} had power
directly from Christ, that it was supreme in matters of faith, and in
matters of discipline so far as they affected the schism, and that the
pope could not dissolve it without its own consent. By the decree
_Frequens_ it provided for the regular summoning of councils at short
intervals. Beyond this, other efforts to reform the morals of the
clergy proved abortive, for after long discussion nothing of importance
was done.

For the next century the policy of the popes was determined by the wish
to assert their superiority over the councils. The Synod of Basle
[Sidenote: Basle 1431-43] reiterated all the claims of Constance, and
passed a number of laws intended to diminish the papal authority and to
deprive the pontiff of much of his ill-gotten revenues--annates, fees
for investiture, and some other taxes. It was successful for a time
because protected by the governments of France and Germany, for, though
dissolved by Pope Eugene IV in 1433, it refused to listen to his
command and finally extorted from him a bull ratifying the conciliar
claims to supremacy.

In the end, however, the popes triumphed. The bull _Execrabilis_
[Sidenote: 1458] denounced as a damnable abuse the appeal to a future
council, and the _Pastor Aeternus_ [Sidenote: 1516] reasserted in
sweeping terms the supremacy of the pope, repealing all decrees of
Constance and Basle to the contrary, as well as other papal bulls.

[Sidenote: The secularization of the papacy]

At Rome the pope