Three Popes

At one point, there were three people claiming to be the Bishop of Rome.

One in Avignon claimed to be Benedict XIII. One made Pope Rome was Gregory XII. One proclaimed Pope at Pisa was John XXIII.

All of them had supporters and detractors. In 1415, Sigismund of Luxemburg tried to end the mess by reconciliation. He had Gregory and John both agree to hold a council. John wanted Rome, but it was done in Constance. John fled and was accursed of Sodomy, Piracy, and Heresy. He was sheltered by Frederick von Hapsburg, Duke of Austria, which later cost the duke his county in Switzerland.

Let's suppose John XXIII was recognized by England, France, Portugal, Bohemia, Denmark, Castile, most of Northern Italy, Venice and parts of the Holy Roman Empire. Benedict XIII recognized by Aragon, Sicily and Scotland. Gregory XII is favored by Poland, the Palatinate, the princes of Bavaria (but not the Bishops), and Naples. That list is actually close to OTL.

Then John attends and agrees to step down without a fuss. OK... does anything interesting happen in the next 3 decades?
 
Well if he steps down, wouldn't it go back to two popes?

The agreement was this. John XXIII calls for a council. Gregory XII endorsed it so that it has more legitimacy. It was understood the third one would come. All were supposed to come and either agree on one or all agree to step down.

Gregory XII had his deputies authorized to hand in his resignation and refused to go claiming a temporary sickness that prevented him from going and certainly didn't immobilize him in his later life. Antipope Benedict XIII sent representatives to denounce John as a heretic and Gregory as putting his court before the Church. John XXIII attended and... ran away in the middle of it. The council agreed to make Martin V (or was it X?) as Pope and neither John XXIII or Gregory XII did anything to dispute that, although it took three years for them to relinquish some holy relics. Benedict XIII continued to insist he was Pope, but lost a lot support immediately after John and Gregory stepped down and his line of Antipopes continued for 3 more claimants before finally dying down.

If he just steps down, it goes back to two Popes. If he actually does his part of the agreement, it might go to Martin anyways. There are a few things that may conceivable be altered by the POD. One is that Martin doesn't waste time trying to reclaim some relics. Another is that John might end up more comfortable at the end of his life and might be able to help out his family (I think he had a brother). Another is that the Hapsbrugs don't lose their ancestral counties, although this means they have one main demesne (Austria) and 3 exclaves that are fertile, but otherwise useless. So useless it had been three generations since they held court there (in personal unions often court would be held in each title a few times for each life)
 
The agreement was this. John XXIII calls for a council. Gregory XII endorsed it so that it has more legitimacy. It was understood the third one would come. All were supposed to come and either agree on one or all agree to step down.

Gregory XII had his deputies authorized to hand in his resignation and refused to go claiming a temporary sickness that prevented him from going and certainly didn't immobilize him in his later life. Antipope Benedict XIII sent representatives to denounce John as a heretic and Gregory as putting his court before the Church. John XXIII attended and... ran away in the middle of it. The council agreed to make Martin V (or was it X?) as Pope and neither John XXIII or Gregory XII did anything to dispute that, although it took three years for them to relinquish some holy relics. Benedict XIII continued to insist he was Pope, but lost a lot support immediately after John and Gregory stepped down and his line of Antipopes continued for 3 more claimants before finally dying down.

If he just steps down, it goes back to two Popes. If he actually does his part of the agreement, it might go to Martin anyways. There are a few things that may conceivable be altered by the POD. One is that Martin doesn't waste time trying to reclaim some relics. Another is that John might end up more comfortable at the end of his life and might be able to help out his family (I think he had a brother). Another is that the Hapsbrugs don't lose their ancestral counties, although this means they have one main demesne (Austria) and 3 exclaves that are fertile, but otherwise useless. So useless it had been three generations since they held court there (in personal unions often court would be held in each title a few times for each life)
Best analysis of the Council of Constance that I've seen.
 
If Martin is not widely elected and the schism still not considered overcome, I guess conciliarist ideas would be relatively stronger than IOTl what with papal authority still being problematic.

Also, if the Council of Constance fails early on or is divided, Jan Hus' execution may be butterflied.

So, lots of colourful butterflies.
 
Well, let's say that John attends without a fuss. I don't think this affects Martin V. I'm going to assume from 75% to 100% support for him. It doesn't sound like a huge difference but I mentioned three immediate differences that could conceivably lead to more butterflies.
 
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