History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 330. Episode 313, the Baltic, the Baltic Crusades, the Lithuanian Conflict Part 18, the Council of Constance Part 2

Hello again.

Last week we began our examination of the Council of Constance,

a Church Council which was convened by Pope John the 23rd with the support of Emperor Sigismund.

The primary aim of Pope John in holding this council was to resolve the Papal

schism by reducing the current number of three popes down to the much more manageable number of just one, with a single remaining

Pope being, of course, Pope John himself.

However, this scheme backfired spectacularly and Pope John attempted to run away from

Constance when allegations of corruption and mismanagement began to be leveled against him.

The fleeing Pope John was eventually captured and imprisoned. The remaining two popes were forced to abdicate and a fresh new pope

Pope, Pope Martin the 5th was elected

ending the 40-year-long papal schism.

With Pope John now out of the scene, the Council of Constance kept springing surprises for Emperor Sigismund.

Sigismund was keen to use the Council to resolve the unrest caused by the crackdown on the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia.

Emperor Sigismund was, after all, heir to the Bohemhemian crown and he hoped that if he convinced

Jan Hoose to travel to Constance in the kingdom of Germany to present his arguments for church reform to the council, then perhaps the whole

Janghus controversy inside the Kingdom of Bohemia could be resolved once and for all.

Emperor Sigismund invited Jan Hus to address the conference and Jan Hus accepted on the condition that the emperor

grant him a promise of safe conduct to Constance and back to the kingdom of

Bohemia after he had presented his case.

Jan Hus then travelled to the Kingdom of Germany to attend the conference,

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