Antipope John XXIII

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For the twentieth-century pope, see Pope John XXIII.

Cardinal-Deacon
Personal details
Born
Baldassarre Cossa

c. 1365
Procida, Kingdom of Naples
Died1419 (aged 53–54)
Florence, Republic of Florence
BuriedTomb of Antipope John XXIII
Alma materUniversity of Bologna
Coat of armsJohn XXIII's coat of arms
Other popes and antipopes named John

Baldassarre Cossa (c. 1370 – 22 December 1419) was Pisan antipope John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church regards him as an antipope, as he opposed Pope Gregory XII whom the Catholic Church recognizes as the rightful successor of Saint Peter. He was also an opponent of Antipope Benedict XIII, who was recognized by the French clergy and monarchy as the legitimate Pontiff.

Cossa was born in the

Cardinal Bishop of Frascati
by Pope Martin V.

Early life

Baldassarre Cossa was born on the island of Procida in the Kingdom of Naples, the son of Giovanni Cossa, lord of Procida.[1] Initially he followed a military career, taking part in the Angevin-Neapolitan war. His two brothers were sentenced to death for piracy by Ladislaus of Naples.[2]

He studied law at the

Cardinal deacon of Saint Eustachius in 1402 and Papal legate in Romagna in 1403. Johann Peter Kirsch describes Cossa as "utterly worldly-minded, ambitious, crafty, unscrupulous, and immoral, a good soldier but no churchman".[4] At this time Cossa also had some links with local robber bands, which were often used to intimidate his rivals and attack carriages. These connections added to his influence and power in the region.[5]

Role in the Western Schism

Council of Pisa

Cardinal Cossa was one of the seven

papacy
.

Election to the papacy

Alexander suddenly died while he was with Cardinal Baldassare Cossa at Bologna on the night of 3–4 May 1410. On 25 May 1410, Cossa was consecrated a pope taking the name John XXIII. He had become an

Poland.[6] John XXIII made the Medici Bank the bank of the papacy, contributing considerably to the family's wealth and prestige.[7]

The main enemy of John was Ladislaus of Naples, who protected Gregory XII in Rome. Following his election as pope, John spent a year in Bologna and then joined forces with Louis II of Anjou to march against Ladislaus. An initial victory proved short-lived and Ladislaus retook Rome in May 1413, forcing John to flee to Florence.[4] In Florence he met Sigismund, King of the Romans. Sigismund wanted to end the schism and urged John to call a general council. John did so with hesitation, at first trying to have the council held in Italy (rather than in a German Imperial City, as Sigismund wanted). The Council of Constance was convened on 30 October 1414. During the third session, rival Pope Gregory XII authorized the council as well. The council resolved that all three popes should abdicate and a new pope be elected.[8]

Flight from the Council of Constance

In March, John escaped from Constance disguised as a postman.

Swiss Confederation
.

In the meantime, Antipope John XXIII and Frederick fled further downriver along the Rhine to the town of

Ludwig III, Elector Palatine caught up with them. He convinced Frederick that he stood to lose too much by harbouring the fugitive pope, and the Austrian duke agreed to give himself and John up and return to Constance.[9]

Deposition

During his absence, John was deposed by the council, and upon his return he was tried for heresy,

Ludwig III, Elector Palatine, who imprisoned him for several months in Heidelberg and Mannheim
.

The last remaining claimant in Avignon, Benedict XIII, refused to resign and was excommunicated. Martin V was elected as new pope in 1417.

Death and burial

Tomb of Antipope John XXIII.

Cossa was freed in 1418 after a heavy ransom was paid by the Medici.

Cardinal Bishop of Frascati
. Cossa died only a few months later.

The Medici oversaw the construction of

Battistero di San Giovanni
in Florence. Pope Martin V protested in vain against the inscription on the sarcophagus: "John the former pope".

J.P. Kirsch remarks that "Undeniably secular and ambitious, his moral life was not above reproach, and his unscrupulous methods in no wise accorded with the requirements of his high office ... the heinous crimes of which his opponents in the council accused him were certainly gravely exaggerated."[4] One historian concluded that John was "a great man in temporal things, but a complete failure and worthless in spiritual things".[2]

Fictional depictions

John is portrayed by

Medici: Masters of Florence.[11]

The 1932 thriller Safe Custody by Dornford Yates, references John. Listing the members of an objectionable family, a character in the story says, "Then we come to his nephew—a promising lad of fifteen. He lies, steals, smells, assaults the servants and abuses any animal which he is satisfied will not retaliate. If Gibbon may be believed, Pope John the Twenty-third as a stripling must have resembled him".

In 1983 American political satirist and novelist Richard Condon wrote A Trembling Upon Rome, a novel of historical fiction about the life of Baldassare Cossa.

Russian writer Dmitry Balashov wrote the novel Baltazar Kossa (Бальтазар Косса) about Antipope John XXIII.

Numbering issues

Main article:
Pope John (numbering)

He should not be confused with

John XX, since that number was skipped due to an error by Medieval Pope John XXI
; this is why Gibbon refers to the antipope John as John XXII.

See also

References

  1. ^ Levillain 2002, p. 851.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7661-7904-2
    .
  3. ^ Greenblatt 2011, Chapter 7.
  4. ^ a b c d Kirsch, Johann Peter. "John XXIII." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 2 January 2016
  5. ^ Greenblatt 2011, p. 158.
  6. ^ Lightbown, R.W. (1980) Donatello & Michelozzo. London: Harvey Miller. pp. 4–5.
  7. ^ a b "Popes and Prelates", Mediateca di Palazzo Medici
  8. ^ a b Miranda, Salvador. "Cossa, Baldassare", The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
  9. ^ Brandmüller, Walter. Das Konzil von Konstanz, 1414–1418 (Paderborn, 1991)[ISBN missing]
  10. ^ Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, New York: The Heritage Press, 1946, vol. 3, p. 2417
  11. ^ "Medici: Masters of Florence". Internet Movie Database. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.

Sources
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