Pope Martin V

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jean Franczon Allarmet de Brogny
Created cardinal12 June 1405
by Innocent VII
Personal details
Born
Oddone Colonna

January/February 1369
Died20 February 1431(1431-02-20) (aged 61–62)
Rome, Papal States
Coat of armsMartin V's coat of arms
Other popes named Martin
Papal styles of
Pope Martin V
His Holiness
Spoken styleYour Holiness
Religious styleHoly Father
Posthumous styleNone

Pope Martin V (

Latin: Martinus V; Italian: Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431.[1] His election effectively ended the Western Schism
of 1378–1417. He is the last pope to date to take on the pontifical name "Martin".

Biography

Oddone Colonna was born at

Lady of Piombino
between 1441 and 1445.

Oddone studied law at the

in 1405.

In 1409 he took part in the

Gregory XII. Oddone was with John XXIII's entourage at the Council of Constance and followed him in his escape at Schaffhausen on 21 March 1415. Later he returned to Constance and took part in the process leading to the deposition of John XXIII.[4]

Papacy

Election

After deposing

cardinals and 30 delegates of the council. He was ordained a priest on 13 November 1417, and consecrated bishop the next day.[3]

Martin left Constance at the close of the council (May 1418), but travelled slowly through Italy and lingered at

, who would later marry the pope's niece Caterina Colonna.

Pope Martin's election as pope. Chronicle of Ulrich of Richenthal.

In exchange for the recognition of

Joan II of Naples, Martin obtained the restitution of Benevento, several fiefs in the Kingdom of Naples for his relatives and, most important of all, an agreement that Muzio Attendolo, then hired by the Neapolitans, should leave Rome.[5]

After a long stay in Florence while these matters were arranged, Martin was able to enter Rome in September 1420. He at once set to work establishing order and restoring the dilapidated churches, palaces, bridges, and other public structures. For this reconstruction he engaged some famous masters of the Tuscan school and helped instigate the Roman Renaissance.[5]

Faced with competing plans for general reform offered by various nations, Martin V submitted a counter-scheme and entered into negotiations for

separate concordats, for the most part vague and illusory, with the Holy Roman Empire, England, France and Spain
.

Hussite Wars

By 1415

Beghards arrived attracted by Bohemia's reputation for religious liberty.[6]

In 1419 King Wenceslaus IV, who had resisted what he considered interference in his kingdom, commanded that all ejected Catholic beneficiaries should be reinstated in their offices and revenues. Prague prepared for armed resistance. Jan Želivský, an extreme anti-Catholic preacher of Prague, led a procession to the town hall, where under the leadership of Jan Žižka of Trocnov, a noble of southern Bohemia, the building was stormed and people found inside were thrown out of the windows on to the spears and swords of the processionists, and hacked to pieces. In Kuttenberg, hundreds of captured Hussites were thrown by the miners into the shafts of disused silver mines. King Wenceslaus swore death to all the rebels, but died of a stroke in August, 1419. The next months were marked by deeds of violence; many citizens, especially Germans, had to flee.[6]

Wenceslaus was succeeded by his brother Sigismund, King of the Romans and King of Hungary, who prepared to restore order. On 1 March 1420, Pope Martin V issued a Bull inviting all Christians to unite in a crusade against the Wycliffites (Lollards), Hussites, and other heretics.[6] In 1428, the pope commanded that the remains of Wycliffe, who was posthumously declared a heretic in 1415, be dug up and burned. The crusades against the Lollards, however, were ultimately unsuccessful.

Crusades

According to Burton, Pope Martin authorized a crusade against Africa in 1418 in relation to the slave trade.[7]

In addition to the Hussite Crusades, Martin declared a Crusade against the Ottoman Empire in 1420 in response to the rising pressure from the Ottoman Turks. In 1419–1420 Martin had diplomatic contacts with the Byzantine emperor Manuel II, who was invoking a council in Constantinople. On 12 July 1420 the Pope conceded to attach an indulgence to anyone who would contribute to a crusade against the latter, which would be led by Sigismund, King of the Romans.[4]

War against Braccio da Montone

The main concern of Martin's pontificate from 1423 was the resumed war against Braccio da Montone. The following year, the combined Papal-Neapolitan army, led by

Battle of L'Aquila (2 June 1424); Braccio died a few days later.[4]

In the same year Martin obtained a reduction of the autonomy of the commune of Bologna, whose finances would be thenceforth under the authority of a papal treasurer.[4] He also ended the war with Braccio da Montone in exchange for his recognition as vicar[4] and reconciled with the deposed John XXIII, to whom he gave the title of Cardinal of Tusculum.

Annuity contracts

Canon law prohibited interest upon a loan. To avoid this, annuities were paid, interest in effect but not in name. The dispute as to the legality of annuity contracts was brought before Martin V in 1423. He held that purchased annuities, which were redeemable at the option of the seller, were lawful.[8][9] When the lawfulness of annuities was established, they were widely used in commerce; it seems that city states used them to raise compulsory loans from their citizens.

Periodic ecumenical councils

A decree of the Council of Constance (

Council of Basel
" in February 1431 shortly before Martin's death.

Founding of the University of Louvain

On December 9, 1425, Martin founded the

University of Louvain or Universitas Lovaniensis in Leuven (also known as "Louvain" in both English and French), a town in what was then the Duchy of Brabant, and what is modern day Belgium
.

Death

Martin V died in Rome of a

Personal views

Position on Jews

The excitement of the Church during the Hussite movement rendered the Jews apprehensive, and through

Benedict XIII. The deputation succeeded in its mission.[10]

Position on slavery

During the Middle Ages, slavery had fallen out of usage in Europe. The Church denounced the enslavement of Christians. However, voyages and discoveries brought other continents, where slavery still existed, into European consciousness, raising the question of whether slavery of unbelievers and outside of Europe was permitted. According to Burton, Martin authorized a crusade against Africa in 1418, and this, coupled with a later bull of

Prince Henry of Portugal.[15] According to Koschorke, Martin supported colonial expansion.[16] Davidson (1961) argues that Martin's injunction against slavery was not a condemnation of slavery itself, but rather driven through fear of "infidel power".[17]

Norman Housley finds it "... hard to avoid the conclusion that the pope was agreeing to whatever was asked of him by the king. ... [P]olitical weakness compelled the Renaissance Papacy to adopt an acquiescent and unchallenging position when approached for requests for privileges in favour of these ventures."[18]

Residences

During his permanence in Rome, Martin moved his residence from the Lateran to

Marino, Gallicano
and others).

Numbering

When the second Pope to take the name Martin was elected in 1281, there was confusion over how many Popes had taken the name before. It was believed then that there were three, so the new Pope of 1281 became Martin IV. But, in reality, those believed to be Martin II and Martin III were actually named Marinus I and Marinus II, although they are sometimes still referred to as "Martin II" and "Martin III". This has advanced the numbering of all subsequent Popes Martin by two. Popes Martin IV–V were actually the second and third popes by that name.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Kelly, J.N.D.. (1996). The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. Oxford.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ His date of birth can be established basing on the following contemporary reports:
  3. ^ a b "Miranda, Salvador. "Colonna, Oddone", Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church".
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "MARTINO V, papa in "Dizionario Biografico"". www.treccani.it.
  5. ^ a b c Ott, Michael. "Pope Martin V." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 25 July 2014
  6. ^ a b c "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Hussites". www.newadvent.org.
  7. ^ a b Burton 2007, p. 197.
  8. ^ Lumley's Treatise upon the Law of Annuities and Rent Charges, 1st ed, 1833
  9. Pope Calixtus III
    , preserved 25 ATR 388 in the Corp Jur Canon Extra III tit 5.
  10. ^ ""Popes, The", Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906".
  11. ^ Davis 1988, p. 100.
  12. ^ Setton 1978, p. 46.
  13. .
  14. ^ Davidson 1961, p. 41.
  15. ^ Semmes 1996 citing Thompson, Vincent Bakpetu (1987). The Making of the African Diaspora in the Americas, 1441-1900. New York: Longman.
  16. .
  17. ^ Davidson 1961, p. 100 fn 8.
  18. ^ Housley, Norman. Religious Warfare in Europe 1400–1536, p.182, Oxford University Press, 2002

References

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Gregory XII (Roman)
Benedict XIII (Avignon)
John XXIII (Pisan)
Pope
14 November 1417 – 20 February 1431
Succeeded by