A MEETING OF THE UNIVERSITY AND CLERGY IS HELD ON THE XXIII. OF NOVEMBER, IN THE CHURCH OF ST BERNARD AT PARIS, ON THE STATE OF THE CHURCH.
WHEN peace had been established, a large congregation was held, by order of the university, on the 23d of November, in the church of the Bernardins in Paris,—to which were called, the bishop of Puy in Auvergne, many other prelates, and in general all bachelors and licentiates in canon and civil law, although in former times doctors only had been summoned.
This assembly was holden at the request of the archbishop of Pisa, and other legates from the pope, on the subject of tythes, the vacant benefices, and the effects of the dead. But it was opened by the adoption of a solemn ordinance, which had been ordained during the papacy of Pietro della Luna, respecting the liberties of the french church, in the year 1406, and since confirmed by the king, his great council, and the parliament, namely, that the said church shall be maintained in all its ancient privileges. It was thus freed from all tythes, procurations, and subsidies, or taxes whatever. And as the object of these legates was to establish the above impositions, it was resolved that the aforesaid ordinance should be strictly conformed to; and the more effectually to have it observed, they sent deputations to the king, to his council, and to the parliament, to whom the guard of this ordinance belonged, to obviate the inconveniences that might follow should any article of it be infringed.
It was also concluded, that should the legates attempt, by menaces of ecclesiastical censures or otherwise, to compel payment of any tribute, an appeal should be made from them to a general council of the church.
Item, should any collectors or sub-collectors exact subsidies to the church, they shall be arrested, and punished by confiscation of property, and, when they have no property, by imprisonment.
It was also concluded, that to settle this matter, the king’s attorney, and other lords, should be requested to join the university. But it was at last resolved, that should the pope plead an evident want of means to support the church, a council should be called, and a charitable subsidy granted, the which should be collected by certain discreet persons selected by the council, and the amount distributed according to the directions of the said council.
On the ensuing Monday was held a royal sessions, at which the duke of Acquitaine, the archbishop of Pisa, and the other legates from the pope, the rector and the members of the university were present. In this meeting, the archbishop declared, that what he demanded was due to the apostolic chamber, by every right, divine, canon, civil and natural, and that it was sacred and simple justice,—adding, that whoever should deny this right was scarcely a Christian.
The university was greatly displeased, and said, that such expressions were derogatory to the king’s honour, to that of the university, and consequently of the whole kingdom. From what had passed, another general assembly was holden on Sunday the 30th of November, in the place where it had been held the preceding Sunday; and it was then determined that the university should send a deputation to the king, to lay before him the words uttered by the legates, and to demand that they should be publicly recanted by them. It was proposed, that in case they should refuse so to do, the faculty of theologians should bring accusations against them, on the articles of faith, and they should be punished according to the exigence of the case. It was also resolved, that the university of Paris should write letters to all the other universities in the realm, and to the prelates and clergy, to invite them to unite in their opposition to such tenets.
Many other things were agitated in this meeting, which I pass over for the sake of brevity. It was, however, finally concluded to send an answer to the pope, that he could not have any subsidy granted him in the way which had been proposed. The meeting came to the resolution, that the university of Paris should require from the archbishop of Rheims, and those of the members of the king’s government who, as members, had given their oaths to the university, to join in the measures they had adopted, otherwise they should be expelled the university.
It should be known, that while these things were passing, the legates, fearful of the consequences, hastily left Paris, without taking leave, as is usually done. The holy father, however, sent ambassadors to the king, to demand payment of the tenth imposed on the french church. When they declared the object of their mission to the council of state, and in the presence of the duke of Acquitaine, they said, that not only was the french church bound to pay this subsidy to the pope, but all other churches which were under his obedience,—first, from the divine law in Leviticus, which declares that all deacons shall pay to the high priest a tenth of their possessions,—and, 2dly, by natural and positive law.
Whilst these things were passing, the university came to the council, and on the morrow a congregation was held in the monastery of the Bernardins. It was then resolved that the manner of demanding this subsidy should be reprobated, for that it was iniquitous, and contrary to the decree of the king and his council in the year 1406, for the preservation of the franchises of the french church. The university insisted on this decree being preserved inviolate, and declared, that if the pope or his legates attempted to constrain any person to pay this subsidy by censures of the church, it would appeal to a general council on this subject. Should any of the new ministers attempt any thing against this decree, the university would appeal to the king and the whole council of state; and should any members of the university urge the payment of this tenth, they should be expelled; and if any persons, guilty of the above offence, should have any property of their own, the university would require that the said property should be confiscated to the king’s use, otherwise they should be imprisoned.
Should the holy father adopt the manner of raising this subsidy by way of charity, it would be agreeable to the university that the king should call together the prelates of his realm,—first, to consider what subjects should be discussed in the general council of the church to be holden on this occasion; secondly, to deliberate on the demands made by the ambassadors respecting the tenth. Should it be determined for the pope to receive this subsidy, the university expressed its wish that some sufficient person should be deputed from this kingdom to receive the amount of the same, for the peace and union of the greek and latin churches, and from England for aid of the holy land, and the preaching the gospel to all the world; for such were the purposes for which the legates declared the holy father raised this subsidy. The university solicited the members of the parliament to unite themselves with them, for it was in support of their decree made on the demand of the king’s attorney-general.
Juvenal des Ursins66 was deputed by the university to reply to what the pope’s ambassadors had advanced before the council; but at length the archbishop of Pisa, perceiving he could not otherwise gain his object, humbled himself much before the university, and spoke privately to some of the principal members to prevail on them to assist him. However, on the 28th day of January, it was declared, that no subsidy whatever should be granted to the pope without the previous consent of the french church; and the deliberation on this matter was deferred to the 10th of February, when many prelates were summoned to give their opinions thereon. Through the active diligence of the university, the legates could not obtain consent that a subsidy in any shape should be granted to the pope, although the greater part of the lords, and in particular the princes, were very agreeable to it.
While these matters were transacting at Paris, the holy father sent letters to the king of France and to the university, to say that the Florentines refused any longer to obey him, from fear of king Ladislaus; that this king Ladislaus was assembling an immense army, as the pope wrote word, to conquer Rome and the adjacent country, that he might place in the chair of St Peter a pope according to his pleasure. Should this happen, a more ruinous schism might befal the church than the former one,—to obviate which, he requested from the king, the princes, and university, aid and support. This was, through the intercession of the archbishop of Pisa, complied with, and in the manner that shall be hereafter related.