*18 J O 
that the pope, depending on the late treaty, was lulled 
into complete fecurity, he no longer delayed the execu¬ 
tion of his purpofes. Collecting his army unexpectedly 
upon the borders of the ecclefiadical territories, and reach¬ 
ing Rome by a forced march in the night, he broke down 
the wall in an uninhabited part of the city, and entered 
it with all his forces before the citizens knew of his ap¬ 
proach. The pope, however, and the cardinals, had the 
good fortune to efcape, though clofely purfued ; but the 
city and the Romans were treated with the mod: barba¬ 
rous feverity. Befides the (laughter and plunder ufually 
attending the dorm of an enemy, feveral prelates were by 
the king’s order inhumanly ma(Tacred in their houfes ; 
fome of the principal nobility were either publicly exe¬ 
cuted, or condemned to the galleys; the churches, and 
even the Lateran and Vatican, were dripped of all their 
rich ornaments; and the garrifon of the cadle of St. An¬ 
gelo, which, though it held out for a few days, was obliged 
to fubmit, were all put to the fword ; and all thofe who 
had ferved in the late war againd the king, and fell into 
his hands, underwent the fame fate. The pope, after hav¬ 
ing made his efcape from Rome, never halted till he 
reached Viterbo; whence, after the red of a few days, he 
continued his flight to Florence. Here he continued till 
the latter end of the year; when, that he might not ex- 
pofe his friends to a war with his enemy, who threatened 
to invade their territories if they afforded him any longer 
an afylum, he retired to Bologna. From that place he 
wrote to all the Chriflian princes, acquainting them with 
the perfidious and cruel conduct of Ladiflaus, and implor¬ 
ing their proteftion againd him; and to Sigifmund he 
lent legates, who, befules applying to him for proteftion, 
were indrutted to concert with him the time and place 
for the meeting of a general council, to put a dop to the. 
reigning evils, and to unite the whole church under one 
head. The choice of the place being referred to the em¬ 
peror, to John’s inexpreflible mortification he fixed upon 
Condance, where the pope knew he (hould be entirely in 
the power of the emperor; but, as he flood fo much in 
need of his proteRion and favour, he thought it prudent 
to acquiefce. The time was alfo fixed for the id of No¬ 
vember, in the year 1414. With thefe circumflances the 
emperor acquainted the whole Chriflian world by an edkff, 
in which he promifed a fafe conduct to all, without ex¬ 
ception, who (hould repair to it, in coming to Condance, 
during their flay there, and in their return from that 
place. In the mean time the pope and the emperor met 
at Placentia ; whence they removed to Lodi, where they 
had frequent conferences together; and the pope ilfued a 
bull, confirming the emperor’s edi£t relative to the place 
and time of the council’s meeting. Having fettled every 
thing refpefting the opening of the council at Condance, 
they took leave of each other, and the pope repaired to 
fpend the winter at Mantua. 
In the fpring of 1414, he received the very acceptable 
intelligence of the death of his inveterate enemy Ladif¬ 
laus. Being thus unexpeftedly delivered from liis mod 
dreaded foe, and flanding no longer in need of the em¬ 
peror’s protection, as the ecclefiaflical territory was, from 
the experience of the late enemy’s oppreflions and cruel¬ 
ties, ready to return under his obedience; John heartily 
repented of having conl'ented to the affembling of a gene¬ 
ral council, efpecially at a place where he (hould be en¬ 
tirely in the power of the emperor. He alfo was alarmed 
by the declaration which Sigifmund had made in his let¬ 
ters to the princes, that his intention in calling the gene¬ 
ral council was to have it determined by the church, 
which of the three, flyling themfelves popes, or whether ei¬ 
ther of them, had a jufl title and right to that dignity. He 
was therefore Arongly inclined to return to Rome, and to 
fend a legate to reprefent his perfon in the council. The 
cardinals, however, having obferved to him, that not only 
was his honour at flake, but that, by the breach of his 
engagement with the emperor to meet him at Conftance, 
lie would incur his high difpleafure, and from a friend 
H N. 
convert him into a mod dangerous enemy; he refolved* 
at all events, to afiiff at the council in perfon. Before his 
departure for Condance, however, he infided on the ma¬ 
gi (Irate s of that city taking an oath, by which they ac¬ 
knowledged him as the only true and lawful pope ; en¬ 
gaged that he (hould be under no kind of reftraint, but 
allowed full liberty to flay and depart at his pleafure; that 
his jurifdiftion (hould be freely exercifed by him and his 
officers, both in fpirituals and temporals. See. 
The pope arrived at Condance on the 29th of Oftober, 
1414, and opened the council on the id of the following 
November. After feveral private conferences it was 
agreed upon, that all prefent at the council (hould be 
comprized under the four principal nations, namely, the 
Italian, the Englilh, the French, and the German; and 
by thefe nations it was concluded in their refpeftive af- 
femblies, that an end could by no other means be put to 
the fchifm in the church, but by the voluntary refignation 
of the three competitors for the papal dignity. This was 
formally notified to the pope, who was earnedly entreated 
to agree to it, as the only means of redoring a lading 
peace to the church. To the great furprife of the whole 
affembly, John confented to it at once; and, wdien a form 
of refignation was prefented to him drawn up by the de¬ 
puties of the nations, he fwore to it in full council. This 
apparently ready compliance of the pope with what the 
council propofed to him, was chiefly owing to a memorial 
which had been prefented to the council againd him, 
containing a long lid of the mod atrocious crimes, with 
which he was charged, and which unexceptionable wit- 
neffes were prepared to prove. The deputies of the na¬ 
tions, taking advantage of the fright which this memorial 
had created in the pope’s mind, had extorted from him 
his confent to a refignation ; but they were foon convinced 
that he never intended to obferve what he had folemnly 
promifed and fworn. For, finding that the emperor, as 
well as the deputies of the nations, infided upon his actu¬ 
ally refigning, he put it off for fome time, and, applying 
to his friend Frederic duke of Auflria, was by his means 
enabled to efcape from Condance. To favour that mea- 
fure, the duke repaired to that city, where he gave a 
tournament; and, while the whole city was taken up with 
it, the pope, in the difguife of a groom, rode through the 
crowd upon a (habby horfe in the dulk of the evening, 
and got undifeovered to Schafl’haufen. He flattered him- 
felf that by his abfence the council would be diffolved ; 
but be was difappointed, and to his great mortification 
found that they not only continued their feflions, but de¬ 
clared that a general council was fuperior to the pope, 
and that its determinations were valid whether he was 
prefent or abfent, whether he approved or difapproved of 
them. The emperor determined to fupport the council; 
and, having received certain information that the duke of 
Audria had been acceffary to the pope’s flight, he put that 
prince under the ban of the empire, and prepared to in¬ 
vade his dominions. Upon receiving intelligence of thefe 
circumflances, the pope thought himfelf no longer fafe at 
Schaffhaufen, and removed from thence in great hade to 
Lauffenburgh ; and, as foon as he had quitted Schafl’hau¬ 
fen, declared, in the prefence of a notary and witnefles, 
that every thing which he had fworn at Condance was 
the effeft of fear, and that therefore he was not obliged 
to obferve his oath. Alarmed by the progrefs which the 
imperial forces were now making in the territories of the 
duke of Audria, he not long afterwards removed, firfi to 
Friburg, and then to Brifac. The pope notified his fe- 
cond flight by a bull addreffed to all the faithful; in 
which he declared, that he had left Schaffhaufen under 
the apprehenfion of being put under an arrefl, and thus 
being prevented from executing freely what he had pro¬ 
mifed. Upon this the council deputed a folemn embaffy 
to wait upon him, at the head of which were two cardi¬ 
nals, who were indrufted to invite him back to Condance, 
and to affure him, in the name of the council, and of the 
emperor, that no violence (hould be offered to him; but 
