Why were there three popes at the same time? - Joëlle Rollo-Koster
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For almost two millennia, the Pope has been a figure of supreme spiritual authority for Catholics around the world. But in the late 14th century, Catholics found themselves with not one, not two, but three popes. Where did this plethora of popes come from? And who among them was the genuine article? Joëlle Rollo-Koster shares the origins of this papal predicament.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
To learn more about the Schism, see the various works of Joëlle Rollo-Koster: The Great Western Schism, 1378-1417: Performing Legitimacy, Performing Unity. Cambridge, UK, 2022; Raiding Saint Peter: Empty Sees, Violence, and the Initiation of the Great Western Schism (1378); A Companion to the Great Western Schism (1378-1417); and Avignon and Its Papacy, 1309–1417: Popes, Institutions, and Society. Her page on Academia.edu also offers several articles on the topic.
Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Poets, Saints, and Visionaries of the Great Schism, 1378–1417, wrote a cultural history of the Schism, while Richard Condon’s 1983 A Trembling Upon Rome, maybe one of the few popular novels that addresses John XXIII, one of the popes of the Schism. Umberto Ecco’s The Name of the Rose remains the best popular reading on the Avignon papacy.
Modern Vatican City is explained in this short video. You can also take a look at the Vatican archives and check out the Vatican’s digital lab, which offers free access to many digitized medieval manuscripts.
Most videos found on the Web regarding the Western Schism have a tendency to be biased and follow the religious leaning of their authors. They may be either overly judgmental or apologetic of the papacy, and should be watched with an acute and critical eye.
Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Poets, Saints, and Visionaries of the Great Schism, 1378–1417, wrote a cultural history of the Schism, while Richard Condon’s 1983 A Trembling Upon Rome, maybe one of the few popular novels that addresses John XXIII, one of the popes of the Schism. Umberto Ecco’s The Name of the Rose remains the best popular reading on the Avignon papacy.
Modern Vatican City is explained in this short video. You can also take a look at the Vatican archives and check out the Vatican’s digital lab, which offers free access to many digitized medieval manuscripts.
Most videos found on the Web regarding the Western Schism have a tendency to be biased and follow the religious leaning of their authors. They may be either overly judgmental or apologetic of the papacy, and should be watched with an acute and critical eye.
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Joëlle Rollo-Koster
- Director Kaspar Jancis
- Narrator Adrian Dannatt
- Storyboard Artist Kaspar Jancis
- Animator Dashka Dementeva, Viktoria Shmidt
- Compositor Viktoria Shmidt
- Art Director Gyopár Orsolya Buzási
- Composer Kaspar Jancis
- Sound Designer Bruno Quast
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Produced by Anna Bechtol, Abdallah Ewis
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
- Script Editor Alex Gendler
- Fact-Checker Charles Wallace
