It lasted from 1378 to 1417 and saw multiple claimants to the papacy, leading to a divided and weakened Church.
With multiple popes claiming legitimacy, the authority of the papacy was severely undermined. The schism created confusion and uncertainty among the faithful, leading to a loss of trust and confidence in the Church’s leadership. This weakened the Church’s ability to exert its spiritual and moral authority over the people of Europe.
The struggle for power during the schism often involved bribery, political maneuvering, and unethical behavior among the rival papal claimants and their supporters. This corruption further tarnished the Church’s image and eroded its moral standing in the eyes of the European population.
The division within the Church caused by the schism led to religious disunity and factionalism across Europe. Different regions and kingdoms aligned themselves with different papal claimants, further fracturing the already diverse and fragmented political landscape of medieval Europe.
The support for different papal claimants often aligned with the political interests of various European powers. This entanglement of religious and political affairs led to conflicts and rivalries among kingdoms, diverting attention and resources away from larger issues facing medieval Europe.
The prolonged schism eroded the central authority of the Catholic Church and weakened its ability to exert control over secular rulers. As the papacy struggled to assert its legitimacy, secular rulers gained more autonomy and power, leading to a gradual shift away from the medieval ideal of the “universal Christian commonwealth” under the Church’s spiritual guidance.
The schism contributed to a growing sense of skepticism towards the Church and its teachings. Critics and reformers questioned the institution’s moral integrity and demanded a return to the values of early Christianity. This would later pave the way for the Protestant Reformation, which would have a profound and lasting impact on the religious landscape of Europe.
While the Second Great Schism was not the sole cause of the end of medieval Europe, it certainly played a part in the broader challenges and changes that marked the late medieval period.
The schism’s legacy was one of division, weakening the Church’s influence and paving the way for significant transformations in both religious and secular spheres that would reshape the course of European history.