Clement VII (1342–1394)
Clement VII (1342–1394)
“Antipope” whose election brought about the Great Western Schism. Born Robert of Geneva, the son of the Count of Geneva, he was appointed bishop of Therouanne in 1361 and of the city of Cambrai in 1368. In 1371 he became a member of the College of Cardinals, the body that elects the pope. As a cardinal he led a brutal campaign against the town of Cesena, where the townspeople were resisting direct control of the pope. He put down the rebellion but a massacre he ordered of several thousand inhabitants earned him the nickname of “Butcher of Cesena.” After this event, he was elected pope by a committee of French cardinals after the death of Gregory XI, but the election was contested by another candidate, Urban VI. Allied to the French king, Clement left Rome to establish a rival papal court and administration in Avignon, in what is now southern France. This commenced the Great Schism that did lasting damage to the church. With rival popes enthroned at Avignon and Rome, all of Christendom was forced to choose sides. The authority of the church hierarchy was thrown into doubt, inspiring the first stirrings of a movement for reformation of the church. Clement had the support of France, Scotland, Spain, and the Kingdom of Naples, as well as several states in the Holy Roman Empire, but he was unable to heal the breach in the church that continued for another generation after his death.