Such a Council, in fact, was then demanded by all Christendom. The intelligent classes in all countries felt that the demoralization caused by the corruption of the clergy and the scandalous quarrels of three rival Popes could no longer be endured. The Council at Pisa, in 1409, had only made matters worse by adding another Pope to the two at Rome and Avignon; for, although it claimed the highest spiritual authority on earth, it was not obeyed. The Chancellor of the University of Paris called upon the Emperor Sigismund to move in favor of a new Council; all the Christian powers of Europe promised their support, and finally one of the Popes, John XXIII., being driven from Rome, was persuaded to agree, so that a grand OEcumenical Council, with authority over the Papacy, was summoned to meet in the city of Constance, in the autumn of the year 1414. [Sidenote: 1414. THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE.] It was one of the most imposing assemblies ever held in Europe. Pope John XXIII. personally appeared, accompanied by 600 Italians; the other two Popes sent ambassadors to represent their interests. The patriarchs of Jerusalem, Constantinople and Aquileia, the Grand-Masters of the knightly Orders, thirty-three Cardinals, twenty Archbishops, two hundred Bishops and many thousand priests and monks, were present. Then came the Emperor Sigismund, the representatives of all Christian powers, including the Byzantine Emperor, and even an envoy from the Turkish Sultan, with sixteen hundred princes and their followers. The entire concourse of strangers at Constance was computed at 150,000, and thirty different languages were heard at the same time. A writer of the day thus describes the characteristics of the four principal races: "The Germans are impetuous, but have much endurance, the French are boastful and arrogant, the English prompt and sagacious, and the Italians subtle and intriguing." Gamblers, mountebanks and dramatic performers were also on hand; great tournaments, races and banquets were constantly held; yet, although the Council lasted four years, there was no disturbance of the public order, no increase in the cost of living, and no epidemic diseases in the crowded camps.