In pursuing this aim he was confronted by the champions of "liberty" and
princely interests, who were represented at Constance by the Archbishop
of Mainz and Frederick of Hapsburg, Count of Tyrol. The Archbishop, John
of Nassau, had been prominent in effecting and prolonging the schism in
the Empire. He was a firm supporter of John XXIII, and had no interest
in attending the council except to thwart the designs of the King, whom
he had been the last to accept. Frederick of Tyrol was the youngest son
of that duke Leopold who had fallen at Sempach in the war with the
Swiss. Of his father's possessions Frederick had inherited Tyrol and the
Swabian lands, and the propinquity of his territories made him a
powerful personage at Constance. His family was the chief rival of the
house of Luxemburg for ascendency in Eastern Germany, and he himself
seems to have cherished a personal grudge against Sigismund. To these
enemies Sigismund could oppose two loyal allies, the elector palatine
Lewis, who had completely abandoned the anti-Luxemburg policy pursued by
his father, Rupert, and Frederick of Hohenzollern, the most prominent
representative of national sentiment in Germany, who had already given
in Brandenburg an example of that restoration of order which he wished
Sigismund to effect throughout his dominions.
Of the clerical members of the council the most prominent at the
commencement was the pope John XXIII. He had been forced by his
difficulties in Italy to issue the summons, but as the time for the
meeting approached he felt more and more misgiving. His object was to
maintain himself in office; but he was conscious that neither Sigismund
nor the cardinals would hesitate to throw him over if he stood in the
way of the restoration of unity. He therefore allied himself with
Sigismund's opponents, the Elector of Mainz and Frederick of Tyrol, and
spared no pains to bring about dissension between Sigismund and the
council.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account