The schism which rent the Roman church in the years between 1378 and 1418 was a crisis of truly massive proportions. As a division within what claimed to be a universalist cosmology, it could obviously be settled only in similarly universalist terms. But, whilst dealing with many of the political and intellectual facets of the response to the crisis generated by the rival elections of Bartholomew Prignano and Cardinal Robert of Geneva to the papacy in 1378, and with the more personal involvement of the leading individuals of the period, the historiography of the great schism has not so far paid much attention to this universalist question throughout the entire period, particularly the involvement of those institutions specifically intended to be concerned with the issues raised by the dispute. Thus, although the administrative and institutional development of the medieval universities has been much dissected, little attention has been given to their activities when confronted with an ecclesiological issue of such dimensions as the schism. The purpose of this book is to attempt to redress the balance, by considering the participation of the European universities and their members in the debates which were generated as a result of the events of 1378.

Regardless of the stage of development by that date of an ecclesiology capable of offering an effective challenge to the papal monarchy, when the double election did occur and Europe reacted by dividing into rival camps there was no machinery in existence which could be immediately invoked to settle the problem.