With the election of Clement VII and the creation of the double papacy, the rest of the church was faced with the dilemma of deciding which of the claimants deserved to be recognised as head of the church. The determination of allegiances was no simple matter. In normal circumstances, the rest of the church was merely required to accept as pope the man whom the cardinals declared they had elected. Initially, the situation following the election of Urban VI had accorded with this pattern and, on the authority of the cardinals' letters proclaiming the election of the new pontiff, Urban had secured wide and immediate acceptance. But the later election of Clement VII forced an actual decision on allegiance, an examination of the rival cases to determine whether to remain true to the originally proclaimed pope or to accept the version of events offered by the cardinals and transfer to their party and pope. It was a choice which confronted the universities as harshly as it faced any other body. At Paris, the process of developing uncertainty about the situation can be traced even before the formalisation of the schism. Immediately on hearing of the death of Gregory XI, the Parisian masters had begun their preparations for the recognition of his successor.