«Ego gaudeo, quod sint duo pape». The adherence of the regular clergy to the antipope Nicholas V in central-northern Italy (1328-1330)

Abstract

On the 12th of May 1328, Friar Minor Pietro da Corvaro was elected antipope by the will of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian. Through the letters of the Avignon pope John XXII, the acts of the inquisitorial trials of Bologna and Todi and the licterae gratiae of the antipope Nicholas V, it is possible to reconstruct the participation of members of the various religious orders in the schism. The support offered to Nicholas V by a large fringe of Friars Minor in central-northern Italy is not found among the Preachers. If the position of the leaders of the Eremitani friars was always openly sided in favor of the Avignonese pontiff, it is nevertheless possible to find cases of individual “rebel” friars for convenience, particularly in the cities where the imperial party had managed to impose itself. There was no lack of adhesion to the antipope even among Benedictine, Camaldolese, Vallombrosan and Cistercian monks.

Keywords

• Antipapa Niccolò V
• Ordini Mendicanti
• Giovanni XXII
• Ludovico IV il Bavaro
• Registri vaticani
• Antipope Nicholas V