URBAN
215
URBAN
aowera of Christendom to unite for their extirpation.
\11 was in vain, for though a league of Itahan cities
ivas formed in September of that year, it was dis-
solved about fifteen months later owing to Florentine
jealousy of the emperor.
Rome had suffered terribly through the absence of ler pontiffs, and it became apparent to Urban that if le remained at Avignon the work of the warlike ?:ir'linal Albornoz in restoring to the papacy the ■it.utes of the Cluu'ch would be undone. On 14 Sept., I3(i0, he informed the emperor of his determination to •eturn to Home. .-^11 men rejoiced at the announce- nent e.xcept the French; the king understood that the lep;irture from Avignon would mean a diminution of French influence at the Curia. The French cardinals vere in despair at the prospect of leaving France, and ?ven threatened to desert the pope. On 30 April, I3t)7, Urban left Avignon; on 19 May he sailed from Marseilles, and after a long coasting voyage he •cached Corneto, where he was met by Albornoz. 3n 4 June the Romans brought the keys of Sant' ingelo in sign of welcome, and the Gesuati carrying tranches in their hands and headed by their founder, Blessed John Colombini, preceded the pope. Five lays later he entered Viterbo, where he dwelt in the
- itadel. The disturbed state of Italy made it im-
)Ossible for Urban to set out for Rome until he had
- athered a considerable army, so it was not till 16
3ct. that he entered the city at the head of an impos- ng cavalcade, under the escort of the Count of Savoy, he Marquess of Ferrara, and other princes.
The return of the pope to Rome appeared to the
- ontemporary world both as a great event and as a
eligious action (for a vivid picture of the terrible tate of the city, due in great part to the absence of ler pontiffs, see Gregorovius, II, 2, ch. ii). The pope low set to work to improve the material and moral londition of his capital. The basilicas and papal >alaces were restored and decorated, and the Papal rea-sure, which had been preserved at Assisi since the lays of Boniface VIII, was distributed to the city ihurches. The unemployed were put to work in the leglected gardens of the Vatican, and corn was dis- ributed in seasons of scarcity; at the same time the liscipline of the clergy was restored, and the fre- luentation of the sacraments encouraged. One of jrban's first acts was to change the Roman con- titution, but it may be questioned whether "the acrifice offered to the Pontiff as the reward of lis return was the liberty of the people" (Gregoro- 'ius, loc. cit.).
On 17 Oct., 1368, the emperor joined the pope at i^iterbo. Before leaving Germany he had confirmed ill the rights of the Church, and Urban hoped for his lelp against the Vi-sconti, but Charles allowed him- elf to be bribed. On 21 Oct. the pope and emperor ntercd Rome together, the latter humbly leading he pontiff's mule. On 1 Nov. Charles acted as leacon at the Mass at which Urban crowned the iniire.ss. For more than a century pope and em- leror had not appeared thus in amity. A year later he Emperor of the East, John V Palaeologus, came (> RoiiK^ seeking assistance against the infidel; he lijurcd the schism and was received by Urban on the teps of St. Peter's. These emperors both of West ,nd East were but shadows of their great predeces- ors, and their visits, triumphs us they might appear, i^ere but little gain to Urban V. He felt that, his losition in Italy was insecure. The death of Al- lomoz (24 Aug., 1367), who had made his return o Italy po.isibie, had been a great loss. The rest- essness of the towns w;is exemplified by the revolt of 'erugia, which had to be crushed by force; any hance storm might undo the work of the great legate. U heart, too, the pope had all a Frenchman's love or his countn,', and his French entourage urged his re- um to Avignon. In vain were the remonstrances of
the envoys of Rome, which had gained "greater quiet
and order, an influx of wealth, a revival of impor-
tance" from his sojourn; in vain were the admonitions
of St. Bridget, who came from Rome to Monte-
fiascone to warn him that if he returned to Avignon he
would shortly die. War had broken out again be-
tween France and England, and the desire to bring
about peace strengthened the pope's determination.
On 5 Sept., 1370, "sad, suffering and deeply moved",
Urban embarked at Corneto. In a Bull of 26 June
he had told the Romans that his dejiarture was mo-
tived by his desire to be useful to the Universal Church
and to the country to which he was going. It may
be, too, that the pope saw that the next conclave
would be free at Avignon but not in Italy. Charles
V joyfully sent a fleet of richly-adorned" galleys to
Corneto; the pope did not long survive his return
(24 Sept.) to Avignon. His body was buried in
Notre-Dame des Doms at A,vignon but was removed
two years later, in accordance with his own wish, to
the Abbey Church of St . \'ictor at Marseilles. Miracles
multiplied around his tomb. His canonization was
demanded bj- King Waldemar of Denmark and prom-
ised by Gregory XI as early a.s' 137.5, but did not take
place owing to the disorders of the time. His cultua
was approved by Pius IX in 1S70.
Urban V was a man whose motives cannot be called in question: his policy aimed at European peace; shortly before his death he had given orders that preparations should be made to enable him personally to visit and reconcile Edward III and Charles V. He had shown great zeal for the Crusade. On 29 March, 1363, Pierre de Lusignan, King of Cyprus and titular King of Jerusalem, appeared at Avignon to appeal for assistance against the Turks, and on 31 March (Good Friday) Urban preached the Crusade and gave the cross to the Kings of France, Denmark, and Cyprus; the chivalrous King John, who was to have been chief commander, died a (juasi- prisoner at London in 1364, and though the King of Cyprus captured Alexandria (11 Oct., 1365), he was unable to hold the city. The crusading spirit was dead in Europe. In an age of corruption ami simony Urban stood for purity and disinterestedness in church life: he did much for ecclesiastical discipline and caused many provincial councils to be held; he refused to bestow place or money on his relatives, and even caused his own father to refund a pension bestowed on him by the French king. His brother, whom he promoted to the cardinalate, was acknowl- edged by all to be a man most worthy of the dignity (see Albanes, "Vita Prima", 7-S). The pope's private life was that of a monk, and he was always accessible to those who sought his aid.
But Urban was a patriotic Frenchman, a defect in the universal father of Christendom. He estranged the English king by the hel)) given to his rival, and aroused hostility in Italy by the favour shown to men of his own race whom he matle his representatives in the States of the Church. He was a great patron of learning, founded universities at Cracow (by a Bull of 1364) and at Vienna (by a Bull of 1.36.'j), and caused the emperor to create the University of Orange; he revised the statutes of the University of Orleans; and gave great assistance to the universities of Avig- non and Toulouse. At Bologna he supported the great college founded by Albornoz and paid the ex- penses of many poor students whom he sent thither. (For Urban's zeal for that seat of learning, see Denifle, "Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis", III, 102- 8S.) He also founded a sludium at Trets (later re- moved to Manosque), but his greatest foundations were at Montpcllier. His buildings and restorations were considerable, especiall}' at .\vignon, Rome, and Montpellier. He approved the orders of Brigittincs and Gesuati, and canonized his godfather, St. Elz6ar of Sabran.
