another antipope, Benedict XIII. But a new jubilee was in prospect for the year 1400, and this was always an efficacious Fall of the banderesi and of the republic. means of bending the will of the Romans. Depending upon this and the assistance of Ladislaus, Boniface not only demanded full powers to nominate senators (none having been recently elected), but insisted on the suppression of the banderesi. Both requests were granted; but, directly Angelo Alaleoni was made senator, a conspiracy was hatched for the re-establishment of the banderesi. However, the pope felt sure of his strength; the plot was discovered and the conspirators were beheaded on the stairs of the Capitol. This proved the end of the banderesi and of the liberties of Rome. The government was again directed by an alien senator together with three conservators; but the latter were gradually deprived of their political attributes, and became mere civil officers. The militia, regions, gilds and other associations now rapidly lost all political importance, and before long were little more than empty names. Thus in 1398 the Romans submitted to the complete sway of the pope, and in July of the same year the senator chosen by him was Malatesta dei Malatesti of Rimini, one of a line of tyrants, a valiant soldier, who was also temporal vicar and captain-general of the church. Boniface continued to appoint foreign senators during the rest of his life; he fortified the castle of St Angelo, the Vatican and the Capitol; he stationed galleys at the mouth of the Tiber, and proved himself in all things a thoroughly temporal prince. He aggrandized all his kindred, especially his brother, and, with the aid of his senator, his armed force and the protection of Ladislaus, succeeded in keeping down all the surviving nobles. In 1400, however, these made an attempt to upset the government. Niccolò Colonna forced his way into the city with cries of “Popolo, popolo! death to Boniface!” But the Romans had grown deaf to the voice of liberty; they refused to rise, and the senator, a Venetian named Zaccaria Trevisan, behaved with much energy. Colonna and his men had to beat a swift retreat to Palestrina. A charge of high treason was immediately instituted against him, and thirty-one rebels were beheaded. The pope then proclaimed a crusade against all the Colonna, and sent a body of two thousand men and some of the Neapolitan soldiery to attack them. Several of their estates were seized and devastated, but Palestrina continued to hold out, and on the 7th of January 1401 the Colonna finally made submission to the pope. Nevertheless, they obtained advantageous terms, for Boniface left them their lands, appointed them vicars of other territories, and made similar agreements with the Gaetani and Orsini. In this way he became absolute master of Rome. One chronicler remarks that “Romanis tanquam rigidus imperator dominabatur,” and the same tone is taken by others. But he did not succeed in putting an end to the schism of the church, which was still going on when he died in the Vatican on the 1st of October 1404.
Innocent VII. (1404–6) was the next pope. He too was a Neapolitan, and on his election the people again rose in revolt and refused to acknowledge him unless he consented to resign the temporal power. But Ladislaus of Naples hastened to his help, and an agreement was made which, under the cover of apparent concessions, really riveted the people's chains. Rome was recognized as the seat of the temporal and spiritual sovereignty of the pope, and the pope continued to appoint the senator. The people were to elect seven governors of the city, who were to swear fealty to the pope and carry on the government in conjunction with three other governors chosen by the pontiff or Ladislaus. The stipulations of Boniface IX. concerning ecclesiastical immunities were again confirmed. The barons were forbidden to place more than five lances each at the service of the people, and—which was the real gist of the covenant—the people were henceforth forbidden to make laws or statutes without the permission of the pope. The captain of the people, deprived of his political and judicial functions and reduced to a simple judge, was also to be chosen by the pope. But this treaty, drawn up on the 27th of October 1404, was not signed at the time, and many difficulties and disturbances arose when its terms were to be put into effect. The Romans nominated the seven governors, but, without waiting until the pope had chosen three more, placed the state in their hands, and styled them “governors of the liberty of the Roman Republic.” They were, in fact, banderesi or reformatori under a new name. But the attempt proved inefficacious, for, at the pope's first threat of departure, the Romans made their submission, and the treaty of October was subscribed on the 15th of May 1405. Nevertheless, as it only bears the signatures of the “seven governors of the liberty of the Roman Republic,” the pope would seem to have made some concessions. His position was by no means assured. Ladislaus was known to aspire to absolute dominion in Italy, and, although willing to aid in suppressing the republic, tried to prepare the way for his own designs, and frequently held out a helping hand to the vanquished. On the 6th of August fourteen influential citizens of Rome boldly presented themselves at the Vatican, and in a threatening manner called the pope to account for giving his whole attention to worldly things, instead of endeavouring to put a stop to the schisms of the church. But, on leaving his presence, they were attacked by Luigi Migliorati, the pope's nephew, and notorious for his violence, who killed eleven of their number, including several heads of the regions and two of the governors. An insurrection ensued, and the pope and his nephew fled to Viterbo. The Colonna tried to profit by these events, and applied to Ladislaus, who, hoping that the moment had come to make himself master of Rome, sent the count of Troia thither with a troop of three thousand horse. But the people, enraged by this treachery, and determined not to fall under the yoke of Naples, awoke for an instant to the memory of their past glories, and bravely repulsed the Colonna and the Neapolitans. And, on the speedy arrival of the Orsini with some of the papal troops, the people voluntarily restored the papal government, and, assembling the parliament, besought the pope to return on his own terms. Accordingly, after first naming Francesco Panciatichi of Pistoia to the senator ship, the pope came back on the 13th of March 1406, bringing his whole Curia with him, and also the murderer Migliorati, who, triumphing in impunity, became more arrogant than before. Here indeed was a proof that the Romans were no longer worthy of liberty! And now, by means of the Orsini, Innocent had only to reduce the Colonna and other nobles raised to power by Ladislaus; nor was this very difficult, seeing that the king, in his usual fashion, abandoned them to their fate, and, making terms with the pope, was named gonfalonier of the church and again protected her cause.
Innocent, dying in 1406, was succeeded by Gregory XII.,
a Venetian, who, as we shall presently see, resigned the chair
in 1415. On his accession, finding his state firmly established,
he seemed to be seriously bent on putting an end to the Great
Schism, and for that purpose arranged a meeting with the
antipope Benedict XIII. at the congress of Savona in 1408.
But Gregory and Benedict only used the congress as a pretext
for making war upon each other, and were urged on by Ladislaus,
who hoped by weakening both to gain possession of Rome,
where, although opposed by the Orsini, he had the support of
the Colonna. Gregory, who had then fled from Rome, made
a momentary attempt to win the popular favour by restoring
the government of the banderesi; but Ladislaus marched into
Ladislaus master
of Rome.
Rome in June 1408 and established a senator of his
own. Meanwhile the two popes were continuing
their shameful struggle, and the council of Pisa (March
1409), in attempting to check it, only succeeded in raising up
a third pontiff, first in the person of Alexander V. (1409–10),
and then in the turbulent Baldassare Cossa, who assumed the
name of John XXIII. The latter began by sending a large
contingent to assist Louis of Anjou against Ladislaus. But the
enterprise failed, and, seeing himself deserted by all, Pope John
next embraced the cause of his foe by naming him gonfalonier
of the church. Thereupon Ladislaus concluded a sham peace,
and then, seizing Rome, put it to the sack and established his
own government there. Thus John, like the other two popes,
