The Library
1577 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.
1301–1400
6 works
1324
Latin
Defensor Pacis
Marsilius of Padua · c. 1275–c. 1342
Authority belongs to the whole body of citizens; the clergy have no coercive power at all; and a general council, not the pope, is the church's highest authority.
c. 1334–1347
Latin
William of Ockham · c. 1287–1347
An immense unfinished dialogue on heresy, papal error, and where authority in the church finally rests — canvassing every position without always declaring for one.
1378–1379
Latin
The cardinals of Rome and Avignon
The competing manifestos of 1378: one body of cardinals declaring Urban VI validly elected, the same body months later declaring the election void under duress and choosing another.
1380
Latin
Epistola Concordiae
Conrad of Gelnhausen · c. 1320–1390
An argument that a general council may be summoned without a pope's consent when the church's welfare requires it, since the church is greater than any officer of it.
c. 1379–1381
Latin
Pierre d'Ailly · 1351–1420
Early writings on the schism arguing that the church cannot be bound to an uncertain obedience, and that a council represents it more fully than a doubtful pope.
1379–1381
Latin
Henry of Langenstein · c. 1325–1397
A call for a general council to judge both claimants, arguing that neither obedience can be certain and that the faithful must not be left in doubt about their own sacraments.
1401–1500
8 works
1409
Latin
Jean Gerson · 1363–1429
An argument that the church may act to heal itself when the papacy will not, since the church exists for the salvation of souls and not for the convenience of its officers.
1410
Latin
Dietrich of Niem · c. 1345–1418
A distinction between the universal church, which cannot err, and the Roman church, which plainly can — with the conclusion that a council may depose both claimants.
6 April 1415
Latin
The Council of Constance
A decree declaring that a general council holds authority immediately from Christ, and that everyone including the pope must obey it in matters of faith, schism, and reform.
1416
Latin
Pierre d'Ailly · 1351–1420
A defence of the council's authority over a pope, distinguishing the church as a whole from the Roman church and locating infallibility in the former.
9 October 1417
Latin
The Council of Constance
A decree requiring general councils to meet at fixed intervals — five years, then seven, then every ten — so that the church could correct itself without waiting for a crisis.
1433
Latin
De Concordantia Catholica
Nicholas of Cusa · 1401–1464
A programme for reform of church and empire built on consent: all legitimate authority rests on the agreement of those subject to it, in councils and in states alike.
1433–1437
Latin
The Council of Basel
Decrees abolishing annates, regulating appeals to Rome, requiring provincial synods, and restricting the papacy's financial claims on local churches.
c. 1449–1453
Latin
Juan de Torquemada · 1388–1468
A systematic defence of papal authority against conciliarism, arguing that a council's authority derives from the pope and not the reverse.
14 of 1577 works