Die Informatio seriosa Papst Benedikts XIII. von 1399 : Stufen einer kirchenpolitischen Denkschrift von 1399 bis zum Konzil von Perpignan 1408
The Informatio Seriosa is an ecclesiastical political document written by Benedict XIII. in 1399 with the main focus to unify the church and to end the Great Schism. This dissertation presents for the first time the text of this document in total. It is part of the large written work by this great second Schism Pope from Avignon (1394-1417/22) and was composed in two parts, the first a detailed account of events 1394/95, the second dealing with the events 1398/99 including documents to prove his faultless behaviour. The Great Schism lasted already sixteen years prior to the election of Benedict XIII. Neither his predecessor Clemens VII., nor his counterparts Urban VI. or Boniface IX. in Rome ever undertook any measures to resolve the Schism with peaceful means. Only six months after his election Benedict XIII. had to defend his and his cardinals concept to resolve the Great Schism against the French Court and especially the University of Paris, who in turn asked for his resignation. These negotiations are described in the first part of the Informatio Seriosa. Four years later, in July 1398, France split from Benedict XIII. and he was besieged in his papal palace in Avignon and hence became a prisoner of the King of France and his disloyal cardinals. The events of his first year of incarceration are described in the second part of the Informatio Seriosa. Only in 1403 he managed to escape in the mid of night and from then on tried to arrange a meeting with his Roman counterparts Boniface IX., Innocent VII. and Gregory XII. In May 1408 France withdrew their obedience again. Threatened by an arrest warrant issued by the King of France and abandoned by most of his cardinals, Benedict XIII. fled to Perpignan, at that time part of the Spanish territory. There he summoned a Council in November 1408 and gave account of the years of his pontificate, one part of which was based on the Informatio Seriosa. The Informatio Seriosa from 1399 survived in four different manuscripts in Paris (P), Rome (R), Oxford (O) and Salamanca (S). The IS was revised repeatedly in the nine years following its first compilation until in 1408, when it was reused for a report at the Council of Perpignan, which resulted in an independent second formulation of the original text. – For the first time, all of these records as well as all aspects of the texts have been researched and analysed in total and compared with each other. It includes the critical revisions of two authors from 1400 until 1405 in R, the summary of their annotations in an evaluation of 1406 and a third fragmentary document in Paris of 1407, which has until now not been noticed in historical research. Further examinations proved, that it must have been the Informatio seriosa S which was used as a model for the report at the Council of Perpignan of 1408 handed down in the protocols of the Council. Hitherto, historiography had not seen a seperation between these two versions (the IS and the protocols of the Council) and had neglected the texts of the IS as an important historical source. By demonstrating the historical development of the text, the IS can now be classified as a complex medieval source. Stating the trouble Benedict XIII. had with his own fraction, it was addressed to his critics within his original district of obedience and not to the counterparts in Rome. These opponents should be convinced of his truthful and sincere efforts to end the Great Schism and be informed about the hostility he had to endure. In its second version the IS had a different task, namely to justify his own pontificate. The historical value of the IS lies in the different versions of the same text, adapted according to the different circumstances and changing situations surrounding the pope. The reports show that the author in the first five years of his papacy was - contrary to his later reputation – an unwavering, incorruptible and for his convictions fighting pope. Up to self-sacrifice he defended his office emphasizing his will to unify the church, including his own resignation, if in return the relevant premises were kept.
info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/230, Benedikt <Papst, XIII., Gegenpapst> / Informatio seriosa, Geschichte 1399-1408, Abendländisches Schisma, Kirchenpolitik, Theologie, Christentum, Papst Benedikt XIII., zweiter avignonesischer Schismapapst, das Große Abendländische Schisma, Avignon, Obödienzentzug Frankreichs, Gefangenschaft
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