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| Benedict XIII (antipope) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Benedict XIII (antipope) |
| Birth name | Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor |
| Birth date | 25 November 1328 |
| Birth place | Illueca, Crown of Aragon |
| Death date | 23 May 1423 |
| Death place | Peñíscola, Crown of Aragon |
| Term start | 28 September 1394 |
| Term end | 23 May 1423 |
| Predecessor | Boniface IX |
| Successor | Martin V |
| Other | Antipope during the Western Schism |
Benedict XIII (antipope) was the most prominent of the Avignon claimants during the Western Schism, serving as a rival pontiff to the Roman popes from 1394 until his death in 1423. A member of the Aragonese Crown's nobility, his long obstinacy prolonged the schism across France, Castile, England, and the Holy Roman Empire, provoking diplomatic, ecclesiastical, and military responses from monarchs like Charles VI of France and Henry IV of England. His tenure intersected with major events including the Council of Pisa (1409) and the Council of Constance (1414–1418), and his eventual deposition played a significant role in the resolution that produced Pope Martin V.
Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor was born at Illueca in the Kingdom of Aragon into a family with ties to the Aragonese nobility and the royal court of Peter IV of Aragon. He studied canon law and theology at the universities of Louvain and Padua, and advanced through the Roman curial and episcopal hierarchy, holding positions that included archdeaconries and the bishopric of Tarragona. His ecclesiastical career brought him into contact with cardinals active in the curial politics of Pope Urban V and Pope Gregory XI, and with diplomatic networks involving the courts of Avignon and Rome. Elevated to the cardinalate by Clement VII of the Avignon Papacy, he became a leading figure in the Curia loyal to the Avignon obedience during the initial decades of the schism.
Following the death of Boniface IX in 1404, the line of contention between Avignon and Rome required a durable claimant for the Avignon faction. At the death of Clement VII (antipope)'s successors and amidst factional rivalry among cardinals, Pedro de Luna was elected at Avignon in 1394 and assumed the name Benedict XIII. His election was supported by influential cardinals and by the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon, and was intended to preserve the continuity of the Avignon obedience established since the return of the papacy to Avignon under Pope Clement V. Benedict XIII's claim rested on canonical arguments advanced by his supporters in the curial legal tradition, appeals to legitimacy grounded in the college of cardinals, and the political protection of monarchs such as Martin I of Aragon and factions within France that opposed the Roman line led by Pope Urban VI and later Pope Boniface IX.
Throughout his pontificate Benedict XIII cultivated alliances and faced opposition among European potentates. He relied on the protection of the Crown of Aragon and on the loyalty of the Avignon municipal authorities, while attempting to maintain recognition from Castile, parts of Scotland, and occasional Italian signorie. Conversely, the papal claim of the Roman line secured the backing of England, much of Germany, and sections of the Italian peninsula, creating a polarized diplomatic landscape. Benedict engaged with monarchs such as Charles VI of France and Henry of Aragon in negotiations over temporal support, and his relations with ecclesiastical authorities included contested appointments, rival legatine missions, and correspondence with major prelates like the archbishops of Canterbury and Toledo. The schism turned ecclesiastical allegiance into a political instrument, with bishops and universities such as University of Paris and University of Oxford sometimes issuing positions that affected recognition.
Pressure for an end to the schism mounted after decades of competing obediences. Calls for conciliar resolution drew in the diplomacy of Cardinal Pierre de Foix, Cardinal Baldassare Cossa (Antipope John XXIII), and secular rulers eager for unity, leading to the convocation of the Council of Pisa (1409), which attempted to depose both rival popes and elect a compromise pontiff. Benedict XIII refused to recognize the council’s authority and refused to resign, a stance that cost him the allegiance of key supporters. In 1408–1409 several of his cardinals and the kingdom of France withdrew recognition; in 1412 Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and other Iberian magnates shifted positions, and by the time of the Council of Constance (1414–1418) his international support had dwindled to the Crown of Aragon and a handful of adherents. Attempts at negotiation—mediated by figures like Duke Louis II of Anjou and envoys from Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor—resulted in offers of conditional resignation and proposals for a general council; Benedict’s repeated refusals, citing canonical procedure and personal conscience, ultimately isolated him. The collapse of military and financial support led to his retreat to the fortified castle of Peñíscola, where he persisted as claimant until his death.
Benedict XIII’s obstinacy shaped the later stages of the Western Schism and influenced the evolution of conciliar theory embodied at the Council of Constance (1414–1418), which declared the superiority of ecumenical council authority in matters of schism and deposed or accepted the resignation of rival claimants to restore unity under Pope Martin V. Historians debate his motives, contrasting principled appeals to canonical legitimacy with accusations of intransigence that prolonged ecclesiastical division. His support networks illustrate the interplay between Iberian dynastic politics, Avignon municipal interests, and pan-European ecclesiastical structures including the College of Cardinals and major universities. Benedict’s legacy appears in ecclesiastical reforms enacted after the schism and in the development of theories about papal authority discussed by scholars such as Marsilius of Padua and later canonists. In cultural memory, his long resistance is reflected in chronicles of the Crown of Aragon and in the diplomatic correspondence archived across repositories in Avignon, Vatican City, and Aragon.
Category:Antipopes Category:14th-century Spanish people Category:15th-century Christian clergy