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| Cardinal Baldassare Cossa | |
|---|---|
| Name | Baldassare Cossa |
| Birth date | c. 1360 |
| Birth place | near Naples, Kingdom of Naples |
| Death date | 1419-12-22 |
| Death place | Florence, Republic of Florence |
| Occupation | Cardinal, canonist, papal claimant |
| Known for | Antipope John XXIII during the Western Schism |
Cardinal Baldassare Cossa was an Italian ecclesiastic and canon lawyer who became a leading figure in the late medieval Western Schism as the papal claimant known as John XXIII. Emerging from the milieu of the Kingdom of Naples and the University of Naples Federico II, he combined legal training, curial service, and political alliances to rise through the hierarchy of the Catholic Church during the reigns of Pope Gregory XI and the Avignon popes. His pontifical claim, deposition at the Council of Constance, and subsequent penitent retirement intersected with personalities and events such as Pope Gregory XII, Antipope Benedict XIII, Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, and Brunelleschi-era Florence.
Baldassare Cossa was born near Naples in the 1360s into a milieu shaped by the dynastic politics of the House of Anjou and the Papal influence in southern Italy. He studied canon law at the University of Bologna and the University of Padua, institutions frequented by figures who later populated the Roman Curia and the chancery of the Kingdom of Naples. His teachers and contemporaries included jurists associated with the papal curia, such as followers of Bartolus of Saxoferrato and commentators on the Decretum Gratiani, setting him on a path shared by clerics entering service under Pope Urban V and Pope Gregory XI. Naples, linked to the diplomatic networks of Pope Clement VII (Avignon) and Queen Joanna I of Naples, provided patrons who facilitated his early appointments.
Cossa's early benefices and posts in the dioceses of Cerreto Sannita and Melfi preceded his entry into the papal chancery, where ties to cardinals such as Nicolò Brancaccio and administrators close to Pope Urban VI proved decisive. He served as a papal chaplain and auditor, engaging with litigation before the Apostolic Penitentiary and appearing in records with envoys from King Ladislaus of Naples and agents of the Republic of Genoa. Elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Innocent VII in 1402, his red hat linked him to the factional struggles of the College of Cardinals that pitted Roman interests against those loyal to Avignon Papacy claimants like Benedict XIII (Avignon). As cardinal, he navigated alliances with secular rulers including members of the House of Luxembourg and urban oligarchies in Florence and Venice.
During the acute phase of the Western Schism, Cossa aligned with the Roman obedience and participated in conclaves that sought resolution, interacting with participants such as Pope Gregory XII and emissaries of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor. Following the resignation of Gregory XII's rival claimants and amid pressures from the Council of Pisa (1409), Cossa emerged as a central powerbroker in the fragmented papal polity dominated by rival claimants including Pisan popes and the entrenched Avignon court. His involvement in diplomatic negotiations touched on major players like Cardinal Pietro Filargo and the municipal governments of Perugia and Bologna. The contested election politics of 1410–1414, shaped by concerns in England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire, set the stage for his assumption of a papal identity.
Assuming the name John XXIII, Cossa acted as a pontiff within the Roman obedience, issuing bulls, appointing cardinals, and commissioning art and architecture through agents in Rome and Florence. He maintained courtly relations with rulers such as Ladislaus of Naples and negotiated truces and concordats involving delegations from England and Castile. Militarily, his position intersected with mercenary captains like Braccio da Montone and condottieri employed in struggles for strategic towns in central Italy, while his fiscal policies drew upon papal revenues from bishoprics in Apulia and benefices tied to the Holy See. As John XXIII he convened and supported the convocation of the Council of Constance at the behest of secular authorities seeking an end to the schism, while negotiating recognition from powers including Sigismund and representatives from the Hanseatic League.
At the Council of Constance (1414–1418), Cossa faced charges brought by conciliar commissioners and rivals including Pope Martin V-supporting factions. Arrested and tried for simony, perjury, and other offenses, he underwent a process that featured accusers from the College of Cardinals and testimonies recalling episodes involving Antipope Benedict XIII and diplomatic dealings with France. He resigned or was deposed in 1415, submitted to the council, and performed public acts of penance; subsequently, Pope Martin V granted him a cardinalate in a gesture of reconciliation and assigned him posts in Florence and nearby dioceses. Cossa spent his final years in retirement, engaged in endowments and the patronage of religious foundations until his death in Florence in 1419, where he was interred amid funerary monuments reflecting ties to families such as the Medici and local confraternities.
Historians have assessed Cossa through the lenses of conciliarism, canon law, and the politics of the Renaissance transition. His papal claim as John XXIII is discussed alongside the careers of Pope Gregory XII, Antipope Benedict XIII, and the conciliar achievements of the Council of Constance that led to the election of Pope Martin V. Scholars cite archival material from chancery registers, diplomatic correspondence involving Sigismund and the courts of France and England, and chronicles by contemporaries such as Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (later Pope Pius II). Interpretations vary: some emphasize his administrative skill and legal learning linking to traditions from Bologna and the Decretales Gregorii IX, while others highlight his entanglement in mercenary politics and allegations of venality that furnished grounds for conciliar reformers. His career remains a focal case in studies of late medieval papal legitimacy, the interaction of secular and ecclesiastical power, and the preconditions for Renaissance ecclesiastical patronage.
Category:Antipopes Category:14th-century births Category:1419 deaths