Das Konstanzer Konzil

The first comprehensive study of the Constance reforms since 1867, this volume offers new explanations for the frequently alleged failures of the reforms, while arguing that the successes were much greater than historians have generally acknowledged. The author analyses the specific reforms in light of the conflicting interests of reformers; then he probes the conceptual basis of the reforms employing methodology developed by Gerhart Ladner. An appendix offers a new edition of the central source for the deliberations — the records of the Constance reform committee — using three newly identified manuscripts. The Constance reformers gathered a rich harvest of late medieval institutional reform thought and imagery. Under the central motto of "reform in head and members," they put long-standing conciliar theories into practice, forging a pragmatic synthesis of hierarchy and collegiality.

Papal primacy has grown with the Church, and it remains a reality embedded in the Church as a living community begins to change.

Although the city as a central entity did not simply disappear with the Fall of the Roman Empire, the development of urban space at least since the twelfth century played a major role in the history of medieval and early modern mentality within a social-economic and religious framework. Whereas some poets projected urban space as a new utopia, others simply reflected the new significance of the urban environment as a stage where their characters operate very successfully. As today, the premodern city was the locus where different social groups and classes got together, sometimes peacefully, sometimes in hostile terms. The historical development of the relationship between Christians and Jews, for instance, was deeply determined by the living conditions within a city. By the late Middle Ages, nobility and bourgeoisie began to intermingle within the urban space, which set the stage for dramatic and far-reaching changes in the social and economic make-up of society. Legal-historical aspects also find as much consideration as practical questions concerning water supply and sewer systems. Moreover, the early modern city within the Ottoman and Middle Eastern world likewise finds consideration. Finally, as some contributors observe, the urban space provided considerable opportunities for women to carve out a niche for themselves in economic terms.

The Constance Council has stayed in the mind due to overcoming the schism, the resignation or dismissal of the three schism pontiffs, as well as the new election of a generally recognised pontiff, furthermore the conviction and burning of Jan Hus, but also due to its reform-orientated decision-making. This fundamental overview regarding the formation, course and meaning of the Constance Council also covers these topics.

A new history of the Great Western Schism, focusing on social drama and the performance of legitimacy and papacy.

The brilliant career of the jurist Lodovico Pontano provides an insight into career strategies of a man of learning in different fields and contributes to the story of Italian universities, the curia and the Council of Basel. A first edition of his treatises offers new material for research into conciliarism.