Bishop Weldon leaped to his feet, red-faced with indignation. `A nation, by God?' he exclaimed. `Would for the sake of the strength of Christendom that France were such a nation as England! The English stand at the head of the British islands which are decorated with eight royal crowns and discriminated by five languages. The greater island from the north to south measures eight hundred miles, or forty days journey, and England alone, contains thirty-two counties and fifty-two thousand parish churches.'

The current victories of the English king, Henry V over France, added much weight to his argument and he finished boldly. `Let no Man forget the testimony of Bartholemy de Glanville, the great scholar of the cultures of the world, whose lifetime of studies brought him to the conclusion that there were only four Christian nations: one, Rome; two, Constantinople; three, Ireland, which had, long been transferred to the English monarchs; and four, Spain. Nonetheless and notwithstanding, my country gladly welcomes France into nationhood this day.'

On the following day, the French agreed to the national-unit voting plan for the council. Nations were to deliberate apart from each other and, when they had made their decisions, their deputies were to meet in general session of the council to settle matters. The Italians, massed around the Holy Father for his protection, were powerless to resist. Cossa's hopes were smashed with one blow. There would be three votes to one against, him, and there would have been four against if the. Spanish had attended the convention.

Sigismund rejoiced over this new and brilliant fuse which, in one stroke, had defeated the power of the cardinals to protect the pope with their votes. He knew Cossa was finished. He knew that all the rest would follow, naturally. He would be the hero of Christendom and now, at last, it would be impossible for the electors to deny him the throne of the empire. He held a general congregation at which Pope John, all the cardinals and all the prelates appeared. He reported his negotiations with Popes Benedict and Gregory, saying that he expected the legates of both popes at the council and that he had promised to meet Benedict at Nice in June: This told everyone in Konstanz that he would not work with Cossa.

As leader of the papal party, I rose to appeal to the authority of the Council of Pisa, which had declared both Benedict and Gregory to be heretic and schismatic. Cardinal D'Ailly took the floor with, overweening blandness. He felt that there was some,urgency that the cardinals agree with Sigismund, that the essence of politics was compromise, and – because the cardinals there present had elected both Benedict and Gregory to the papacy that the representations of both should be received with the honours demanded. His, motion was adopted. Cossa was defeated by his own council. The ground was crumbling under his feet:

Cossa was so convinced that they were all made of motes cemented into visible bodies that he would daydream of inventing a machine which would dissolve all the motes in everybody at the council. `They are less than dust,' he said to me, – so they should exist and be, seen only as dust.’

'We'll, have to think of something better than that,' I told him.

'I will be able to think again when Bernaba gets back here in six days' time. When I settle with the Marchesa di Artegiana, my mind will be clear again:

Meetings which were unannounced to Cossa began to be held under the seal of secrecy, but he soon knew what happened at them because groups of prelates came to see him every night and he had no

difficulty inducing them if necessary, under an absolution to tell all they knew of the plotting. He learned that the English and Sigismund wanted him locked in prison. The French were noncommittal. The Italians – a week before so fervent in his support – were now going along with the demand for his abdication.

Out of favour, he was nevertheless acknowledged by the council as the only legitimate pope. He refused to perform publicly the sacred functions of his office except that of presiding over the meetings of the council. he was thick with gout at forty-eight-years of age, and an elderly forty-eight at that (for I though twelve years' older, seemed far younger, Bernaba often told me); it was because of his torpid life after so many active years; Dr Weiler said. But Cossa still bedded the Angioni sisters imaginatively. He had worked out with pen and instruments, on paper, dozens of variations on exotic sexual positionings and of course, these were vastly expanded by his use

of twins in the studies. His other formal audiences were political. But his close direction of the curia produced steady revenue for himself and his sacred college so there were many who approached the problem of his cession with much reluctance.

Political ceremonies were faithfully performed by him. Masses opened all council meetings. He solemnly blessed the people from the summit of his palace. He carried out the canonization of St Brigitta, the Swede who had already been canonized in 1391 by Boniface IX for rewarding fees, but the Swedes wanted a renewal and they were to ask for still another renewal four years later.

Cossa could see the crisis coming. Information reached him that, by their steady ministrations and constant campaigning, the marchesa and her daughters were creating and sustaining a universal feeling that the only way to heal the schism was for all three popes either to abdicate or be deposed. No one ventured publicly to bring forward this proposition. Cossa continued to receive the marchesa at dinner. They didn't discuss politics any more. They did not look into each other's eyes. They talked almost entirely about money. All at once, Cardinal Spina arose in council, and openly demanded

that Pope John resign. He was so pronouncedly an Italian cardinal that his exhortation had all the more weight: While Cossa presided over the meeting, Spina told the council that the more firmly Cossa was persuaded that he was the true pope, the more incumbent it was upon him as a good shepherd to make this sacrifice for his flock

Sigismund took a copy of the speech and sent abstracts to all nations.

The next day, Cardinal D'Ailly advocated the same course, Although the Council of Pisa had been legitimately convoked, he argued, and no exception could be taken to the election of Pope John XXIII, they still had to face-the fact that neither of the other two popes had resigned, so that action by all three was advisable. He assured the assembly that, in counselling Pope John to abdicate, they would not be derogating from the authority of the Council of Pisa – nor, certainly, would Pope John be put upon a level with heretics and schismatics; instead,, they would be conferring on him the high distinction of doing honour to Christendom and of showing his own humility by exposing the obstinacy of his rivals; Nonetheless, he reminded them, whether the pope chose to show the example or not, the council, as representing, the Church universal, had the power to depose any, pope,, legitimate or otherwise, if peace could not be restored to the church in any other way.

`It is the mockery of my life,' Cossa said to me. `I fought as if for my life not to become pope; but, no matter what they do, I will not give up the papacy because the marchesa and the Medici have killed to get it for me, and the marchesa killed to preserve it for me.'