55

Cossa had stationed relays of fast horses all the, way north of the Adige to hasten Bernaba's journey. He had teams of people clearing snow in the high passes. `When she gets here, he said to me, `we'll use her to draw Decima in. I have a meeting arranged with Frederick; Duke of Austria – who took my money and swore to defend me – and the Markgraf of Baden. They are hard men and they can hold off Sigismund and keep him away, from me until I can get out of here.'

'Were are we going?'

'We don't have to go too far. We don't have to go all the way back to Italy with a screen such as the Duke of Austria can put between the and the council. But when I'm impregnable wherever it is I'm going, let that miserable pack of turncoats see if they have any council without the presence of the pope who summoned it. Whatever they do, if I'm not there, it will be illegal. They will be, powerless. `What about the marchesa?' I am ready for her now.'

Do you want Palo to stand by to compensate her for her trouble?' 'No.’

'What about Cosimo?'

'I have already begun to settle Cosimo. I talked to the provincial of the Benedictine order. The order has never had any centralized authority. They have no general superior but the pope. But, because of the Fourth Lateran Council, there is a strong union between all the monasteries of the order. That council ordered that the abbots of all Benedictine houses should meet every three years to pass regulations which are binding on all houses. At last I am getting use out of those ten years at the university. Sometimes it is even. good to be a lawyer.'

`What does that have to do with Cosimo?'

`The next meeting of the Benedictine abbots comes up in twelve weeks' time, I am going to direct them to organize the parishes of every one of the new factories that Cosimo is building and not only see that the people raze them to the ground but make sure he never again operates factories anywhere in Europe.'

'What about Spina?'

`He's crazy. Anyway, we punished him a long time ago. Maybe we made him the way he is.'

`I am afraid for Bernaba. Palo has to kill Spina.'

`Bernaba will be safe. I promise you that.'

By the middle of the next afternoon, Cossa's two `hard men' had ridden. into Konstanz with their troops of horse. Frederick, Duke of Austria, contracted bodyguard of the pope, was clad in a uniform of emerald velvet. He was fully armed with helmet, corslet, braces and greaves of mail, riding at the head of a force of eight counts and 800 horsemen. Cossa felt so reassured about his own safety that, when Bernard of Baden arrived with 400 horsemen, he gave the loyal Markgraf 16,000 florins and made a secret bargain with him.

The Markgraf of Baden was a short man, about thirty-five years old, whose mother had been Maddalena Visconti, which was enough for me. He had thick-black hair, dark burning eyes and a slender face with a Strongly protruding nose. He was bold, hot-tempered; intelligent, sly and unforgiving-a true Visconti. Even I did not know what Cossa had bought until the night he settled with the marchesa:

'They are planning a coup against me,' Cossa told them. `I have to be sure I can get out of the city.'

`We will get you out,' the duke said; and you are welcome to come with me to Austria.'',

`I thank you,' Cossa said, 'but I must stay within reach of Konstanz. The council is going to collapse when there is no pope to preside over it. Hundreds of them will go home, but the others will wait here for instructions from me. I am overwhelmed by your support and encouragement. Most of the territory in this region is under your rule, so I think perhaps the best thing will be to allow your troops to take me out.'

On 6 March 1415, the English nation rose in council to demand shat the pope be arrested and held in prison. Bishop Thomas Buckley of Salisbury said he should be burned. Only the opposition of the French, undertaken in part for the sake of opposing the English prevented this from happening.

The council now expressed its universal, desire that all three popes should voluntarily resign their dignities. Gregory, ninety, was ready to abdicate provided that his rivals resigned and were not allowed to preside at the council. Benedict, ninety-one, was willing to meet Sigismund at Nice in order to achieve the same ends. The Italian cardinals and delegation became convinced that the pressure; of conciliar and public opinion was too great for continued resistance;

Deputies of the nations visited Cossa and hinted at his resignation in vague terms, proposals which, mysteriously, he seemed to receive most cheerfully. To the council's utter surprise, lie convened a general congregation to begin to carry this into effect by submitting the form which the resignation should take. `If they take this,' Cossa told, me, `we will not only be buying time, but we will be taking the first giant step on the way to defeating them.'

On his throne at the cathedral altar as president of the council, in the presence of the King of the Romans, the cardinals, the prelates, princes and delegations of nations, on 8 March Cossa called upon me to read the sample draft of the resignation which Cossa, as his own lawyer, had prepared.

`Your most holy Lord Pope John XXIII here present,' Read in a voice which was at once both sincere and thrilling, `although in no way obliged thereto by vow, oath or promise, yet for the repose of the Christian people, has proposed and resolved of his own free-will and accord to give peace to the Church even by resignation, provided that Petrus do Luna and Angelo Corrario, who were condemned and deposed at the Council of Pisa as heretics and schismatics, also legally and sufficiently resign their pretended popedoms, in manner, circumstance and at a, time to be forthwith declared and concluded by a treaty forthwith to be made to this effect by our Lord, the Pope, or his proctors, and the deputies of the nations.'

The council found the formula offensive and rejected it. Negotiations for an acceptable form went on, but patience with Cossa was becoming exhausted. The Germans insisted that only the council

was the sovereign judge. Bishop Buckley of England again that the pope should be burned as a heretic. The French demanded that Cossa not merely promise, but vow and swear, that he would resign.

On 12 March, a general congregation was held at the pope's palace. The King of the Romans, the Patriarch of Antioch, who was president of the French nation at Konstanz, and all national deputies; were present: The patriarch handed a new formula to the pope and asked him to read it aloud. Cossa passed it to me. I rose and read from the document:

`I, Pope John XXIII, in order to secure the repose of Christendom, declare and promise, vow and swear to God, to the Church, and to this holy council, freely and spontaneously, to give peace to the Church by means of my own resignation, and to do and carry this into effect in accordance with the determination of the present council, if and when Petrus da Luna and Angelo Corrario, called Benedict XIII and Gregory XII in their respective obediences, shall similarly; either in person or by their legal proctors, resign their pretended popedoms and, even in any case of resignation or death or otherwise, that my resignation may give peace to the Church and extinguish the schism.'

Cossa did not comment.

On the next day, to open the second general session of the council, the pope celebrated mass, then seated himself in front of the great altar, facing the congregation. The Patriarch of Antioch handed him the formula which Cardinal Ellera had read out the day before. Cossa read it aloud in a loud and sonorous voice. When he came to the Words, `I vow and swear,' he rose from his seat, knelt before the altar, placed his hand over his heart and added, `I promise to fulfil this.' He returned to his throne to conclude the formula.