“ The great schism of the west had already lasted thirty years, and the efforts which had been made to restore unity within the Church by the simultaneous resignation of the two rival pontiffs had been in vain, when in the spring of 1408, the state of affairs being desperate, the idea arose of assembling a council to effect a union without the co-operation of the popes. ”

“ The reason is, that in order to depose them with some show of legality, it was necessary, as a preliminary, to convict them of heresy, and it began to be seen that their tenacity of power, and the ruses by which they evaded the necessity of abdicating, however harmful might be their consequences, did not in themselves constitute a clearly-defined heresy. ”

“ In order to complete their task the cardinals present at Pisa, authorized by delegation of the council, shut themselves up in conclave, and elected one of their number, Peter Philarges, cardinal of Milan, as the new pope, who assumed the name of Alexander V. They had hoped to save the Church, but unfortunately the result of their efforts, generous as they were, was that the schism increased in bitterness, and that instead of the unity for which the Church craved, three popes continued to flourish. Both the deposed pontiffs protested against the legality of the council of Pisa ”