‘The sittings were prolonged to Saturday the 27th day of the same month, when the ambassadors from the king of England entered the council with a most magnificent state.—The bishop of Salisbury[27], in the diocese of Canterbury, made a handsome speech, urging the necessity of peace and union in the church.
‘When he had finished, the advocate-fiscal made an interesting oration, and concluded by demanding, through the procurator of the holy council, that it would please to appoint a commission of certain wise, discreet, and experienced persons to examine witnesses as to the notorious sins charged on the two competitors for the papacy, and his request was granted.
‘The second Sunday after Easter, mass was celebrated before the cardinals, and the sermon was preached by the bishop of Digne in Provence: he was of the order of Friars Minors, a learned doctor in divinity, and had ever been a great friend to Pietro della Luna, and was well acquainted with the tricks and cavils of both popes. This bishop delivered a good sermon from his text of ‘Mercenarius fugit,’ in which he discovered many deceptions of the two rivals, in descanting on the words of his text.
‘The sittings were continued from this Sunday to the 2d day of May, when mass was said before the cardinals; and the sermon was preached by the cardinal Prenestin, more commonly called the cardinal of Poitiers.—He delivered a good discourse, and chose for his text, ‘Libera Deus Israel ex omnibus tribulationibus suis.’ He urged in his sermon eleven conclusive arguments against the two popes, for refusing to give peace to the church, and ended by requiring the council, in consideration of their obstinate contumacy, to proceed against them and provide a pastor for the flock of God.
‘On the 2d day of May, there was a general meeting of the council, when, after the usual solemnities, a very renowned doctor of Bologna made a reply to the insidious propositions of the bishop of Verdun, on the part of the emperor Robert. He condemned, by arguments drawn from divine, canon, and civil law, all that had been advanced by the bishop; and his reasoning was so just and clear that the council were much satisfied and comforted.
‘The ensuing Sunday, mass was said before the cardinals, and the sermon was preached by the general of the order of Augustins. He was a great doctor in divinity, and a native of Italy. He chose for his text, ‘Cum venerit ille arguet mundum de peccato, et de justitia, et de judicio.’ He discussed this subject very well, and with a good intent.
‘The sittings were prolonged from this 2d of May to the 10th.—The patriarch of Alexandria celebrated mass before the cardinals on the feast of the revelation of St Michael, the 8th of May; and he likewise preached a sermon, taking for his text, ‘Congregata est ecclesia ex filiis Israel et omnes qui fugiebant a malis additi sunt, et facti sunt illis ad firmamentum.’ These words are written in the 2nd and 5th chapters of the first book of Machabees. In the course of this sermon, he pressed six arguments against the two rival popes.
‘On Friday, the 10th of May, the council, after the usual solemnities, resumed its sittings, when the advocate-fiscal made the following requisitions: that the holy council would be pleased to confirm and approve the demands he had before made, namely, that it should declare that the union of the two colleges of cardinals has been and is legal; and that the council should pronounce definitively on the other demands he had made. The procurator fiscal made a request to the council, that eight days should be allowed for the production of witnesses; and the council was adjourned to the 16th of May.
‘On the Sunday preceding that day, mass was said before the cardinals by the bishop of Faenza; and the sermon preached by a native of Arragon, a learned doctor in divinity, who had always been of the party of Pietro della Luna. He chose his text from one of St Paul’s epistles, ‘Expurgate vetus fermentum ut sitis nova conspersio.’ He expatiated on this with such ability that all the doctors wondered. Drawing from it certain conclusions, he said that the two rivals were as much popes as his old shoes, calling them worse than Annas and Caiaphas, and comparing them to the devils in hell.
‘Such things passed in the council to the 23d day of this present month, as I have briefly related, on which day the ambassadors from the king of Spain were to come to Pisa. The number of prelates that were present cannot be estimated, for they were daily increased by new ones, who came from all parts of Christendom. I should suppose that at the last sitting of the council there were present of cardinals, bishops, archbishops, and abbots, wearing mitres, one hundred and forty, without counting the non-mitred members.