Editing Middle Ages (section)

=== Controversy within the Church ===
{{Main|Western Schism|Bohemian Reformation|Hussites}}
[[File:07 Grégoire XI (couronné par Guy de Boulogne).jpg|thumb|left|[[Guy of Boulogne]] crowning Pope Gregory XI in a 15th-century miniature from [[Froissart's Chronicles]]]]

During the tumultuous 14th century, disputes within the leadership of the Church led to the [[Avignon Papacy]] of 1309–1376,<ref name=Thomson170>Thomson ''Western Church'' pp. 170–171</ref> also called the "Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy" (a reference to the [[Babylonian captivity]] of the Jews),<ref name=MAAvignon>Loyn "Avignon" ''Middle Ages'' p. 45</ref> and then to the [[Western Schism|Great Schism]], lasting from 1378 to 1418, when there were two and later three rival popes, each supported by several states.<ref name= MAGreat>Loyn "Great Schism" ''Middle Ages'' p. 153</ref> Ecclesiastical officials convened at the [[Council of Constance]] in 1414, and in the following year the council deposed one of the rival popes leaving only two claimants. Further depositions followed, and in November 1417, the council elected [[Martin V]] (pope 1417–1431) as pope.<ref name=Thomson184>Thomson ''Western Church'' pp. 184–187</ref>

Besides the schism, the Western Church was riven by theological controversies, some of which became heresies. [[John Wycliffe]] (d. 1384), an English theologian, was condemned as a heretic in 1415 for teaching that the laity should have access to the text of the Bible as well as for holding views on the [[Eucharist]] that were contrary to Church doctrine.<ref name=Thomson197>Thomson ''Western Church'' pp. 197–199</ref> Wycliffe's teachings influenced two of the major heretical movements of the later Middle Ages: [[Lollardy]] in England and [[Hussitism]] in Bohemia.<ref name=Thomson218>Thomson ''Western Church'' p. 218</ref> The Bohemian movement initiated with the teaching of [[Jan Hus]], who was burned at the stake in 1415 after being condemned as a heretic by the Council of Constance. The Hussite Church, although the target of a crusade, survived beyond the Middle Ages.<ref name=Thomson213>Thomson ''Western Church'' pp. 213–217</ref> Other heresies were manufactured, such as the accusations against the Knights Templar that resulted in their suppression in 1312, and the division of their great wealth between the French King [[Philip IV of France|Philip IV]] (r. 1285–1314) and the Hospitallers.<ref name=Templars>Loyn "Knights of the Temple (Templars)" ''Middle Ages'' pp. 201–202</ref>

The papacy further refined the practice in the [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] in the Late Middle Ages, holding that the clergy alone was allowed to partake of the wine in the Eucharist. This further distanced the secular laity from the clergy. The laity continued the practices of pilgrimages, veneration of relics, and belief in the power of the Devil. Mystics such as [[Meister Eckhart]] (d. 1327) and [[Thomas à Kempis]] (d. 1471) wrote works that taught the laity to focus on their inner spiritual life, which laid the groundwork for the Protestant Reformation. Besides mysticism, belief in witches and witchcraft became widespread. By the late 15th century, the Church had begun to lend credence to populist fears of witchcraft with its condemnation of witches in 1484 and the publication in 1486 of the ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'', the most popular handbook for witch-hunters.<ref name=Davies436>Davies ''Europe'' pp. 436–437</ref>