Battle for Christendom

In an attempt to save Christian world the Emperor Sigismund called the many nations of Europe together for a conference at Constance, beside the Rhine. The Conference attracted the greatest minds in the western world, as well as innumerable princes, lawyers and prostitutes. And amid the confusion hoped to put Europe's house in order.In The Battle for Christendom, brilliant historian Frank Welsh delves into this important moment in history and shows that it is in fact one of the most central moments in European history.

From Publishers Weekly

At the beginning of the 15th century, Christendom was in full decline, attacked from the outside by Islam and disrupted from within by schism regarding the office of the Pope. Until the Council of Constance (1414–1418), three popes—Gregory XII in Rome, Benedict XIII in Avignon and John XXIII in Germany—ruled Christendom, provoking schism. In 1387, Sigismund, already the king of Czechoslovakia, became the Holy Roman Emperorthrough his political savvy and military acumen, and with the help of John XXIII convoked the Council of Constance. The council not only ended the schism but also returned the papacy to Rome for good—electing Martin V as pope—and condemned the heresies of reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake for his positions on the Eucharist. Although the book offers a useful portrait of Sigismund, a little-known but important figure in church history, it has a plodding, workmanlike style and offers little new insight into the work of the council itself. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Frank Welsh was born in Washington, County Durham, and educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge. His books include The Profit of the State, Uneasy City, Building the Trireme, A History of Hong Kong, and A History of South Africa. He lives in France and England.

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