Directory

1378 CE

A year defined by the outbreak of the Western Schism, which divided Western Christendom between rival popes in Rome and Avignon, and the Ciompi Revolt in Florence, where wool workers briefly seized political power.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • The Western Schism began when cardinals who had elected Pope Urban VI in April declared his election invalid and elected a rival pope, Clement VII, in September.
  • Urban VI established his papacy in Rome while Clement VII relocated to Avignon, dividing European Christendom into competing obediences that would persist for nearly four decades.
  • France, Scotland, Castile, and Aragon supported the Avignon pope Clement VII, while England, the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, and the Italian states generally recognized Urban VI in Rome.
  • The schism created a profound crisis of authority within the Catholic Church, as both popes claimed legitimacy and excommunicated each other's supporters.

Conflict & Security

  • The Ciompi Revolt erupted in Florence in July, when wool carders and other disenfranchised textile workers seized the government and briefly established a more democratic regime.
  • The Ciompi uprising was suppressed within weeks, as the established guilds and wealthy merchant families reasserted control over the Florentine government.

Climate & Environment

  • Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 272 parts per million, as later confirmed by ice core analysis.

Culture & Society

  • The estimated world population was approximately 350 million, with Europe still recovering from the demographic catastrophe of the Black Death.