Rival Popes, Broken Crowns

A corpse propped on a throne and put on trial. An emperor kneeling barefoot in the snow. Cardinals locked hungry into a building until they finally agreed. This is the papacy's other history - the one they don't put in the stained glass.For nearly two thousand years, the office of the pope has been described as an unbroken chain running back to the apostle Peter. It isn't. At least three dozen times, that chain forked. Two men - sometimes three - simultaneously claimed to be the one true successor of Peter, each excommunicating the other, each backed by real armies, real bribes, and real political ambition.RIVAL POPES, BROKEN CROWNS is the untold history of the Catholic Church's antipopes, schisms, and the ruthless centuries-long struggle to control Western Christendom's most powerful office - told through documented history, not legend.What's inside:¿ The Cadaver Synod: how one pope put his dead predecessor's corpse on trial¿ The Investiture Controversy and Henry IV's legendary barefoot penance at Canossa¿ Anacletus II, the antipope who held Rome itself for eight years and very nearly won¿ The Avignon Papacy's "Babylonian Captivity" and the laywoman who helped end it¿ The Western Schism: nearly forty years with two, then three, competing popes dividing Europe along national lines¿ How the Council of Constance finally resolved it - and burned a reformer alive in the process¿ The Borgia papacy: bribery, assassination, and a pope's own children running his court¿ The accidental origin of the modern conclave, born when frustrated townspeople locked hungry cardinals into a buildingEvery chapter is built on primary sources - papal bulls, conciliar records, contemporary chronicles - evaluated with real historiographical care, not sensationalized legend. Where a colorful detail rests on a single biased source, this book says so. This is popular history that respects both the drama and the evidence.Perfect for readers of narrative Church and political history, fans of medieval power struggles and court intrigue, and anyone who assumed papal succession was a quiet, orderly affair. Also a compelling gift for history buffs and readers of institutional drama who want their history unvarnished.Complete with a full timeline spanning eleven centuries, a glossary of key terms, discussion questions, a quick-reference list of every antipope discussed, and a curated further reading list.