Late Middle Ages · 1309-1417

Avignon and the Great Schism of the West

For almost 70 years the popes live in Avignon, and then for almost 40 years there are two popes, and finally three. Students map which kingdoms followed which pope and see how a church council in Constance ended the split in 1417.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1309 to AD 1415
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

For almost 70 years the popes live in Avignon, and then for almost 40 years there are two popes, and finally three. Students map which kingdoms followed which pope and see how a church council in Constance ended the split in 1417.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why the popes lived in Avignon from 1309 to 1377.
  • Describe how the double election of 1378 split Western Christendom and how kingdoms chose sides.
  • Explain how the Council of Constance ended the schism in 1417.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1309

Popes on the Rhône

Open the map in 1309 and zoom in on Avignon on the Rhône. Rome at this time was torn by feuds between noble families. Why might popes feel safer here, close to France?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1400

Choosing sides

Move to 1400 and zoom out over Europe. Using the list on your worksheet, find the kingdoms that backed the pope in Avignon and those that backed the pope in Rome. Do you see a pattern?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1415

A council on the lake

Find Constance, on the lake at the edge of the Alps, inside the Holy Roman Empire. Why might a city between Italy, France and the German lands be a good place for a great council?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Many people called the Avignon years the "Babylonian captivity" of the Church. Why compare it to the exile of the Jews in Babylon?
  2. In 1378 the cardinals elected a pope in Rome and then, months later, a second one. Why would they do that?
  3. Kingdoms often chose their pope according to their alliances. What does that say about faith and politics?
  4. If two popes excommunicate each other's followers, how might ordinary believers feel?
  5. The council claimed it stood above any pope. Why was that a revolutionary idea?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Rule History as Mansa Musa, who made his famous pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 while the popes lived at Avignon. Afterwards, discuss: how did rulers in this age use religion to strengthen their power?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.