I know for sure that in future times such things will be marvelled at, for instance how the church could land in such trouble that would last for so long, but it was a scourge sent from God to call the clergy to account and make them consider their grand way of life and the superabundance they possessed and cultivated, yet many of them paid no attention for they were so blinded by arrogance and pride that each one wished to emulate his superior or outdo him, which caused matters to deteriorate. And if our faith had not been so strongly confirmed in the human race, and if the grace of the Holy Spirit, illuminating afresh those hearts that had gone astray, had not held them firmly united, our faith would have been weakened and shaken. But the great lords of the land, who were patrons of the church at first, did nothing but laugh and make a joke of it at the time I wrote and recorded these chronicles in the year of grace 1390. For which reason many of the common people wondered why such great lords as the
king of France, the
king of Germany, and other Christian kings and princes made no attempt to find a remedy for it all, or to provide sound counsel. Yet there is a reasonable explanation to pacify the people and excuse the great princes, kings, dukes and counts, and all lords of the land. For just as the yolk of an egg cannot be without the white, nor the white without the yolk, so the lords and the clergy cannot do without one another either, for the lords are governed by the clergy; were they not, they would not know how to live and would become brute beasts in their absence, for the clergy guide and advise the lords to do as they do. I can certainly say that I have seen much of the world in my time, as much for my own pleasure and to see the world's wonders as to investigate the exploits and deeds of arms recorded in this book.
I have therefore been in a position to see, learn about and recollect many conditions of men, but most assuredly, and throughout all the time of my travels through the world, I have come across no great lord who did not have his favourites, whether members of the clergy or young men, raised up to positions of honour by their affected chatter and raillery, excepting only the
count of Foix. He had none of these for he was wise by nature, and his good sense was worth more than any he could be given. I am not saying that those lords attended by their favourites are fools; rather they are more than fools for they are all blind and yet have two eyes.
SHF 3-68 syncWhen knowledge first reached
king Charles of France of happy memory, of the dispute between these two
popes, he held back and put the matter to his clergy. The clergy of
France considered the affair and adopted
pope Clement by majority. The
king of Castile and the
king of Scotland were in agreement with the opinion of the
king of France because during the period of the schism within the church,
France,
Castile and
Scotland were allied together against the
king of England their adversary. The
king of England and the
king of Portugal were against the choice of the aforementioned realms. They were similarly allied together and opposed to the view espoused by their enemies. The
count of Flanders made his choice at once, as recorded earlier in this history, for he was never inclined to acknowledge
Clement as the rightful
pope, since
Clement, then the cardinal of
Geneva, was present at the election in
Rome of the
archbishop of Bari.
pb 257 v