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Pope Urban VI

Pope Urban VI

1318 CE1389 CE · Naples

Born Bartolomeo Prignano in Naples, Urban VI was the first pope of the Western Schism. A respected administrator and archbishop of Bari, he was elected in 1378 amid a Roman crowd demanding an Italian pope. Once enthroned he turned harsh, suspicious, and violent toward the cardinals, who soon declared his election invalid as made under duress and chose Clement VII, who returned to Avignon—splitting Western Christendom into rival obediences. Urban's reign was marked by bitter conflict, including the reported torture and execution of cardinals who plotted against him. His difficult temperament deepened a schism that would divide the Church for nearly forty years.

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NaplesנאפוליItaly

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Naples in this era

Under its own autonomous dukes and later Norman kings, Naples remained a vibrant Latin ecclesiastical hub where its archbishop wielded regional influence, and Thomas Aquinas studied at the city's university founded by Frederick II in 1224.

About Naples

Don Isaac Abarbanel's residence after fleeing Spain; major Italian-Sephardi hub.

In Naples at the same time

Pope Boniface IX

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In the same place & time

Sages whose lives overlapped with Pope Urban VI’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.

The world in their lifetime

Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Pope Urban VI’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.

Works

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