The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

THE POPE S SUPREMACY. 307
their appeal to the Council of Constance by saying that the
latter had, for the removal of the schism, claimed superiority
only over doubtful Popes, of which at the present time there
could be no question. He concluded with the declaration
that the legates were fully determined that the supreme
authority of the Pope should be defined and published in
suitable terms, and in the widest signification of the
word.^
Cardinal Guise would have been very glad if the dispute
concerning the Pope's supremacy could have been avoided.
His depression of spirits increased from day to day. On
January iSth, 1563, a commission had been appointed under
the presidency of himself and Cardinal Madruzzo ; it formu-
lated a new decree on the duty of residence,^ but this was
neither approved by the legates, nor placed by them upon
the agenda.^ The Session, which had been first fixed for
December 17th, 1562, then for the beginning of January, 1563,
and finally for January 15th, had in the meantime been
postponed till February 4th. ^ As no agreement could be
come to, however, the Session could not be held on that date.
Therefore, on February 3rd, Cardinal Gonzaga proposed a
further postponement for a longer period, until April 22nd,
to put asid-i, for the time being, the difficult questions of the
duty of residence and of Holy Orders, and in the meantime
to deal with the sacrament of Matrimony. Discussions were
to take place twice every day ;
in the mornings on Matrimony,
by the theologians, and in the afternoons, on the abuses
connected with the ordination of priests, by the bishops.
Of the 176 fathers of the Council present, only nine voted
^ See Paleotto, loc. cit. ; the letter of the legates of January 24,
in Grisar, Disput., I., 486-92. Cf. Grisar, Primat., 769 seq. ;
SusTA, III., 181. See also Pallavicini, 19, 14.
2 No agreement was reached upon the theme proposed on
December 10, 1562 ; see Theiner, II., 198.
'See Theiner, II., 229 seq.; Knopfler in the Freiburger
Kirchenlex., XP., 2102.
seq.
* See Theiner, II., 179, 186 seq., 206 seq., 218 seq., 228