Ecclesiastical–Secular Conflict and Prelude to the Schism (1320s)

Timeline

1. 1322–1324Holy Roman Empire · Central EuropeJohn XXII refused to recognize Louis IV's imperial title and excommunicated him, while imperial electors and princes questioned the pope's overreach in interfering with the election. Disputes over papal taxation, episcopal appointments, and the jurisdictional boundaries with secular rulers made the structural contradiction of the 'two-headed authority' increasingly explicit.
2. 1327–1328Munich · GermanyMarsilius and Michael systematically set forth, at the court of Louis IV, arguments for limiting papal power and restoring government to elected institutions; the 1328 Manifesto publicly questioned the sitting pope's qualifications, marking the escalation of political confrontation into a struggle over institutional legitimacy.
3. 1329–1330Italian Peninsula · ItalyPapally supported Naples and pro-imperial factions continued to jostle in Italy, while Germany was also divided over excommunications and questions of loyalty. The long-term opposition that took shape by the late 1320s prefigured the political and ideological conditions for the more enduring crisis of ecclesiastical authority in the later 14th century.