Zabarella, Francisco

(1360–1417)

   Cardinal and Lawyer.

   Zabarella taught Canon Law at Florence and Padua. He first came to public notice when he was invited by the Pope to participate in the Council of Pisa in 1409 in an attempt to end the Great Schism. He was appointed a Cardinal by Antipope John XXIII. He is remembered for his De Schismate, which put forward the theory that an ecumenical council was the supreme source of authority in the Church. This was eventually put on the Index, as undermining papal power. He worked tirelessly at the Council of Constance and, although he died before its end, his was an important voice in the final election of Pope Martin V.

   B. Tierney, Foundation of the Conciliar Theory (1955).