completely abandoned the anti-Luxemburg policy pursued by
his father, Rupert, and Frederick of Hohenzollern, the most prominent
representative of national sentiment in Germany, who had already given
in Brandenburg an example of that restoration of order which he wished
Sigismund to effect throughout his dominions.

Of the clerical members of the council the most prominent at the
commencement was the pope John XXIII. He had been forced by his
difficulties in Italy to issue the summons, but as the time for the
meeting approached he felt more and more misgiving. His object was to
maintain himself in office; but he was conscious that neither Sigismund
nor the cardinals would hesitate to throw him over if he stood in the
way of the restoration of unity. He therefore allied himself with
Sigismund's opponents, the Elector of Mainz and Frederick of Tyrol, and
spared no pains to bring about dissension between Sigismund and the
council.

The assembled clergy may be divided roughly into two parties, the
reformers, and the conservative or ultramontane party. The reformers
were not in favor of any radical change in the Church. They were, if
anything, more vehemently opposed than their antagonists to the
doctrines of Wycliffe and Huss. Such reform as they desired was
aristocratic rather than democratic. They had no intention of weakening
the authority of the Church; but within the Church they desired to
remove gross abuses, and to strengthen the hierarchy as against the
papacy. Their chief contention was that a general council has supreme
authority, even over the pope, and they wished such councils to meet at
regular intervals. By this means papal absolutism would be limited by a
sort of oligarchical parliament within the Church. The conservatives, on
the other hand, consisting chiefly of the cardinals and Italian
prelates, had no wish to alter a system under which they enjoyed
material advantages. Their object, as it had been at Pisa, was to
restore the union of the Church, but to defeat, or at any rate postpone,
any schemes of reform.

The council was opened on November 5th, but the meeting was only formal,
and no real business was transacted for a month. Meanwhile Huss had been
followed to Constance by the representatives of the orthodox party in
Bohemia, who brought a formidable list of charges against the reformer.
John XXIII at once saw in this an opportunity for embroiling the council
with Sigismund. Adroitly keeping himsel