confusion; at the
worst he could maintain himself as an antipope, as Gregory and Benedict
had done against the Council of Pisa. His ally Frederick of Tyrol was
prepared to assist him. Frederick arranged a tournament outside the
walls; and while this absorbed public interest, the Pope escaped from
Constance in the disguise of a groom, and made his way to Schaffhausen,
a strong castle of the Hapsburg Count.

For the moment John XXIII seemed not unlikely to gain his end. Constance
was thrown into confusion by the news of his flight. The mob rushed to
pillage the papal residence. The Italian and Austrian prelates prepared
to leave the city, and the council was on the verge of dissolution. But
Sigismund's zeal and energy succeeded in averting such a disaster. He
restored order in the city, persuaded the prelates to remain, and took
prompt measures to punish his rebellious vassal. An armed force under
Frederick of Hohenzollern succeeded in capturing not only John XXIII,
but also Frederick of Tyrol. The latter was compelled to undergo public
humiliation, and to hand over his territories to his suzerain on
condition that his life should be spared. No such exercise of imperial
power had been witnessed in Germany since the days of the Hohenstaufen,
and Sigismund chose this auspicious moment to secure a powerful
supporter within the electoral college by handing over the electorate of
Brandenburg to Frederick of Nuremberg, April 30, 1415. He thus
established a dynasty which was destined to play a great part in German
history, and ultimately to create a new German empire.

The unsuccessful flight of John XXIII not only enabled Sigismund to
assume a more authoritative position in the council and in Germany; it
also sealed his own fate. The council had no longer any hesitation in
proceeding to the formal deposition of the Pope May 29, 1415. As the two
popes who had been deposed at Pisa had never been recognized at
Constance, the Church was now without a head. But instead of hastening
to fill the vacancy, the council turned aside to the suppression of
heresy and the trial of Huss. On three occasions, the 5th, 7th, and 8th
of June, Huss was heard before a general session. No point in his
teaching excited greater animadversion than his contention that a
priest, whether pope or prelate, forfeited his office by the commission
of mortal sin. With great cunning his accusers drew him on to extend
this doctrine to temporal princes. This was e