1417 in Europe

split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417, in which bishops in Rome and Avignon both claimed to be the pope, joined by a third line of Pisan popes in 1409

Frequens (Frequent) is the name for the decree passed at the Council of Constance on October 9, 1417; it was supposed to ensure that the Pope convened councils regularly. With this decree, the council participants determined that church meetings should be held "forever". The title is the incipit of the decree, the first sentence of which runs, ("Frequent celebration of general councils is the best method of cultivating the field of the Lord").