Which medieval council (1414–1418) ended the Western Schism?

The medieval council held from 1414 to 1418 that ended the Western Schism was the Council of Constance.

The Western Schism began in 1378, when rival popes claimed authority in Rome and Avignon; after the Council of Pisa in 1409, a third claimant also emerged. The competing papacies divided European rulers and church communities, creating a crisis that required an international settlement.

The Council of Constance met in the city of Constance, in present-day Germany, with strong political backing from King Sigismund. It secured the resignation of Gregory XII, deposed the rival claimants John XXIII and Benedict XIII, and elected Martin V as pope in 1417. This restored a single recognized papal line and brought the schism to an end.

The council also condemned Jan Hus, who was executed in 1415, and debated conciliarism—the idea that a general church council could hold authority superior to the pope. The Council of Pisa had attempted to solve the schism but instead worsened it by producing another claimant. The Council of Trent, held a century later, addressed the Protestant Reformation rather than the Western Schism.