Dal consenso al dissenso : la rilevanza giuridica dello scandalo nelle elezioni episcopali (secc. XII-XV)

Even if the role of the laity in episcopal elections had been restricting, up until the XV century canonists continued to give all society a decisive part in choosing the bishops. If the election was hit by a scandal and therefore wasn’t accepted by the community, it could be void. Scandals had to be avoided in order to assure the support of society to the bishop-elect and, therefore, to prevent the arising of discord or disorder within and amongst the dioceses. It’s significant that the matter came up for discussion between XIV and XV centuries, when the unity of the Western Church was jeopardized by the Great Schism.