1/4 Groschen - Benedict XIII

Benedict XIII — the Aragonese cardinal Pedro de Luna — issued this coinage as the Avignon claimant during the Western Schism, a period when two, and briefly three, simultaneous popes each commanded obedience from different European powers. The Comtat Venaissin, a papal enclave within Provence distinct from French royal jurisdiction, remained loyal to the Avignon line throughout. Benedict XIII clung to his claim with extraordinary tenacity even after the Council of Pisa (1409) declared both rival popes deposed, retreating eventually to the castle of Peñíscola on the Aragonese coast rather than submit.