Eugene IV's pontificate was consumed almost immediately by the conciliarist crisis — the Council of Basel convened in 1431 and spent years asserting that a general council held authority superior to the pope, pushing Eugene to the edge of deposition. Bologna itself was a chronic flashpoint in papal territorial politics, frequently restive under direct papal administration and requiring constant negotiation with local signorie to maintain order. Coinage from the Bologna mint under Eugene reflects this administrative grip: the grossone series was tied directly to the papal legate's financial authority over the city.
Eugene IV's pontificate was consumed almost immediately by the conciliarist crisis — the Council of Basel convened in 1431 and spent years asserting that a general council held authority superior to the pope, pushing Eugene to the edge of deposition. Bologna itself was a chronic flashpoint in papal territorial politics, frequently restive under direct papal administration and requiring constant negotiation with local signorie to maintain order. Coinage from the Bologna mint under Eugene reflects this administrative grip: the grossone series was tied directly to the papal legate's financial authority over the city.