Virgin, against the preaching friar Jean de Montson, and in
1389 to petition in the name of the king for the canonization
of the young cardinal Peter of Luxemburg. The success which
attended his efforts on these two occasions, and the eloquence
which he displayed, perhaps contributed to his choice as the
king,s almoner and confessor. At the same time, by means
of an exchange, he obtained to the highest dignity in the
university, becoming chancellor of Notre-Dame de Paris.
When in 1394 Benedict XIII. succeeded Clement VII. at Avignon,
Pierre d'Ailly was entrusted by the king with a mission of
congratulation to the new pontiff. His obsequious language
on this occasion, and the favours with which it was rewarded,
formed a too violent contrast to the determined attitude of
the university of Paris, which, tired of the schism, was even
then demanding the resignation of the two pontiffs. Pierre
d'Ailly himself had not long before taken part in the drawing
up of a letter to the king in which the advantages of this
double abdication were set forth, but since then his zeal
had seemed to cool a little. None the less, on his return
from Avignon, he again in the presence of the king enlarged
upon the advantages offered by the way which the university
commended. But the suspicions aroused by his conduct found
further confirmation when he caused himself--or allowed
himself--to be nominated bishop of Le Puy by Benedict XIII.
(April 2, 1395 ). The great number of benefices which he
held left room for some doubt as to his disinterestedness.
Henceforward he was under suspicion at the university, and was
excluded from the assemblies where the union was discussed.
Some time afterwards Pierre d'Ailly became bishop of Cambrai
(March 19, 1397) by the favour of the pope, who had yielded no
whit, and, by virtue of this position, became also a prince
of the empire. In order to take possession of his new see,
he had to brave the wrath of the duke of Burgundy, override
the resistance of the clergy and bourgeoisie, and even
withstand an armed attack on the part of several lords; but his
protector, the duke of Orleans, had his investiture performed by
Wenceslaus, king of the Romans. The latter, though a partisan
of the pope of Rome, took the opportunity of enjoining on
Pierre d'Ailly to go in his name and argue with the pope of
Avignon, a move which had as its object to persuade Benedict
XIII. to an abdication, the necessity of which was becoming
more and more evident. However, the language of the bishop
of Cambrai seems on this occasion to have been lacking in
decision; however that may be, it led to no felicitous result.
France next tried to bring violent pressure to bear to
conquer the obstinacy of Benedict XIII. by threatening a
formal withdrawal from his obedience. Pierre d'Ailly, who,
in spite of his attachment to the pope, had been carried away
by the example of the kingdom, was among the first who, in
1403, after experience of what had happened, counselled and
celebrated the restoration of obedience. He was sent by
Charles VI. on an embassy to Benedict XIII. and seized this
opportunity of lavishing on the pontiff friendly congratulations
mingled with useful advice. Two years later, before the same
pontiff, he preached in the city of Genoa a sermon which
led to the general institution, in the countries of the
obedience of Avignon, of the festival of the Holy Trinity.
At the ecclesiastical council which took place at Paris
in 1406 Pierre d'Ailly made every effort to avert a new
withdrawal from the obedience and, by order of the king,
took the part of defender of Benedict XIII., a course
which yet again exposed him to attacks from the university
party. The following year he and his disciple Gerson formed
part of the great embassy sent by the princes to the two
pontiffs, and while in Italy he was occupied in praiseworthy
but vain efforts to induce the pope of Rome to remove himself
to a town on the Italian coast, in the neighbourhood of his
rival, where it was hoped that the double abdication would
take place. Discouraged by his failure to effect this,
he returned to his diocese of Cambrai at the beginning of
1408. At this time he was still faithful to Benedict
XIII., and the disinclination he felt to joining the members
of the French clergy who were on the point of ratifying
the royal declaration of neutrality excited the anger of
Charles VI.'s government, and a mandate, which was however
not executed, ordered the arrest of the bishop of Cambrai.
It was not till after the cardinals of the two colleges had
led to the convocation of the general council of Uisa that
Tierre d'Aiily renounced the support of Benedict XIII., and,
for want of a better policy, again allied himself with the
cause which he had championed in his youth. In the council lay
now, to judge from his words, the only chance of salvation;
and, in view of the requirements of the case, he began to argue
that, in case of schism, a council could be convoked by any one
of the faithful, and would have the right to judge and even to
depose the rival pontiffs. This was, in fact, the procedure of
the council of Pisa, in which Pierre d'Ailly took part. After
the declaration of the deposition of Gregory XII. and Benedict
XIII. it went on to the election of Alexander V. (June 26th,
1409), This pope reigned only ten months; his successor, John
XXIII., raised Pierre d'Ailly to the rank of cardinal (June
6, 1411), and furtuer, to indemnify him for the loss of the
bishopric of Cambrai, conferred upon him the administration
of that of Limoges (November 3, 1412), which was shortly after
exchanged for the bishopric of Orange. He also nominated
Pierre d'Ailly as his legate in Germany (March 18, 1413).
Forgetting these benefits, the cardinal of Cambrai was one of
the most formidable adversaries of John XXIII. at the council of
Constance. Convinced as he was of the necessity for union and
reform, he contributed more than any one to the adoption of
the principle that, since the schism had survived the council
of Pisa, it was necessary again to take up the work for a
fundamental union, without considering the rights of John
XXIII. any more than they had those of Gregory XII. and Benedict
XIII. From this point of view Pierre d'Ailly, together with
his compatriot Cardinal Fillastre, took the preponderating part
during the first few months. Afterwards, seeing the trend of
events, he showed some uneasiness and hesitation. He refused,
however, to undertake the defence of John XXIII., and only
appeared in the trial of this pope to make depositions against
him, which were sometimes of an overwhelming character.
Among the important matters which claimed his attention at
Constance may be mentioned also the condemnation of the errors
of Wycliffe and the trial of John Huss. The reading in public
of his two treatises De Potestate ecclesiastica and De
Reformalione Ecclesiae revealed, besides ideas very peculiar
to himself on the reform and constitution of the church, his
design of reducing the power of the English in the council by
denying them the right of forming a separate nation (October
1-November 1, 1416). By this campaign, which exposed him
to the worst retaliation of the English, he inaugurated his
role of ``procurator and defender of the king of France.''
When at last the question arose of giving the Christian world
a new pope, this time sole and uncontested, Pierre d'Ailly
defended the right of the cardinals, if not to keep the election
entirely in their own hands, at any rate to share in the election,
and he brought forward an ingenious system for reconciling
the pretensions of the council with the rights of the Sacred
College. In this way was elected Pope Martin V. (November 11,
1417), and the task of Pierre d'Ailly was at last finished.
The predominance of the Anglo-Burgundians in France having
made it impossible for him to stay there, he went to
Avignon to end his days in melancholy calculations arising
from the calamities of which he had been the witness, and
the astrological reckonings, in which he found pleasure,
of the chances for and against the world coming to an end
in the near future. He died on the 9th of August 1420.
Pierre d'Ailly's written works are numerous. A great part of
them was published with the works of Gerson (by Elhes du Pin,
Antwerp, 1706); another part appeared in the 15th century,
probably at Brussels, and there are many treatises and sermons
still unpublished. In philosophy he was a nominalist. Many
questions in science and astrology, such as the reform of the
calendar, attracted his attention. His other works consisted
of theological essays, ascetic or exegetic, questions of
ecclesiastical discipline and reform, and of various polemical
writings called forth for the most part by the schism.
Whatever reservations may be made as to a certain
interested or ambitious side of his character, Pierre
d'Ailly, whose devotion to the cause of union and reform
is incontestable, remains one of the leading spirits of
the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--P. Tschackert, Peter van Ailli (Gotha, 1877);
L. Salembier, Petrus de Alliaco (Lille, 1886); H. Denifle
et Em. Chatelain, Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis, t.
iii. (Paris, 1894); N. Valois, La France et le Grand Schisme
d'Occident (Paris, 4 vols., 1896-1902); and Bibliotheque de
l'ecole des chartes, vol. lxv., 1904, pp. 557-574. (N. V.)
AILSA CRAIG, an island rock at the mouth of the Firth of
Clyde, 10 m. W. of Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland. It is of
conoidal form, with an irregular elliptic base, and rises
abruptly to a height of 1114 ft. The only side from which the
rock can be ascended is the east; the other sides being for
the most part perpendicular, and generally presenting lofty
columnar forms, though not so regular as those of Staffa. This
island is composed of micro-granite with riebeckite, of great
interest on account of the rare occurrence of this type in
Britain. It is comparatively fine-grained and of a greyish
colour. Its essential constituents are felspar, quartz and
riebeckite--a soda amphibole. The last of these minerals
occurs in small irregular patches between the idiomorphic
felspars which Dr J. J. H. Tean has found to be a soda
orthoclase. The rock is allied to paisanite described by
C. A. Osann and has been termed ailsite by Professor M. F.
Heddle. It forms part of an intrusive mass which, on the
south and west cliffs of the island, has a columnar arrangement
and is traversed by dykes of dolerite, most of which run in
a north-west direction. The age of this mass is uncertain,
as its relations to other rocks are not visible in the
island. As riebeckite-granophyre has been found in Skye it
may be of Tertiary age. The rock is a favourite material for
curling-stones, about three-fourths (according to estimate)
of those in use in the countries where the game obtains being
made of it. On this account curling-stones are popularly
known as ``Ailsas'' or ``Ailsa Craigs.'' A columnar cave
exists towards the northern side of the island, and on the
eastern are the remains of a tower, with several vaulted
rooms. Two springs occur and some scanty grass affords
subsistence to rabbits, and, on the higher levels, to
goats. The precipitous parts are frequented by large
flocks of solan geese and other sea birds. The lighthouse
on the southern side shows a flashing light visible for 13
m. In 1831 the twelfth earl of Cassillis became first marquis
of Ailsa, taking the title from the Craig, which was his
