I'm confused as to why someone would create a second papacy, and why this led to having three popes in the end. The only thing I can think of is that the French just really wanted to dominate the Papacy.
I really want to know why it was create, how it was returned to having one pope, and the consequences for having multiple popes.
It says one comment, but I don't see it. Since no one's answered, I will.
At the time, France and Rome didn't get along very well. That sets the stage for the Western Schism
In 1305, a french cardinal was crowned pope in Lyon, France, Pope Clement V. Being french, he didn't want to go to Rome, and moved about France awhile until settling in Avignon. The next six popes all resided in Avignon, until Gregory XI was crowned in 1371. He decided it was time to go to Rome, and did so in 1377. Supposedly, before he died in 1378, he was ready to return to Avignon, disliking France, but who knows. A frenchman, he favored french cardinals in Rome, like his predecessors.
The cardinals in Rome then elected Urban VI. Urban was apparently not a very christly pope, and a few months later many of those cardinals left Rome for Fonti, Italy, and elected a new pope (antipope) Clement VII. Now there is two popes.
Naples backed Rome and kicked Clement VII (aka the executioner of Cesena) out of Italy, and he went to Avignon, where he died. Those french cardinals then elected Benedict XIII. Meanwhile, Urban also died and those roman cardinals elected Boniface IX. These two popes excommunicated each other and tried to garner support wherever they could. It pretty much boiled down to France, Spain, Aragon, Scotland, Norway, Denmark supporting France, and England, the German states, Flanders, and Naples supporting Rome.
Rome successively elected Innocent VII and then Gregory XII, while Benedict held on in Avignon. Then, in 1409, apparently hoping to put it all behind them, cardinals in Pisa elected a third pope(!), John XXIII. Now there are three popes and people all over christendom were going WTF!
Well, in 1414, the Council of Constance got together and settled it all by deposing John and Benedict and persuading Good Guy Gregory to abdicate. They then elected Martin V. Some say Martin was Dragonborn, I don't know. What is certain is that Tamriel, I mean Rome, was once again unified, and the gates of Oblivion shut.