If the Church of Rome was to be reformed from within, it had ample opportunities in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. But by the end of the fifteenth century, the dreams of Marsilius of Padua had vanished, the leaders of reform by church councils were frustrated and repudiated, and the revolts of Wyclif and Hus were crushed. The value of the period lies in the demonstration it gives that reform of the papal church from within was impossible.
