In 1431, twenty-five years after the Council of Constance, the struggle between the pope and the conciliar movement was still unresolved. The Council of Constance had asserted superiority over the pope for church councils, but this was not acceptable to Pope Martin nor to his successors. They did not wish to become figureheads ruled by a council of bishops. Martin and the popes that followed were persuaded that the papal office held ultimate spiritual authority and were resolved to regain and reassert their power.

To accomplish this, successive popes made political agreements with European monarchs. These agreements often involved promises of church concessions, reforms, or political favors in exchange for loyalty to the papacy. By securing the loyalty of influential rulers, the popes hoped to diminish the authority of the councils and reassert their own dominance over church government.

This continuing battle for supremacy between the pope and the conciliar movement was a mirror of the greater battle for supremacy within the Church during this period. As the Conciliar movement tried to democratize church government and institute reforms, the papacy continued to try to centralize power. These tensions laid the foundation for the next Council of Basel, where the matter would reach its climax. Lastly, this period of negotiation, political maneuvering, and power struggles unveiled the inner conflicts of the Church as it tried to reform and keep itself together.