The council of Perpignan was summoned by Benedict xiii, the second pope of the Great Schism. It was the first of three councils, each purporting to be a general council of the Church, held in 1408–9, the others being the Council of Pisa, which was convened by cardinals from both the Roman and the Avignon curia with the aim of putting an end to the schism, and the Council of Cividale held by Benedict's rival Gregory xii. Hélène Millet says of Benedict's council, in her informative introduction to the present volume, ‘bien que général dans son principe, son concile fut en réalité très particulier’. This reflects the dwindling of Benedict's obedience, above all as a result of the second subtraction of obedience by the kingdom of France in the previous year. Indeed, the only parts of Christendom to send representatives in substantial numbers were the Spanish kingdoms. Even the neighbouring kingdom of Navarre produced no representative, following King Charles iii's personal subtraction of obedience, also in 1408. The articles collected in this volume deal comprehensively with the Council of Perpignan, while some authors concentrate on other aspects of the pontificate of Benedict xiii, for instance, Marie-Claude Marandet's ‘Benoît xiii dans les sources perpignanaises: l'expédition de secours de 1398’. Jean-Baptiste Lebigue and Hélène Millet provide a translation and facsimile of the letter of 15 June 1408 whereby the pope convened the council. They do not mention an endorsement on the letter which shows that it was registered in the curia (for the register entry see O. Cuella Esteban, Bullario Aragonés de Benedicto XIII, ii, Zaragoza 2005, no. 625). Five essays concern the course of the council: Gilbert Larguier, ‘Pourquoi Benoît xiii choisit-il Perpignan pour tenir un concile?’; Carole Puig, ‘Perpignan au début du xve siècle’; Jean-Baptiste Lebigue, ‘L’ordo du concile de Perpignan'; Philippe Perrier, ‘Le Concile de Perpignan d'après la Chronique de Martin de Alpartil’; and Barbara von Langen-Monheim, ‘Le Rapport sur les actes de Benoît xiii et la dernière version de l’informatio seriosa'. More of the contributions, however, concern the relations of different European powers with the council: Stéphane Péquignot, ‘A Bonne Distance: le pouvoir royal aragonois et le concile de Perpignan’; Maria Narbona Carceles, ‘La Valse-hésitation de la Navarre entre les conciles de Perpignan et de Pise’; Hugues Labarthe, ‘Les Prélats de Gascogne au concile de Perpignan’; Bruno Galland, ‘Les Savoyards au concile de Perpignan’; Oscar Villarroel González, ‘Castilla y el Concilio de Perpiñán’; and Prim Bertrán Roigé, ‘L'església catalana en el marc del concili de Perpinyà’. Several articles cover longer periods: Claire Ponsich, ‘La Correspondence de Yolande de Bar, reine veuve d'Aragon: une source sur Benoît xiii et le concile de 1408’ (with what appear to be defective transcripts on p. 95 and in nn. 38–9); David Ditchburn, ‘“Une Grande Ténacité doublée d'une loyauté remarquable”: l'Ecosse et le Schisme’; Isabel Grifoll, ‘Benet xiii, el cisma d'Occident i la literatura catalana’; and Jean-Patrice Boudet, ‘Le “Pape de la lune” et la magie’. Emilie Rosenblieh's brief discussion of the term conciliabulum summarises research which is to be published elsewhere. There is a concluding essay by Flocel Sabaté; and Hélène Millet provides useful ‘Listes des participants au Concile de Perpignan’. The volume represents a most welcome addition to the relatively small body of secondary literature concerning the Council of Perpignan.