Religious Study: Medieval Inquisition

So before I get into this next historical topic, I'd like to give a brief recap of where I am with this medieval European phase. It's truly been one of the more immersive phases I've ever had, which started last fall and is still going very strong. I first dove into the history of medieval Transylvania and eastern Europe (inspired by The Historian). From there I moved to Central Europe, Bohemia, and the Holy Roman Empire (inspired by the medieval game Kingdom Come Deliverance). And the past month now I have moved to western Europe with a focus on the Black Death and the Hundred Years War. All of these medieval phases have mostly spanned from about 1300-1500. It was such an intriguing period in history prior to the Renaissance and Enlightenment. 

One major theme I've gathered from these medieval studies thru reading, movies, television series, and video games, was the level of Christian fanaticism in those days. The church controlled everything and people truly feared the presence and judgement of the lord. To fight and die for God was considered the greatest of honors. And if anything bad ever happened (such as the Black Death) it was the will of the lord. The people turned to the church for guidance and salvation. They prayed to God and Jesus, but also to the angels and saints as if they were also Roman Gods and Goddesses. Relics, miracles, and martyrdom were the norm for those who sought to witness the power of Christ. 

The church was of course behind all this religious fanaticism that began to boom across Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire, Holy Roman Empire, France, and England all became powerful sovereignties under the influence of the papacy. And while these kingdoms administered their domestic laws, the church had it's own separate system of laws and justice. Their judicial system was known as the Inquisition and was considered one of the more feared institutions throughout medieval Europe. This governing body used any means necessary to root out all enemies of the faith, that were deemed as heretics. 

I use to think of the Inquisition as various purges by the Catholic Church. I even wrote about some of the more famous instances throughout history (see Christian Inquisitions) such as the Spanish Inquisition that focused mostly on Jews and Muslims. However while there were many famous regional campaigns, it was actually a widespread persecution that went on continuously from 1200-1800. In movies such as In the Name of the Rose, or in the book series Grail Quest, or the video game Plague Tale, the Inquisition is depicted as the villain. When you considered their cruel methods of torture and execution it's a fair accusation to see them this way. It's funny that the Christians were once persecuted by the Romans for some hundred years before they themselves became the persecutors. In this post I'd like to focus on the medieval system of the Inquisition and their primary heretic targets.  

 

Pope Gregory IX's Papal Inquisition

Prior to 1200, cases of heresy were judged locally by priests and bishops in a process known as episcopal inquisition. However their methods were often quite forgiving and not as effective at rooting out religious dissidents. Throughout this time Christianity had become the standard majority religion and any who opposed or did not practice were considered radicals. However still there were offshoots that began to develop during this time, most notably the Cathars and Waldensians  in southern France and Italy. In response to this Pope Gregory IX established a new papal agency in the 1230s that would serve as the first official Papal Inquisition. Not long after in 1252 Pope Innocent IV passed the Ad Extirpanda bull which allowed torture to be used during interrogation. 

This papal agency thus became like a deadly CIA or a secret police that hunted, tortured, and purged all enemies of the church. They were first carried out by the Dominican Order (founded by Saint Dominic) and Franciscan Order (founded by Francis of Assis). Their process began with traveling, investigation, accusations, interrogations (that often consisted of torture, trials, and then sentencing. The trials and executions were often carried out in public to serve as a warning to any other heretics. The most common form of execution was by burning at the stake, a terrible way to die. The system was headed up by a Grand Inquisitor with extreme authority who answered only to the pope.      

The Cathar Movement

While there were many one-off cases (such as Joan of Arc) the medieval inquisition began with a focus on reformist movements. Their first primary target were the Cathars from the region of Toulouse in Southern France. This Christian off-shoot was established by crusaders from the Second Crusade (1147-1149), inspired by beliefs from the Bulgarian Empire. What made them different from the Catholic Church was their belief in Gnosticism and dualism (spiritual vs material; good vs bad). The Cathars believed the Catholic Church was a part of this physical material world that was corrupt and was ultimately evil. Which naturally infuriated the Catholic Church and led to their inquisition. 

The Church first responded with the Albigensian Crusade from 1209-1229 a military campaign of Catholic crusaders against the Cathar movement. The Cathars had taken refuge in the mighty castle of Carcassonne in southern France and defended themselves quite well for some time. However eventually they were expelled from the castle and their leader Raymond Roger Trencavel was captured and executed. However their movement did not die, yet continued to operate in the shadows. This is where the Medieval Inquisition really got started to root out these hidden Cathar networks.     

Eventually the Inquisition was able to hunt the Cathar's spiritual leaders known as their Perfecti. From 1230-1244 they conducted investigations and interrogations to track down and execute the last remaining pockets of resistance. The Inquisition achieved it's final victory over the Cathars in 1244 when the seiged the fortress of Montsegur and executed all 200 devout Cathar followers. In total nearly 20,000 Cathars were killed throughout the Albigensian Crusade and the Inquisitions. Although quite vicious it was considered a complete eradication of the heretic movement and a harsh warning to other movements against the Catholic Church. 

The Waldensians

The other significant heretical movement of the medieval ages was the Waldensians, also based out of France during the 1100-1200s. They were founded by a spiritual prophet named Peter Waldo who gave up all his wealth to live a simple life of poverty. This movement was quite similar to many other Christian branches of "simple-living" such as the Tolstoyians or the Amish. The ultimate goal being to isolate from society, and focus on nature and community versus consumerism and material. They weren't quite as radical or reformist as the Cathar's however did establish their own community of ministers and followers. Although they were devout Christians, their new ideology had begun to pull away from the structure and authority of the Catholic Church. 

The Waldensian movement did not consist of crusaders like the Cathars, so the Catholic Church did not consider them a military threat. However they were still an ideological threat that was growing in number hence the launch of the inquisition. In 1211 the Inquisition famously burned 80 Waldensian heretics at Strasbourg, France. As the inquisition continued the Waldensians began to migrate towards the Alpine regions and Germany, where even their leader Peter Waldo was able to escape. The persecutions continued after Waldo's death, into the 1300-1600s. Many Waldensians were even often associated with witchcraft and became part of larger witch hunts. Their death toll was still much lower then the Cathars, around several thousands. The Waldensian Movement was ultimately able to survive the inquisitions and remain today as a Protestant branch with nearly 45,000 followers worldwide. 

Other Heretical Movements

While the Cathars and the Waldensians were the largest heretic movements of the medieval ages there were still many other forms of Christian reformists during this time. Such as the Arnoldists under Arnold of Brescia in Italy; The Henricians of Henry of Lausanne in France; the Paterenes in northern Italy; and the Fraticelli, an offshoot of the Franciscan Order. As new Christian branches emerged, the Inquisition was quick to accuse them of heresy and have them arrested or executed. These movements were the precursor to the Protestant Reformation which would eventually inspire the Hussites, the Lutherans, and the Calvinists in the 1400-1500s. 

While the Inquisition focused mostly on Christian heretics it also worked outside it's realm to target other religious or even political enemies. Such as the Jews, Muslims, and even atheist non-believers (which was quite rare during the medieval age). One of the most famous and feared Inquisitors was Bernard Gui (1261-1331) who wrote the manual on the Practical Guide for Inquisitors. There were also many famous high profile individual cases such as;

• Joan of Arc (1412-1431) - French female soldier who had visions from God, and was later burned at the stake. I will later have a separate post on her
• Jacques de Molay (1307-1314) -  Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Their order was dissolved by the Inquisition and all members were burned at the stake under charges of heresy
• Bernard Delicieux (1319)-  Franciscan friar who led a resistance against the Inquisition in Carcassonne and was later arrested for his practice of sorcery
• Marguerite Porete (1310)- Author of the mystical writing Mirror of Simple Souls. 
• Guido da Arezzo (controversial theologian)
• Fra Dolcino (preached of Apostolic Poverty)

The Medieval Inquisition was basically the first official police force of the Catholic Church. They were feared and they were very effective at rooting out Christian dissidents. However by the 1500-1600s they could no longer control the mass movements of Christian reform that was once considered heretic throughout Europe. They did however conduct various other notable waves of terrible Inquisition (primarily in Spain, Portugal, and Rome) to counter the threat of Judaism, Islam, and Reformists. These Inquisition efforts were also tied to various religious wars throughout the 1600s pinning Catholics against Protestants. However throughout time, the church slowly loss it's authority it once held during the Medieval age, and the effectiveness of their Inquisition slowly began to whither away.