Heresy and Inquisition Flashcards
Academic Heresy
Individual - doesn’t lead to mass movements
Eg peter Abelard, opposed strongly by Bernard of Clairvaux
Books often condemned, but not man
Intellectual arguments have little broad effects, huge effects on individual scholasticism
Moore- ‘heresy lies in the eye of the beholder’ - eg church
Popular Heresy
Heretics with large consequences and mass followings
Usually described in 1 or 2 sources
Eg Pataria - 11th C. Milan
- involved lay and clerical men
- Condemned by lay churchmen
- Backed by Pope Gregory VII, saw them as reformers
Lots of other examples of groups who criticised the church, some successful, some not
Humiliati too
Mass Heresy
Seen in areas of high urbanisation
‘Evangelical awakening’ - seen to make people believe
Waldensians
Cathars
Found in sermons, chronicles, disputes, own writings
Inquisitions records
waldensians
Led by Valdés of Lyon
Advised to give up wealth and follow his reputation of holiness
New way of obtaining salvation
Attempt to gain papal approval, but condemned for preaching
Development of well organised counter church
Extreme form of aesthetic life
Survived for several centuries
Cathars
Idea that there was more than one creator
Direct conflict with Catholic Church
Scholars 13 sermons against cathars
Lots of accounts
Cathar bible and other ritual texts exist
Why did heresy come about?
Ecclesiastical paranoia Failings of the church Attractiveness of beliefs Influences form the east Socio-economic reasons - towns, literacy, learning etc
Process of inquisition
Judicial process - not necessarily based on accusations
Episcopal enquiry - instituted in suspect parishes
Heretics liable to same penalties and treason
Campaigns of preaching
Lateran 4 sees it as job to be dealt with by secular rulers
Secular laws of inquisition
France - barred form public office, then proper inquisitons established
Empire - laws incorporated into previous ones, punishments very explicit
Italian Cities- incorporated into new statues of cities
1231 - pope gives inquisitorial powers to Dominicans
Dominican Inquisition
Slow to emerge
Lots of resistance, inquisitors murders, Abbeys sacked
Pope authorises torture of suspects
Trial former introduced with standard questions
Lots of punishments, Death, prison, fines, badges
Could be manipulated fro political purposes
Papal inquisition texts
Registers, sentences, confessions etc
Specific process/rituals focussed on by inquisitors
Adoption of specific idea by condemned heretics
Very professional process
Creation of manuals for inquisitors
Jaques Fournier - Greta source
Impact of inquisitions
On individual believers
On movements - cathars disappear
On mendicant friars - turn into professional administrators
New reputation for Dominicans
Sources
Sermon against cathars - shows religion to be totally different - totally biased
Jacques Fournier - very detailed inquisition records
