Read Online EXECUTIONERS (True Crime) by Anne Williams, Phil Clarke, Liz Hardy - Free Book Online
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and exterminating heresy. Coupled with an inherent compassion, it appeared the Mendicant brotherhoods lacked none of the characteristics deemed necessary for the upcoming fight against their religious opponents.
The papally controlled Inquisition was methodically brought into being through a series of bulls issued by Pope Gregory IX in the early years of his reign. Imperial decrees of 1220 and 1224 authorising the burning at the stake of all heretics were adopted into ecclesiastical criminal law in 1231, proving that, this time, the Church meant business. A steady stream of commissions were created throughout the 1230s and sent out to suppress the nonconformist traditions wherever they were at their worst. The priorship of the Dominicans at Friesbach received its orders on 27 November 1231, while the Convent of Strasburg got its call on 2 December 1232. That year, Dominicans had already been despatched into the Rhineland and on to Tarragona in Spain, and the following year, commissioned friars were posted to Auxerre, Bordeaux and Burgundy in France, all following the papal orders to destroy the heretical threat. By 1255, the Inquisition had its representatives working tirelessly for this one aim in almost every country in Central and Western Europe and as they reached the fourteenth century, the Inquisition was at its height, its grip tightening whenever a display of heresy reared its head.
T HE P ROCEDURE
The inquisitors were sent out by papal decree and led an almost nomadic existence, moving from town to town, seeking out heresy and handing out punishments to those found guilty of unorthodoxy. Along with their sizeable entourage, these inquisitorial judges took large crucifixes into their chosen town, no doubt attempting to appeal to the dutiful side of the inhabitants. They would invite the townspeople to gather in the main square for a mass confessional. Attendance was voluntary – however, those who failed to accept the invitation would run the risk of being suspected of heresy. The visiting inquisitor would then issue a period of grace – usually lasting a month – in which time all individuals who wished to confess any heretical guilt could come forward and receive a minimum penance before being welcomed back into the fold. Those who came clean were also encouraged to inform on their neighbours and even children were pushed to give details of their parents’ heresies. Any two testimonies, even those provided by the despicable and disgraced, were enough to warrant a full enquiry by the Inquisition. This all helped the investigation get under way, stirring up suspicion and blame.
The focus of many an inquisitorial probe were the affluent members of a town. While such rich pickings usually ensured a higher profile arrest and therefore a more effective deterrent to heterodoxy, it was routine for those charged to have their property and assets seized by their religious interrogators. It was therefore in the inquisitors’ best interests to find heretics that had money, revealing that the unselfish Dominicans and Franciscans were not wholly resistant to the drawing power of wealth. In fact, as the numbers of executed heretics swelled so did the coffers of their persecutors.
Once sufficient, if factually dubious, information had been gathered, the trial could then take place. This would be a fairly one-sided affair favouring the prosecution, for as far back as 1205 Innocent III had issued a bull entitled Si Adversus vos, forbidding any legal help for heretics. Despite this ruling, legal counsel was often permitted, although finding a willing representative was tricky as any defending lawyer losing a case ran the risk of losing his practice, as well as being considered a supporter of heresy. Witnesses for the defence were few and far between for much the same reason. The trials failed to follow the judicial process today. The Inquisition conducted their trials of heresy behind closed doors, where the bulk of
The papally controlled Inquisition was methodically brought into being through a series of bulls issued by Pope Gregory IX in the early years of his reign. Imperial decrees of 1220 and 1224 authorising the burning at the stake of all heretics were adopted into ecclesiastical criminal law in 1231, proving that, this time, the Church meant business. A steady stream of commissions were created throughout the 1230s and sent out to suppress the nonconformist traditions wherever they were at their worst. The priorship of the Dominicans at Friesbach received its orders on 27 November 1231, while the Convent of Strasburg got its call on 2 December 1232. That year, Dominicans had already been despatched into the Rhineland and on to Tarragona in Spain, and the following year, commissioned friars were posted to Auxerre, Bordeaux and Burgundy in France, all following the papal orders to destroy the heretical threat. By 1255, the Inquisition had its representatives working tirelessly for this one aim in almost every country in Central and Western Europe and as they reached the fourteenth century, the Inquisition was at its height, its grip tightening whenever a display of heresy reared its head.
T HE P ROCEDURE
The inquisitors were sent out by papal decree and led an almost nomadic existence, moving from town to town, seeking out heresy and handing out punishments to those found guilty of unorthodoxy. Along with their sizeable entourage, these inquisitorial judges took large crucifixes into their chosen town, no doubt attempting to appeal to the dutiful side of the inhabitants. They would invite the townspeople to gather in the main square for a mass confessional. Attendance was voluntary – however, those who failed to accept the invitation would run the risk of being suspected of heresy. The visiting inquisitor would then issue a period of grace – usually lasting a month – in which time all individuals who wished to confess any heretical guilt could come forward and receive a minimum penance before being welcomed back into the fold. Those who came clean were also encouraged to inform on their neighbours and even children were pushed to give details of their parents’ heresies. Any two testimonies, even those provided by the despicable and disgraced, were enough to warrant a full enquiry by the Inquisition. This all helped the investigation get under way, stirring up suspicion and blame.
The focus of many an inquisitorial probe were the affluent members of a town. While such rich pickings usually ensured a higher profile arrest and therefore a more effective deterrent to heterodoxy, it was routine for those charged to have their property and assets seized by their religious interrogators. It was therefore in the inquisitors’ best interests to find heretics that had money, revealing that the unselfish Dominicans and Franciscans were not wholly resistant to the drawing power of wealth. In fact, as the numbers of executed heretics swelled so did the coffers of their persecutors.
Once sufficient, if factually dubious, information had been gathered, the trial could then take place. This would be a fairly one-sided affair favouring the prosecution, for as far back as 1205 Innocent III had issued a bull entitled Si Adversus vos, forbidding any legal help for heretics. Despite this ruling, legal counsel was often permitted, although finding a willing representative was tricky as any defending lawyer losing a case ran the risk of losing his practice, as well as being considered a supporter of heresy. Witnesses for the defence were few and far between for much the same reason. The trials failed to follow the judicial process today. The Inquisition conducted their trials of heresy behind closed doors, where the bulk of
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