1. by: chris kazun

2.  Not only from outside the faith  Islam and the crusades  Threats perceived as coming from within the faith itself  Christianity seen as a stabilizing force in society  Any threats became dealt with severely

3.  Reaction to Albigensian/Cathar “heresy”  Mix of Gnosticism and Manichaeism  Two Gods  Spiritual – good  Physical – evil  All things in physical world are evil and dangerous  Jesus only appeared to have a human body  Rejected mass, church buildings, sacraments, marriage, sex, allowed homosexuality and suicide  Men and women were equal  Did not recognize secular authority

4.  Tolerated or ignored for over 50 years  Pope Innocent III followed a traditional policy:  “Heretics are to be overcome by reasoning, not by force.”  Changed when papal legate was killed by a Cathar/Albigensian follower  Innocent III called for military crusade – Albigensian Crusade  Thousands of Cathars were killed (burning at stake was popular), lands were seized  Lasted 20 years; unable to wipe out Cathars  Survived underground, like early Christians  Secular rulers became increasingly involved

6.  Begun by Pope Gregory IX (in 1231)  Keep secular rulers from usurping Church’s authority  The Inquisition was meant to detect and purge heresy

7.  Instituted special judges (representatives of pope) – inquisitors  Functioned independent from civil authorities  Worked in civil system  Had papal authority  Examined and judged religious opinions and moral conduct of suspicious people

8.  Dominicans and Franciscans  Chosen because:  Less likely to be swayed by worldly motives  Less likely to be pressured by secular authorities  Well educated in theological and spiritual knowledge

9.  The Church looked for men who:  possessed qualities of a good judge  Were determined to protect and promote faith  Desire salvation of souls and ending heresy  Never yield to anger or passion  Meet hostility fearlessly, but not encourage it  Not yield to threats, but not be heartless  Would be merciful in giving penalties  Would listen to counsel of others, not trust his own opinion to greatly

11.  Begins with month long “term of grace”  Chance for people of area to confess sins to inquisitor  Those confessing of own free will received suitable penance (pilgrimage, fasting, paying a fine, being flogged)  inhabitants then invited to accuse anyone suspected of being a heretic  Could there be issues with this system?

12.  Trial before inquisitor  Swore their innocence on the 4 Gospels  Person had chance to prove their innocence (not the case in civil trials)  Names of accusers and witnesses were kept secret

13.  Fear of punishment  more lenient sentence for confession and those who recanted  close confinement (with possible curtailment of food)  visits of tried men (tried to get confession through friendly persuasion)  Torture.  Very last resort  Okayed by Pope Innocent IV  Remained controversial

14.  Punishments were largely humane for those who confessed and recanted  Refusing to recant = severe punishment (life imprisonment or burning at the stake)  Few people were actually executed  Sentence was public, as was execution  From 1249-57, of 306 recorded penalties, only 21 were burnings

16.  Begun by Ferdinand and Isabella  used by state to promote Spanish unity under Catholicism  Began as a papal inquisition  By 1480, Spanish authorities had taken over  Papal sanction, but functioned independently of papacy  Main targets were Jews and Muslims

17.  Lawyers defended accused  If accusations were proven  Those admitting to accusations offered public reconciliation  Those denying proven accusations were tortured  Those who refused to recant were burned at the stake  False accusers and false witnesses were severely punished or executed

19.  methods used definitely violate human rights  Must be careful about placing our values on medieval society  remember heresy was seen as a serious threat  Truly believed they were protecting the church  While we see punishments and torture as harsh, these were normal in this society  Civil authorities were more harsh in most cases dealing with heresy

20.  How do people in your society and or your school tend to treat people who have “unorthodox” views (religious, social, or other kinds of views)?  Relate this to the mindset during the inquisition?