All for One, and One for All

Please forgive me, this is my post for Friday September 11, I forgot to post it…

The ultimate sin, since the beginning of time, has always been that as a human you can be equal or better than God. So, for Medieval Inquisitors the claims of someone being Christ would become the critical thing to search for. Luckily for John of Winterthur he stumbled across three men who claimed to be the Trinity in physical form. After bravely going undercover to reveal them for the frauds that they were he cast out the unholy forms and the worshipers were left behind. Then they “were warned to cast off the filth of superstitions and devilish deceit, to reflect, and to profess the true faith, as they ought to do, the persevered in their heretical perversity, being too much ensnared and seduced. They preferred to perish in the fire, in the midst of their sins, to being saved by confession of the truth faith” (Norman Cohn 71). What I can’t help but to think is that some small town in France believed that they had one of the relics of Jesus Christ and that an educated man comes to town searching for some sign of the Devil. He got them to confess their beliefs and marked them down as heresy instead of showing them how they were ‘wrong’. Who would confess to a sin that they did not believe that they committed? Also, how could have these less educated people protected themselves from these sort of mental attacks?  

Matters of the Soul

"She watched a child as it died in her arms to see if its soul would leave its mouth, When she saw nothing except breath go out of its mouth she said, ' Take notice: when a person dies, one sees nothing leave its mouth except air. If I saw something else come out, I would believe that the soul is something. But now because only air has come out, I do not believe that the soul is anything.'"
                                                                                         Testimony of Guillemette Benet, of Ornolac
This testimony stuck out to me during my reading and I couldn't stop thinking about it all weekend. I know that I am supposed to blog about an upcoming reading however there is something I wish to discuss in particular that we didn't have time detail in class. All of these testimonies are similar in some ways, but the fascination with the soul specifically stuck out to me while reading them, particularly the testimony of Guillemette Benet. Not only is she confused by the concept of the human having a soul, a "piece" of their body that one cannot see, she is so interested in understanding it that she makes a note to look for a soul as she holds a dying child. The human body, by some, is seen as a sacred object and whenever it passes from the living to the dead it becomes unclean, bothersome, and in many cases mentally unsettling. Why is this? Why do we become so uncomfortable around dead bodies, is it because we are not around them often (if so are people that are around them regularly comfortable with them) or is there something that happens and causes them to change (in addition to being lifeless)? I know this is a morbid thing to discuss but like Ms. Benet I am curious. In Christianity we believe that there is a soul but I have never seen one. I am not doubting my faith but I can see why Guillemette concluded that there is no soul. If someone dies how else would it come out if it didn't come out of the persons mouth which would have allowed her to see the dead child's soul. But on the contrary couldn't that eerie feeling people get around dead bodies be the sensing of a soulless body? I think overall, her curiosity is what is striking about this testimony and leads me to think that the fuel for much of the heresy we read about came from the mine of curiosity. People were unsure and the church's answers weren't always clear and precise which lead to individuals, such as Guillemette to investigate on their own, coming to their own conclusions and in the eyes of the church committing heresy. What do you think, was heresy rooted in peoples curiosity and the church's persistence to control their thoughts and actions? By the way I am sorry if the post grossed anyone out, I am mentally stable and do not contemplate death and dead bodies all the time this testimony just struck me as very interesting.   

Detection and Eradication of Heresy  

In 1258 inquisitors were on the hunt trying to detect heresy. The question was raised of weather their charge included sorcery or magic. The elaboration of the concept of what heresy includes left the inquisitors puzzled of what to do next. Pope Alexander IV addressed this problem in a letter. Yet later Pope Boniface VIII reissues the problem under his own name in 1298.

Throughout the readings heresy is about members of the Church going against the priest and the Catholic Church. Heretics would use divination or sorcery to go against the beliefs of the rest of the Church.

I find heresy interesting because in the beginning of the use of magic for healing was not frowned upon but once the magic got darker, then the Church had to get involved. Another point is that many believe that “white magic” was the same as prayer. I can understand where the inquisitors were coming from and believing that the members were rebelling and going against the Church.  

Do you think that heresy was a large problem that led to the witch-hunts to escalate? Or in that time period they were overly superstitious?

The Demonization of Heresy and Witchcraft.

"The novice kisses him and feels cold, like ice, and after the kiss the memory of catholic faith totally disappears from his heart" (Kors and Peters 115) This quote from Pope Gregory IX regarding heretics is one that I believe helps best set the stage for the demonization of medieval heretics. The man that the novice is kissing in this description is described as having "very black eyes" and "so emaciated and thin that, since his flesh has been wasted, seems to have remaining only skin drawn over the bone". To me this is a way to link heresy and witchcraft because this feels like the heretic is making a pact with the devil, a pact that was paramount when it came to witchcraft.

The way that heretics were described attempted to demonize them in the eyes of the masses. Some heretics were referred to as Luciferans (CP 80) while others were said to "worship the dragon which wages war on God and his angels. (CP 81) The many descriptions depicted and written about of these heretics really do make them out to be a agent of evil or the devil. Many of the same descriptions and images are later used to describe witches and sorcery during the witch hunts. 

 Are there any other instances that show heretics making a pact with a devil or bear a resemblance to descriptions of witches? Do you think that images like these helped build the foundations of the witch hunts?

Gui's Guide to Inquisition

If one follows the course of major wars, persecutions, or other similar events in history, it can be argued that almost all of them involved people who did not want to conform to popular beliefs or customs.The same can be said for the 1300's; an entire profession was created merely to inhibit  those who chose to declare different points of view. These individuals were "hunted" by people known as inquisitors. James Givens's A Medieval Inquisitor at Work: Bernard Gui (which can be found in the course packet) outlined exactly what this profession entailed, the different kinds of heresy, and how punishments were determined.

According to Givens, Gui notes the offense for which an individual was condemned for a whopping 91 percent of the cases recorded. The most common type of heresy was Catharism, followed by Waldensianism, and then Beguinism. There was also a small percentage of people who were persecuted for extreme unorthodox beliefs, such as that the world had neither a beginning nor end, souls were simply air and blood, and that God did not create the Devil (course packet, 213). There were many forms and severities of punishment for these heresies as well. Inquisitors were well known for their "great flexibility they displayed in imposing punishment on those they found guilty" (course packet, 213). Punishments ranged from pilgrimages to imprisonment, with the worst form of punishment being death by fire. As one might guess, punishment was doled out based on how involved the accused person was with heresy. One of the more sever forms of punishment I found interesting was the forced wearing of crosses on the outside of clothing-- this was seen as embarrassing, and some individuals had to wear these crosses upwards of 10 years or longer.

This particular collection of cases is interesting because, as Givens points out, "at a time when women seldom appeared in European courts, more than 40 percent of those recorded by Gui were female" (course packet, 231). Givens goes on to admit that men were more rigorously punished, and also more likely to be burned for their offenses, but it is worth noting that these cases bear striking resemblances to cases that appear years later in the true witch hunts.

I am interested in knowing more about the different cases of heresy. What characteristics defined specific forms from others, and why were people more commonly accused of Catharism? How did the inquisitors go about "hunting" these people? Did these people confess freely, or were they merely accused with no trial? I look forward to discussing these topics in class, as well as hearing your thoughts on this topic.

     The Liber Augustalis was the legal system for the Kingdom of Sicily that was enacted by Emperor Frederick II in the year 1231. Within this legal code was a section dealing specifically with heretics.Interestingly enough this section (or at least the section we are given in the course packet) does not deal with the penalties of heresy, but instead goes on at length in describing how heretics of the Catholic faith are depraved and evil creatures who desire the destruction of the Catholic Church and the turning away of people from the light of God. This is illustrated quite well in the passage "These are sons of depravity from the father of wickedness and the author of evil, who are resolved to deceive simple souls.". (Powell 7-10) This singling out of Catholic heretics is interesting as Sicily was a very multicultural society at the time with peoples of various ethnic and religious groups such as the Normans, Italians, Arabs, Catholics, Muslims and followers of Greek Orthodoxy.        

     The demonization of heretics in the passage shows how the Sicilian Government was incredibly determined to stop the spread, creation of, and influence of Catholic heresy. It also reveals a intolerance for deviation from the Catholic orthodoxy within the kingdom. The use of language such as " They are serpents who seem to creep in secretly and, under the sweetness of honey, spew out poison.". (Powell 7-10) Other passages describing heretics such as "They deceive their neighbors insofar as they administer the delights of heretical wickedness to them under the guise of spiritual nourishment."(Powell 7-10) shows how they were considered to be internally destructive not only to the fabric of society but more importantly how they were considered to be dangerous to individual peoples immoral souls.

Why do you think that heretics were so singled out in the Kingdom of Sicily as being such a existential threat?

Serious Business: An Inquisitorial Commission

Most people in the workforce take their jobs seriously. This goes true throughout history, including the late medieval period. However while farmers tilled the earth and merchants hawked their wares, there were people who were laboring for a different reason. Their charge was to root out heretical individuals who had fallen out of sorts with the church by “forsaking the catholic faith, [giving] themselves over to devils… [and practicing] incantations, charms, and conjuring” (Kors and Peters, 178). This task was extremely important due to the nature of the problem, with heresy symbolizing a loss in power and weakness in the church.

Behind the walls of the papal palace, support for the church’s inquisitors became official in the form of papal decrees. During the thirteenth through fourteenth centuries, papal bulls - or charters - were issued that effectively dealt with inquisition. Although Pope Alexander IV made it the clear in 1258 that inquisitors should not delve into matters beside “pestilential” heretical offences, he referred to them as being “charged with the affairs of the faith, which is the greatest of privileges (Kors and Peters, 117). Over two hundred years later, Pope Innocent VIII issued a decree that expressed the authority of the inquisitors. Believing that it was vital that the inquisitors not be “hindered in the exercise of their office, to prevent the taint of heretical pravity [sic] and of other like evils from spreading,” Innocent stated that all persons who attempted to impede the work of the inquisitors would “incur the wrath of almighty God” (Kors and Peter 178-180). These direct and somewhat harsh words served as a warning to all that the role of the inquisitor was essential because the urgency and importance of their work paramount.

Under the auspices of the papacy, inquisitors during the late medieval period were determined to carry out their charge thoroughly and effectively. Thanks to papal bulls, their authority was given much more weight, illustrating the importance that was associated with their work.

Is it rightfully assumed that these papal bulls showcase the real concern that was emanating from the church during this time? Did the support from the papacy mean that witchcraft and its relation to heresy was a major issue for the church that could not be overlooked?

1486 treatise on the prosecution of witches, written by the inquisitor Heinrich Kramer,
who was specifically mentioned in Innocent's bull
(Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malleus_Maleficarum)