Inquisition

Inquisition (Latin inquisitio 'investigation') refers to a legal process (inquisition procedure) and institutions working with it, which served to combat heresy in the late Middle Ages and early modern period. The presiding judge of an inquisition court is called an inquisitor.

From its emergence at the beginning of the 13th century until its virtual disappearance at the end of the 18th century, the Inquisition functioned mainly as an instrument of the Roman Catholic Church to facilitate the tracking down, conversion or condemnation of heretics (see also: heretics), for which a new form of judicial procedure, the Inquisition, was developed in the late Middle Ages. The main phase of the emergence of the Inquisition falls in the first half of the 13th century. In addition to the crime of heresy, the Inquisition was also able to prosecute other criminal offences, especially if they touched on matters of faith, such as blasphemy or magic. The Inquisition played a subordinate role in the persecution of witches in the early modern period, which was mainly supported by secular rulers. The Church saw the use of the Inquisition against heretics as legitimized by reference to biblical texts or texts of ecclesiastical authorities.

The medieval Inquisition did not have its own superior authority and was not a permanently active phenomenon. The Inquisition was active where it was considered necessary by the church and the conditions were met. It was therefore used at different times in different areas, especially in southern and central Europe, and was supported by different organs of the estates' society, sometimes with different motivations. The use of torture in interrogations varied, as did the extent to which death sentences were imposed. Bishops or religious clergy presided as inquisitors at ecclesiastical inquisition proceedings in the first instance. In the early modern period, the form of the Inquisition changed: it was institutionalized in Spain, Italy and Portugal and embedded in state structures, and since then has been used almost exclusively in the sphere of power of the rulers there. At the beginning of the modern era, Protestants were also persecuted by the Inquisition.

Term

A fundamental distinction must be made between the Inquisition and the Inquisition procedure on which it is based. Although the inquisition procedure was initially created as an internal ecclesiastical form of procedure under Pope Innocent III, it was not only used in the ecclesiastical sphere, but also became the main form in criminal proceedings of secular jurisdiction in various variations during the late Middle Ages, for example in the case of the Venetian state inquisition.

In the Middle Ages, the Inquisition was known as the inquisitio haereticorum (heretic inquisition) or the inquisitio haereticae pravitatis (inquisition against heretical depravity). Since the 1240s, the task of the inquisitors was understood as an official activity, and this was subsequently referred to several times as officium inquisitionis or sanctum officium (sacred office), which is why since then it is sometimes referred to as the Holy Inquisition. The modern Roman Inquisition called itself Sacra Congregatio Romanae et universalis Inquisitionis from 1542 and formed the historical precursor organization of today's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Scope

The medieval Inquisition was geographically limited to central and southern Europe, where it operated at irregular intervals and in different areas. The decisive factor for its activity was, according to the assessment of the church leadership, the presence of heretics. The medieval Inquisition was particularly active in the areas of today's France, Italy, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. The modern Inquisition remained essentially concentrated in the spheres of influence of the Papal States and the Spanish and Portuguese rulers.

Persecutions were mainly directed against Christian denominations classified as heretical, including the Amalrians, Apostolic Friars, Beguines and Begards, Brothers and Sisters of the Free Spirit, Flagellants, Fraticells, Hussites, Joachimites, Cathars (Albigensians), Lollardens, Protestants, Anabaptists, Waldensians, but also smaller groups or individuals with dissenting views, such as Saint Joan of Arc (1412-1431), the penitential preacher Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), or the natural philosopher Giordano Bruno (1548-1600). The modern Spanish as well as Portuguese Inquisition authorities primarily took action against Jews who had converted to Christianity, so-called Conversos, or converted Muslims, the Moriscos.

Starting from the core area of heresy, the Inquisition was also able to prosecute related crimes of the time, as long as they touched on faith. These included usury, magic, witchcraft, blasphemy, and moral and sexual crimes. The main field of activity of the Inquisition, however, remained the fight against heretics. In addition to the ecclesiastical Inquisition, the above-mentioned crimes could also be prosecuted by sovereign or municipal courts.