Editing Inquisition (section)

=== Inquisitions in Medieval France ===
{{Main|French Inquisition}}
[[File:Le_massacre_des_Albigeois.jpg|thumb|220x220px|The Albigensian massacre (chronicle of Saint-Denis, 14th century, London, British Library)]]
The [[Albigensian Crusade]] (1209–1229) a crusade proclaimed by the Catholic Church against heresy, mainly [[Catharism]], with many thousands of victims (men, women and children, some of them Catholics), had already paved the way for the later Inquisition.{{sfnp|Sumption|1978|pp=230–232}}{{sfnp|Costen|1997|p=173}}

France has the best preserved archives of medieval inquisitions (13th–14th centuries), although they are still very incomplete. The activity of the inquisition in this country was very diverse, both in terms of time and territory. In the first period (1233 to c. 1330), the courts of [[Languedoc]] ([[Toulouse]], [[Carcassonne]]) are the most active. After 1330 the center of the persecution of heretics shifted to the [[Alpine region]]s, while in Languedoc they ceased almost entirely. In northern France, the activity of the inquisitors was irregular throughout this period and, except for the first few years, it was not very intense.<ref>The characteristics of the activities of the Inquisition in France in the 13th–15th centuries are presented by {{harvp|Lea|1887b|pp=113–161}}.</ref>

France's first Dominican inquisitor, {{ill|Robert le Bougre|fr|Robert le Bougre}}, working in the years 1233–1244, earned a particularly grim reputation. In 1236, Robert burned about 50 people in the area of Champagne and Flanders, and on 13 May 1239, in Montwimer, he burned 183 Cathars.<ref>Robert's activities are described by {{harvp|Lea|1887b|pp=114–116}}; P. Kras, ''Ad abolendam''..., pp. 163–165; and M. Lambert, ''The Cathars'', pp. 122–125.</ref> Following Robert's removal from office, Inquisition activity in northern France remained very low. One of the largest trials in the area took place in 1459–1460 at [[Arras]]; 34 people were then accused of witchcraft and Satanism, 12 of them were burned at the stake.<ref>Richard Kieckhefer: ''Magia w średniowieczu,'' Cracovia 2001, págs. 278–279.</ref>

The main center of the medieval inquisition was undoubtedly the Languedoc. The first inquisitors were appointed there in 1233, but due to strong resistance from local communities in the early years, most sentences concerned dead heretics, whose bodies were exhumed and burned. Actual executions occurred sporadically and, until the fall of the fortress of Montsegur (1244), probably accounted for no more than 1% of all sentences.<ref>P. Kras, ''Ad abolendam...'', p.412.</ref> In addition to the cremation of the remains of the dead, a large percentage were also sentences in absentia and penances imposed on heretics who voluntarily confessed their faults (for example, in the years 1241–1242 the inquisitor Pierre Ceila reconciled 724 heretics with the Church).{{sfnp|Lea|1887b|p=30}} Inquisitor Ferrier of Catalonia, investigating Montauban between 1242 and 1244, questioned about 800 people, of whom he sentenced 6 to death and 20 to prison.<ref>Wakefield, s. 184; M. Barber, ''Katarzy'', p. 126.</ref> Between 1243 and 1245, [[Bernard de Caux]] handed down 25 sentences of imprisonment and confiscation of property in Agen and Cahors.<ref>M.D. Costen, ''The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade'', Manchester University Press, 1997, p. 170.</ref> After the fall of Montsegur and the seizure of power in Toulouse by Count [[Alphonse, Count of Poitiers|Alfonso de Poitiers]], the percentage of death sentences increased to around 7% and remained at this level until the end of the Languedoc Inquisition around from 1330.<ref>P. Kras: ''Ad abolendam...'', p. 412–413.</ref>

Between 1245 and 1246, the inquisitor Bernard de Caux carried out a large-scale investigation in the area of [[Lauragais]] and [[Lavaur, Tarn|Lavaur]]. He covered 39 villages, and probably all the adult inhabitants (5,471 people) were questioned, of whom 207 were found guilty of heresy. Of these 207, no one was sentenced to death, 23 were sentenced to prison and 184 to penance.<ref>Malcolm Lambert: ''Średniowieczne herezje'', Wyd. Marabut Gdańsk-Warszawa 2002, p. 195–196.</ref> Between 1246 and 1248, the inquisitors Bernard de Caux and Jean de Saint-Pierre handed down 192 sentences in Toulouse, of which 43 were sentences in absentia and 149 were prison sentences.{{sfnp|Lea|1887a|p=485}}

In Pamiers in 1246/1247 there were 7 prison sentences [201] and in Limoux in the county of Foix 156 people were sentenced to carry crosses.<ref>M.D. Costen: ''The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade'', Manchester University Press, 1997, p. 171</ref> Between 1249 and 1257, in Toulouse, the inquisitors handed down 306 sentences, without counting the penitential sentences imposed during "times of grace". 21 people were sentenced to death, 239 to prison, in addition, 30 people were sentenced in absentia and 11 posthumously; In another five cases the type of sanction is unknown, but since they all involve repeat offenders, only prison or burning at stake.<ref>Wakefield, p. 184.</ref> Between 1237 and 1279, at least 507 convictions were passed in Toulouse (most in absentia or posthumously) resulting in the confiscation of property; in Albi between 1240 and 1252 there were 60 sentences of this type.<ref>M.D. Costen: ''The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade'', Manchester University Press, 1997, p. 171.</ref>

The activities of Bernard Gui, inquisitor of Toulouse from 1307 to 1323, are better documented, as a complete record of his trials has been preserved. During the entire period of his inquisitorial activity, he handed down 633 sentences against 602 people (31 repeat offenders), including:

* 41 death sentences,
* 40 convictions of fugitive heretics (in absentia),
* 20 sentences against people who died before the end of the trial (3 of them Bernardo considered unrepentant, and his remains were burned at the stake),
* 69 exhumation orders for the remains of dead heretics (66 of whom were subsequently burned),
* 308 prison sentences, with confiscation of  property,
* 136 orders to carry crosses,
* 18 mandates to make a pilgrimage (17) or participate in a crusade (1),
* in one case, sentencing was postponed.

In addition, [[Bernard Gui]] issued 274 more sentences involving the mitigation of sentences already served to convicted heretics; in 139 cases he exchanged prison for carrying crosses, and in 135 cases, carrying crosses for pilgrimage. To the full statistics, there are 22 orders to demolish houses used by heretics as meeting places and one condemnation and burning of Jewish writings (including commentaries on the Torah).<ref>List of judgments from: James Given: ''Inquisition and Medieval Society'', Cornell University Press, 2001, s. 69–70.</ref>

The episcopal inquisition was also active in Languedoc. In the years 1232–1234, the Bishop of Toulouse, Raymond, sentenced several dozen Cathars to death. In turn, Bishop [[Jacques Fournier]] of [[Pamiers]] (he was  later Pope Benedict XII) in the years 1318–1325 conducted an investigation against 89 people, of whom 64 were found guilty and 5 were sentenced to death.<ref>P. Kras: ''Ad abolendam...'', p. 413.</ref>

After 1330, the center of activity of the French inquisitions moved east, to the Alpine regions, where there were numerous Waldensian communities. The repression against them was not continuous and was very ineffective. Data on sentences issued by inquisitors are fragmentary. In 1348, 12 Waldensians were burned in [[Embrun, Hautes-Alpes|Embrun]], and in 1353/1354 as many as 168 received penances.<ref>Jean Guiraud: ''Medieval Inquisition'', Kessinger Publishing 2003, p. 137.</ref> In general, however, few Waldensians fell into the hands of the inquisitors, for they took refuge in hard-to-reach mountainous regions, where they formed close-knit communities. Inquisitors operating in this region, in order to be able to conduct trials, often had to resort to the armed assistance of local secular authorities (e.g. military expeditions in 1338–1339 and 1366). In the years 1375–1393 (with some breaks), the Dauphiné was the scene of the activities of the inquisitor Francois Borel, who gained an extremely gloomy reputation among the locals. It is known that on 1 July 1380, he pronounced death sentences in absentia against 169 people, including 108 from the Valpute valley, 32 from Argentiere and 29 from Freyssiniere. It is not known how many of them were actually carried out, only six people captured in 1382 are confirmed to be executed.<ref>Marx: ''L'inquisition en Dauphine'', 1914, p. 128 note. 1, pp. 134–135, and Tanon, pp. 105–106. [[Jean Paul Perrin]]: ''History of the ancient Christians inhabiting the valleys of the Alps'', Philadelphia 1847, p. 64, gives figures of over 150 convicts from the Valpute valley and 80 from the other two, but cites the same document as Marx and Tanon.</ref>

In the 15th and 16th centuries, major trials took place only sporadically, e.g. against the Waldensians in Delphinate in 1430–1432 (no numerical data) and 1532–1533 (7 executed out of about 150 tried) or the aforementioned trial in Arras 1459–1460 . In the 16th century, the jurisdiction of the inquisitors in the kingdom of France was effectively limited to clergymen, while local parliaments took over the jurisdiction of the laity. Between 1500 and 1560, 62 people were burned for heresy in the Languedoc, all of whom were convicted by the Parliament of Toulouse.<ref>Raymond Mentzer: ''Heresy Proceedings in Languedoc, 1500–1560'', American Philosophical Society, 2007, s. 122.</ref>