Henry Ansgar Kelly

Inquisition and the Prosecution of Heresy: Misconceptions and Abuses

The year 1988 marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of H. C. Leas A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages . I would like to get the next century off to a good start by renaming his enterprise “A History of the Criminal Prosecution of Heretics in the Middle Ages.” The term inquisition has been widely misunderstood and misused by historians. There are two distinct abuses, one upper-case and the other lower-case.

Inquisitorial Deviations and Cover-Ups: The Prosecutions of Margaret Porete and Guiard of Cressonessart, 1308–1310

Margaret Porete, reputed author of The Mirror of Simple Souls, the book that was the cause of her being condemned to death as a heretic in 1310, has come into prominence in recent years, and her “case” is still being assessed. A notable landmark in this process is Sean Fields recent book, The Beguine, the Angel, and the Inquisitor. Most of our knowledge of Margaret comes from the extant records of the judicial proceedings concerning her and Guiard of Cressonessart, accused of being her supporter; and while I agree with Fields general conclusions about the actions taken against them, I have some qualifications to add about the nature of the proceedings manifested in the records.

Adam Citings before the Intrusion of Satan: Recontextualizing Paul's Theology of Sin and Death

The article surveys early references to the story of Adam and Eve, which are surprisingly few in number, beginning only around 200 bce, with the Book of Tobit. The common notion that Adam was punished by death for his sin is verified neither in Genesis 2–3 itself (and the surrounding chapters) nor in any pre-Pauline texts. Pauls focus on Adams sin was out of the ordinary, and his conclusion that he was punished by some kind of death does not resemble interpretations in any other contemporary source, including Philo. The equally common idea that the Devil was assumed to participate in causing Adams sin does not occur in early texts (for instance, Wisdom or the books of the New Testament), being first found in Justin Martyr. Therefore, assessments of biblical theology that depend on these concepts should be emended.

Judicial Torture in Canon Law and Church Tribunals: From Gratian to Galileo

Church historians have thought that the ancient and medieval Church disallowed torture in court proceedings. This view draws on Gratian’s Decretum (c. 1140), but Gratian cites canons that permit judicial torture. Deutero-Gratian (c. 1150) added canons from Roman civil law; Huguccio (c. 1190) and the Ordinary Gloss to the Decretum (1215 and later) also adopted Roman criteria but stipulated that the clergy could not apply coercion involving serious injury or bloodshed. Heresy inquisitors added a twist to this practice well before Galileo’s trial in 1633: a defendant admitting a heterodox deed but denying evil intent must be examined under torture.

Galileo's Non-Trial (1616), Pre-Trial (1632–1633), and Trial (May 10, 1633): A Review of Procedure, Featuring Routine Violations of the Forum of Conscience

This article examines Galileos confrontations with the Holy Office of the Roman Inquisition in light of the rules and technicalities of inquisitorial procedure as set forth in the Corpus juris canonici , officially issued in 1582 under the auspices of Pope Gregory XIII. The primary decretal governing inquisition comes from the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, which also established the regulations of sacramental confession and the seal of secrecy. Inquisition was intended for the prosecution of public crimes, but when it was adapted to pursuing heresy, the rights of suspects were regularly disregarded, and, rather than being charged with public crimes, they were forced to incriminate themselves, even on secret deeds and previously unuttered beliefs. When first summoned in 1616, Galileo was not questioned, but merely warned not to espouse heliocentrism. In 1632, Holy Office investigations resulted in a summons, and when he appeared in April 1633, he was interrogated without being charged. His formal trial took place on May 10, and his guilty plea of favoring heliocentrism without heretical intention triggered an automatic examination of his private beliefs under torture (in his case, threat of torture), a new procedure adopted by the Holy Office around the turn of the seventeenth century.