History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 169, the Crusade against the Cathars, the Inquisition, the early years.

Hello again.

Last week we saw Pope Gregory the 9th lay the foundation for the Inquisition against the Cathars,

establishing a tribunal 2 to and I quote make Inquisition of heretical

depravity end quote and manning it with friars from the Dominican Order. Now prior to the establishment of

this tribunal a heretic would be brought before the ecclesiastical courts

presided over by a bishop to answer charges related to heresy.

Canon law and Roman law would be applied in these courts, meaning that the defendant could only be charged with an express

accusation by a named accuser, and that witnesses called to give evidence against the defendant must be of good standing.

Pope Gregory's tribunals, however, ditched these legal niceties.

The defendant was not told who made the initial

accusation and was not entitled to call witnesses on his or her own behalf,

which of course made defending the charge pretty much impossible.

Often the evidence of witnesses was accepted without question by the tribunal, leaving the defendant no option other than to confess to the accusation and accept the punishment meted out by the tribunal. The only other option was to deny the charge,

whereupon he or she would be found guilty, then be sentenced to being burnt alive as a heretic.

For a person who confessed to being a heretic,

the punishments were varied.

Traditionally, the Ecclesiatic the punishments were varied.

Traditionally, the ecclesiastical courts had a range of punishments they could meet out,

and these were generally adopted by Pope Gregory's tribunals. Property of any person who was found to be a heretic was confiscated and under Pope Gregory's tribunals that property was divided between the church,

the person who made the initial accusation of heresy and the crown.

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