Every Major Heresy Targeted by the Inquisition

The Medieval (Papal) Inquisition (13th–15th Century)

• The Inquisition focused mainly on removing organised theological dissent inside Catholic Europe, especially in regions where alternative Christian movements threatened Church unity.
• It was different from earlier episcopal inquisitions because it became a centralised papal institution, officially formalised around 1227–1231 under Pope Gregory IX.
• It was designed to systematically eliminate remaining threats after military crusades failed to stop the spread of heresy.

The Catharism

• Catharism, also called the Albigensian movement, was a neo-Gnostic dualist movement in southern France (Languedoc) and northern Italy.
• Cathars taught that the material world was created by an evil lesser god called the Demiurge or Satan, while the spiritual world belonged to a good God.
• They rejected the physical body and the material world as corrupt.
• They divided followers into two classes: the “perfects” (ascetic elite who rejected meat, sex, and oaths) and the “believers” (ordinary followers who received the consolamentum spiritual baptism at death).
• They rejected Catholic sacraments such as the Eucharist and baptism by water.
• They denied the Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ, believing Christ did not have a physical body.
• They called the Catholic Church the “Whore of Babylon”.
• The Church launched the Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229), including events like the massacre at Béziers (1209) and the burning at Montségur (1244).
• Because surviving believers went underground, the Inquisition was created to finish what the armies could not.
• Inquisitors hunted hidden “perfects” in villages using torture and informants to expose secret rites in forests and cellars.

The Waldensians

• The Waldensians, also called the Poor of Lyon, were founded by Peter Waldo around 1205.
• Waldo gave away his wealth and preached apostolic poverty.
• Unlike the Cathars, they were not dualists but wanted a return to the early Church’s simplicity.
• They encouraged lay preaching and Bible reading in the common language instead of Latin.
• They rejected oaths, indulgences, purgatory, and clerical wealth.
• They criticised priests who lived immoral lives.
• The movement spread among peasants and artisans in France, Italy, and the Alps.
• They were condemned at the Council of Verona in 1184.
• Inquisitors targeted their travelling preachers and secret Bible groups.
• They survived underground for centuries and later joined the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

The Free Spirit Movement

• The Free Spirit Movement was a loose network of mystics and beguines in Northern Europe.
• They believed that once a soul was united with God, it could not sin.
• They taught that spiritually perfect people were no longer under church authority or moral law.
• Marguerite Porete was burnt in 1310 for her book The Mirror of Simple Souls.
• The movement was condemned at the Council of Vienne (1311–1312).
• Inquisitors often targeted beguine communities.

The Fraticelli

• The Fraticelli were a strict group within the Franciscan Order.
• They believed Jesus and the apostles owned absolutely nothing.
• They accused the Church of corruption and wealth.
• When Pope John XXII declared absolute poverty heretical in 1323, they declared the Pope a heretic.
• The Inquisition pursued them in Italy and southern France.
• Many were burnt for rejecting papal authority.

The Dolcinians

• The Dolcinians were led by Fra Dolcino in Northern Italy.
• They preached the end of the world and the destruction of the Church hierarchy.
• They fought in armed resistance in the Alps.
• Fra Dolcino was captured and executed in 1307.
• The movement was destroyed.

The Knights Templar

• The Knights Templar were accused of heresy between 1307 and 1312.
• They were charged with idolatry, denying Christ, and worshipping a head called “Baphomet”.
• Torture was used to extract confessions.
• The Order was suppressed in 1312.
• Jacques de Molay was burnt in 1314.

The Lollards

• The Lollards followed John Wycliffe in 14th-century England.
• They rejected transubstantiation.
• They promoted the English Bible.
• They claimed the Bible was the only authority, not the Pope.
• The law De Heretico Comburendo (1401) allowed the burning of heretics.
• They influenced the English Reformation.

The Hussites

• The Hussites followed Jan Hus in Bohemia.
• Hus was tried and burnt at the Council of Constance in 1415.
• His death caused the Hussite Wars.
• The Inquisition struggled to control Bohemia due to military resistance.

The Spanish Inquisition (1478–1834)

• It was established by Ferdinand and Isabella with papal approval but was controlled by the state.
• It aimed at political and religious unity in Spain.
• The primary target was conversos, Jews who had converted but were suspected of secretly practising Judaism.
• In 1492, Jews were expelled from Spain.
• The concept of limpieza de sangre (purity of blood) restricted those with Jewish or Muslim ancestry.
• Moriscos were Muslims forced to convert after 1492.
• Islamic customs were banned.
• Moriscos were expelled in 1609.
• The Inquisition targeted Protestants and mystics called Alumbrados.
• Public executions called autos-da-fé eliminated Protestant groups in 1559.

The Portuguese Inquisition (1536–1821)

• It followed the Spanish model.
• It targeted converted Sephardic Jews.
• It expanded to colonies, especially Goa in India.
• It targeted local Hindus and Christians who resisted Latin rites.

The Roman Inquisition (1542–1860)

• It was established by Pope Paul III.
• It aimed to stop Protestantism in Italy.
• It targeted reform-minded Catholics called “Spirituali”.
• It renewed persecution of Waldensians.
• Giordano Bruno was burnt in 1600 for denying the Trinity and Incarnation.
• Galileo was tried in 1633 for supporting heliocentrism.
• Jews in Rome were confined to ghettos and forced to attend sermons.

Summary of Historical Development

• The Mediaeval Inquisition targeted sectarian heretics inside Christian society.
• The Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions targeted converted Jews and Muslims for national unity.
• The Roman Inquisition targeted Protestants and intellectuals to defend Catholic doctrine.

References

• Edward Peters, Inquisition (New York: Free Press, 1988).
• Malcolm Lambert, Mediaeval Heresy (Oxford: Blackwell, 2002).