TheRoman Inquisition, formallySuprema Congregatio Sanctae Romanae et Universalis Inquisitionis (Latin for 'theSupreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition'), was a system of partisan tribunals developed by theHoly See of theCatholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, responsible for prosecuting individuals accused of a wide array of crimes according to Catholic law anddoctrine, relating to Catholic religious life or alternative religious or secular beliefs. It was established in 1542 by the leader of the Catholic Church,PopePaul III. In the period after theMedieval Inquisition, it was one of three different manifestations of the widerCatholic Inquisition, the other two being theSpanish Inquisition andPortuguese Inquisition.
The main function of the institution was to maintain and implementpapal bulls and other church rulings, in addition to their function of administering legalistic ramifications upon deviants of Catholic orthodoxy within states that cooperated with the pope and ostensibly exhibiting proper procedure to Catholic states in the process of formulating the Counter-Reformation.[1] The papal bullAd abolendam, byLucius III, prescribed penalties for heretical clerics and laymen and established a procedure of systematic inquisition by bishops; the third canon of the fourth Lateran Council (1215) specified procedures against heretics and their accomplices. Clerics were to be degraded from their orders, lay persons were to be branded as infamous and not be admitted to public offices or councils or to run a business, will not have the freedom to make a will nor shall succeed to an inheritance, goods were to be confiscated. A secular leader who "neglects to cleanse his territory of this heretical filth" would be excommunicated and the supreme pontiff could declare his vassals absolved from their fealty to him and make the land available for occupation by Catholics who would possess it unopposed and preserve it in the purity of the faith.[2]
The organisational system of the Roman Inquisition did differ essentially from that of the Medieval Inquisition. Typically, thepope appointed onecardinal to preside over meetings of the Congregation. Though often referred to in historical literature asGrand Inquisitors, the role was substantially different from the formally appointedGrand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition. There were usually ten other cardinals who were members of the Congregation, as well as aprelate and two assistants all chosen from theDominican Order. The Holy Office also had an international group ofconsultants; experienced scholars oftheology andcanon law who advised on specific questions. The congregation, in turn, presided over the activity of local tribunals.
The Roman Inquisition began in 1542 as part of the Catholic Church's Counter-Reformation against the spread of Protestantism, but it represented a less harsh affair than the previously established Spanish Inquisition.[3] In 1588,[4]Pope Sixtus V established, withImmensa Aeterni Dei, 15congregations of theRoman Curia, of which theSupreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition was one. In 1908, it was renamed theSupreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. In 1965, it was renamed again to theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and later renamed once again in 2022 to theDicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.[5]
While the Roman Inquisition was originally designed to combat the spread of Protestantism in Italy, the institution outlived that original purpose, and the system of tribunals lasted until the mid 18th century, when pre-unification Italian states began to suppress the local inquisitions, effectively eliminating the power of the church to prosecute heretical crimes.
Nicolaus Copernicus circulated for scholarly discussion his hypothesis of a cosmos that was heliocentric and an Earth that rotated around its own axis, first, in 1514 in a manuscript essay, "De hypothesibus motuum coelestium commentariolus" (Brief Commentary on the Hypotheses of Heavenly Movements), and then more robustly in the bookDe revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres), in 1543. The book was dedicated toPope Paul III, who was known for his interests inastronomy. Both works were known in Rome, and neither attracted adverse theological responses in the sixteenth century.
Some seven decades following Copernicus's death, specialists in mathematics, philosophy, and Catholic theology, whom the Roman Inquisition consulted in response to complaints made againstGalileo in 1616, judged the proposition that thesun is immobile andat the center of the universe and that theEarth moves around it, to be "foolish and absurd in philosophy" and that the first was "formally heretical" while the second was "at least erroneous in faith".[note 1][6]
While the Inquisition refrained from condemning either Copernicus or his book (or Galileo) on the basis of this assessment, several theological claims inDe revolutionibus were ordered to be excised in future publications. Unexpurgated versions ofOn the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres were placed on theIndex Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Forbidden Books).
Galileo Galilei revised the Copernican theories and was admonished for his views onheliocentrism in 1615. The Roman Inquisition concluded that his theory could only be supported as a possibility, not as an established fact.[7] Galileo later defended his views inDialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632), which attacked PopeUrban VIII and thus alienated him and theJesuits, who had both supported Galileo up until that point.[7]
He was tried by the Inquisition in 1633. Galileo was found "vehemently suspect of heresy", forced to recant, and theDialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems was placed on theIndex Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Forbidden Books). He spent the rest of his life under house arrest at his villa inArcetri near the city ofFlorence.[8]
17th century English traveler and author,John Bargrave, gave an account of his interactions with the Roman Inquisition.[9] Arriving in the city ofReggio (having travelled fromModena), Bargrave was stopped by thecity guard who inspected his books on suspicion some may have been on theIndex Librorum Prohibitorum. Bargrave was brought before the city's chiefinquisitor who suggested they converse inLatin rather thanItalian so that the guards might be prevented from understanding them. The inquisitor told him that the inquisition were not accustomed to stopping visitors or travellers unless someone had suggested they do so (Bargrave suspected thatJesuits in Rome had made accusations against him). Nonetheless, Bargrave was told he was required to hold alicense from the inquisition. Even with a license, Bargrave was prohibited from carrying any books "printed at any heretical city, asGeneva,Amsterdam,Leyden, London, or the like".[9] Bargrave provided acatalogue of his books to the inquisition and was provided with a license to carry them for the rest of his journey.
Among the subjects of this Inquisition wereFranciscus Patricius,Giordano Bruno,Tommaso Campanella,Gerolamo Cardano,Cesare Cremonini andCamilla Erculiani an Italian apothecary, writer, natural philosopher, and a women's advocate. Of these, only Bruno was executed, in 1600. The millerDomenico Scandella was alsoburned at the stake on the orders ofPope Clement VIII in 1599 for his belief that God was created from chaos.[10] The friarFulgenzio Manfredi, who had preached against the pope, was tried by the Inquisition and executed in 1610.
The Inquisition also concerned itself with theBenandanti in theFriuli region, but considered them a lesser danger than theProtestant Reformation and only handed out light sentences.
The Inquisition in Malta (1561 to 1798) is generally considered to have been gentler.[11]
Italian historian Andrea Del Col estimates that out of 51,000–75,000 cases judged by Inquisition in Italy after 1542, around 1,250 resulted in adeath sentence.[12]
The Inquisitions have long been one of the primary subjects in the scholarly debates regardingwitchcraft accusations of the early modern period. HistorianHenry Charles Lea places an emphasis on torture methods employed to force confessions from the convicted.[13]Carlo Ginzburg, inThe Night Battles, discussed how Inquisitorial propaganda of demonology distorted popular folk beliefs.[14] In similar light, Elliott P. Currie saw the Inquisitions as one singular, ongoing phenomenon, which drove the witch-hunt to its peak. Currie argued that the methods pioneered by the Inquisition indirectly guided continental Europe to a series of persecutions motivated by profit.Second-wave feminism also saw a surge of historical interpretation of the witch-hunt.[15] A number of 100,000 to 9,000,000 executions was given, all of which was attributed to the Inquisition. Feminist scholars Claudia Honeger and Nelly Moia saw the early modern witch-craze as a product of Inquisitorial influence, namely theMalleus Maleficarum.[16][17] Feminist writers Mary Daly, Barbara Walker, and Witch Starhawk argued that the Inquisitions were responsible for countless, "hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions", deaths, most of them women. This notion was similarly echoed bythird-wave feminism writer Elizabeth Connor, who agreed with the notion of "gynocide", or "woman hunting", inaugurated by theMalleus.[13] The same sentiment regarding the Inquisition's notorious reputation of torture was shared by American writer and attorney Jonathan Kirsch. In his book,The Grand Inquisitor's Manual: A History of Terror in the Name of God, Kirsch argued that the Inquisition's use of torture not only applied to the witch-craze which peaked in early 17th century, but also to theSalem witch trials. This model of repressive system, Kirsch argued, was also applied inNazism, Soviet Russia,Japanese internment camps,McCarthyism, and most recently, thewar on terror.[18]
Through further research and available evidence, the Roman Inquisition was seen in a different light. In contrast with feminist arguments historians like Clarke Garrett,Brian P. Levack, John Tedeschi, Matteo Duni, andDiane Purkiss pointed out that most witch trials and executions were conducted by local and secular authorities.[19][20][21][22][23] Clarke Garrett mentioned the quick decline and insignificance of theMalleus Maleficarum. In-depth historical research regarding minor details of different types of magic, theological heresies, and political climate of The Reformation further revealed that Inquisitorial procedures greatly restrained witch hunting in Italy. Scholars specializing in the Renaissance and Early Modern period such asGuido Ruggiero, Christopher F. Black, and Mary O'Neil also discussed the importance of proper procedures and sparse use of torture. The low rate of torture and lawful interrogation, Black argued, means that trials tended to focus more on individual accusation, instead of groups. For the same reason, the notion of theBlack Sabbath was much less accepted in contemporary Italian popular culture.[24][25][26] The Holy Office's function in the disenchantment of popular culture also helped advance rationalism by getting rid of superstitions. Jeffrey R. Watt refutes the feminist claim that the Inquisition was responsible for the death of so many women. Watt points out that in 1588 the Roman Curia stated it would only allow testimony about participation in a Sabbath by the practitioners themselves and not by outside witnesses. Additionally, the Inquisition would eventually ban torture for the procurement of a witchcraft confession. The Holy Office also began seeking less harsh punishment for witches and viewed witches as those who had simply lost their way and who could be redeemed, not as apostates deserving death.[when?][27]
Historians who leaned toward the witch-hunt-restraining argument were more inclined to differentiate different Inquisitions, and often drew contrast between Italy versus Central Europe. The number of executed witches is also greatly lowered, to between 45,000 and 60,000. Those who argued for the fault of the Inquisition in the witch-craze are more likely to contrast continental Europe to England, as well as seeing the Inquisitions as one singular event which lasted 600 years since its founding in the 11th or 12th century. The significance and emphasis of theMalleus Maleficarum is seen more frequently in arguments which hold the Inquisition accountable for the witch-craze.
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