A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages; volume ILea, Henry Charles
History
A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages; volume I
Lea, Henry Charles
Inquisition -- History
its appetites, whereby it offends not God. But before the judgment seat
of God I and your master will not be judged by horse's necks, but each
by his own neck. Now, then, look at my neck and see if it is fatter than
your master's, and if you can justly reprehend me." Then he threw down
his cowl and displayed his neck, long and thin and wasted by maceration
and austerities, to the confusion of the misbelievers. If he failed to
make converts at Verfeil, where a hundred knights refused to listen to
him, he at least had the satisfaction of cursing them, which we are
assured caused them all to perish miserably.
St. Bernard challenged Henry to a disputation, which the prudent heretic
declined, whether through fear of his antagonist's eloquence or a
reasonable regard for the safety of his own person. It mattered little
which, for his refusal discredited him in the eyes of many of the nobles
who had hitherto protected him, and thenceforth he was obliged to lie in
hiding. Orthodoxy took heart and was soon on his track: he was captured
the next year and brought in chains before his bishop. His end is not
known, but he is presumed to have died in prison.[53]
We hear no more of the Henricians as a definite sect, though in 1151 a
young girl, miraculously inspired by the Virgin Mary, is said to have
converted many of them, and they probably continued to exist throughout
Languedoc, furnishing material in the next generation for the spread of
the Waldenses. We have scanty indications, however, in widely separated
places, of the existence of sectaries probably Henrician, showing how,
in spite of persecution, the antisacerdotal spirit continued to manifest
itself. Contemporary with St. Bernard's mission to Languedoc is a letter
addressed to him by Evervin, Provost of Steinfeld, imploring his aid
against heretics recently discovered at Cologne--some Manichæans and
others, evidently Henricians, who had betrayed themselves by their
mutual quarrels. These Henricians boasted that their sect was numerously
scattered throughout all the lands of Christendom, and their zeal is
shown by an allusion to those among their number who perished at the
stake. Probably Henrician, too, were heretics who infested Perigord
under a teacher named Pons, whose austerities and external holiness drew
to them numerous adherents, including nobles and priests, monks and
nuns. Besides the antisacerdotal tenets described above, these
enthusiasts anticipated St. Francis in proclaiming poverty to be
essential to salvation and in refusing to receive money. The impression
which they produced upon a worldly generation is shown by the marvellous
legends which grew around them. They courted persecution and sought for
persecutors who should slay them, yet they could not be punished, for
their master, Satan, liberated them from chains and prison. Thus if one
should be fettered hand and foot and placed under an inverted hogshead
watched by guards, he would disappear until it pleased him to return. We
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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