A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages; volume IILea, Henry Charles
History
A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages; volume II
Lea, Henry Charles
Inquisition -- History
again urged Humbert, who responded with strict orders to his officers to
aid the ecclesiastical authorities with what force might be necessary,
and this time we hear of twelve Waldenses brought to Embrun, and burned
on the square in front of the cathedral. When Dauphiné became a
possession of the crown the royal officials were equally ready to
assist. Letters of October 20, 1351, from the governor, order the
authorities of Briançon to give the inquisitor armed support in his
operations against the heretics of the Briançonnais, but this seems to
have been ineffective; and the next year Clement VI. appealed to the
Dauphin Charles, and to Louis and Joanna of Naples, to aid Frère Pierre
Dumont, the Inquisitor of Provence, and summoned prelates and
magistrates to co-operate in the good work. The only recorded result of
this was the penancing of seven Waldenses by Dumont in 1353. More
successful were the Christian labors of Guillaume de Bordes, Archbishop
of Embrun from 1352 to 1363, surnamed the Apostle of the Waldenses, who
tried the unusual expedient of kindness and persuasion. He personally
visited the mountain valleys, and had the satisfaction of winning over a
number of the heretics. With his death his methods were abandoned, and
Urban V., from 1363 to 1365, was earnest in calling upon the civil power
and in stimulating the zeal of the Provençal inquisitors, Frères Hugues
Cardilion and Jean Richard. The celebrated inquisitor François Borel now
appears upon the scene. Armed expeditions were sent into the mountains
which had considerable success. Many of the heretics were obstinate and
were burned, while others saved their lives by abjuration. Their pitiful
little properties were confiscated; one had a cow, another two cows and
clothes of white cloth. In the purse of another, more wealthy, were
found two florins--a booty which scarce proved profitable, for the wood
to burn him and a comrade cost sixty-two sols and six deniers. One woman
named Juven who was burned possessed a vineyard. The vintage was
gathered and the must stored in her cabin, when the wrathful neighbors
fired it at night and destroyed the product.[169]
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