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
Such was the outcome of the efforts which, for two hundred and fifty
years, the Church had unremittingly made to obtain despotic control over
the human mind. For far less than such defiance it had destroyed Raymond
of Toulouse and the civilization of Languedoc. It had built up the
monarchy with the spoils of heresy, and now the monarchy cuffed it and
bade it bury its Inquisition out of the sight of decent men. This put an
end for a time to the labors of the Inquisition against the Waldenses of
Dauphiné, but the troubles of the latter were by no means over. The
death of Louis, in 1483, deprived them of their protector, and the
Italian policy of Charles VIII. rendered him less indifferent to the
wishes of the Holy See. At the request of the Archbishop of Embrun,
Innocent VIII. ordered the persecutions renewed. The Franciscan
Inquisitor, Jean Veyleti, whose excesses had caused the appeal to the
throne in 1475, was soon again at work, and had the satisfaction of
burning both consuls of Freyssinières. Though the Waldenses had
represented themselves to Louis XI. as faithful Catholics, the ancient
errors were readily brought to light by the efficient means of torture.
Though they believed in transubstantiation, they denied that it could be
effected by sinful priests. Their _barbes_, or pastors, were ordained,
and administered absolution after confession, but the pope, the bishops,
and the priests had lost that power. They denied the existence of
purgatory, the utility of prayers for the dead, the intercession of
saints, the power of the Virgin, and the obligation of keeping any
feast-days save Sunday. Wearied with their stubbornness, the archbishop,
in June and July, 1486, summoned them either to leave the country or to
come forward and submit, and as they did neither he excommunicated them.
This was equally ineffective, and he appealed again to Innocent VIII.,
who resolved to end the heresy with a decisive blow. Accordingly, in
1488, a crusade on a large scale was organized in both Dauphiné and
Savoy. The papal commissioner, Alberto de’ Capitanei, obtained the
assistance of the Parlement of Grenoble, and a force was raised under
the command of Hugues de La Palu, Comte de Vanax, to attack them on
every side. The attack was delayed by legal formalities, during which
they were urged to submission, but refused, saying that their faith was
pure and that they would die rather than abandon it. At length, in
March, 1489, the crusaders advanced. The valley of Pragelato was the
first assailed, and, after a few days, was reduced to the alternative of
death or abjuration, when fifteen obstinate heretics were burned. In Val
Cluson and Freyssinières the resistance was more stubborn and there was
considerable carnage, which so frightened the inhabitants of Argentière
that they submitted peaceably. In Val Louise the people took refuge in
the cavern of Aigue Fraide, which they imagined inaccessible, but La
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