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
The quarrel was thus for a time transferred to Rome. Pequigny went to
Italy with envoys from the king and from Carcassonne and Albi to plead
his cause, and was opposed by Guillaume de Morières, the Inquisitor of
Toulouse, sent thither to manage the case against him. Benedict was not
slow in showing on which side his sympathies lay. At Perugia, while the
pope was conducting the solemnities of Pentecost, May 17, 1304, Pequigny
ventured to enter the church. Benedict saw him, and, pointing to him,
said to his marshal, P. de Brayda, “Turn out that Patarin!” an order
which the marshal zealously obeyed. The significance of the incident was
not small, and after the death of both Benedict and Pequigny, Geoffroi
d’Ablis caused a notarial instrument recounting it to be drawn up and
duly authenticated as one of the documents of the process. The climate
of Italy was very unhealthy for Transmontanes. Morières died at Perugia,
and Pequigny followed him at Abruzzo, September 29, 1304, the
anniversary of his excommunication. Having remained for a year under the
ban for impeding the Inquisition, he was legally a heretic, and his
burial in consecrated ground is only to be explained by the death of
Benedict a short time before. Geoffroi d’Ablis demanded that his bones
be exhumed and burned, while Pequigny’s sons carried on the appeal for
the rehabilitation of his memory. The matter dragged on till Clement V.
referred it to a commission of three cardinals. These gave a patient
hearing to both sides, who argued the matter exhaustively, and submitted
all the necessary documents and papers. At last, July 23, 1308, they
rendered their decision to the effect that the sentence of
excommunication had been unjust and iniquitous, and that its revocation
should be published in all places where it had been announced. Geoffroi
fruitlessly endeavored to appeal from this, which was the most complete
justification possible of all that had been said and done against the
Inquisition, emphasized by Clement’s cutting refusal to listen to his
statements--“It is false: the land never wished to rebel, but was in
evil case in consequence of the doings of the Inquisition,” while a
cardinal told him that for fifty years the people had been goaded to
resistance by the excesses of his predecessors, and that when a
corrective was applied they only added evil to evil.[94]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account