Roman Inquisition
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The Roman Inquisition, formally Suprema Congregatio Sanctae Romanae et Universalis Inquisitionis (
Function and functioning
The main function of the institution was to maintain and implement
The organisational system of the Roman Inquisition did differ essentially from that of the Medieval Inquisition. Typically, the
History
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,
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.
Notable subjects of investigation
Copernicus
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 book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres), in 1543. The book was dedicated to Pope Paul III, who was known for his interests in astronomy. 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 against
While the Inquisition refrained from condemning either Copernicus or his book (or Galileo) on the basis of this assessment, several theological claims in
Galileo
He was tried by the Inquisition in 1633. Galileo was found "vehemently suspect of heresy", forced to recant, and the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems was placed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Forbidden Books). He spent the rest of his life under house arrest at his villa in Arcetri near the city of Florence.[8]
John Bargrave
17th century English traveler and author,
of his books to the inquisition and was provided with a license to carry them for the rest of his journey.Others
Among the subjects of this Inquisition were
The Inquisition also concerned itself with the
Inquisition in Italy and Malta
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 a
Historiography and witchcraft accusations
The Inquisitions have long been one of the primary subjects in the scholarly debates regarding witchcraft accusations of the early modern period. Historian
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, and Diane 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 the Malleus 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 as Guido 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 the Black 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 the Malleus Maleficarum is seen more frequently in arguments which hold the Inquisition accountable for the witch-craze.
Notes
- ^ The original assessment document from the Inquisition was made available to the public in 2014.
See also
- Pomponio Algerio, attracted attention of the Inquisition and finally executed by civil authorities
- Francesco Barberini (1597–1679), secretary of the Inquisition 1633-79
- Sébastien Bourdon (1616–1671), a French Protestant painter forced to flee Italy
- Cornelio Da Montalcino, a Franciscan friar who had embraced Judaism, and was burned alive on the Campo dei Fiori
- Counter-Reformation
- freemasonimprisoned by the Inquisition
- Diego de Enzinas, Protestant burnt to the stake in 1547
- Madonna Oriente case in 1390
- Pietro Ottoboni(1667–1740), secretary of the Inquisition 1726-40
References
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia. "Fourth Lateran Council (1215)". ewtn.com. Eternal Word Television Network, Inc.
- ^ Steven Kreis, Fourth Lateran Council (1215): Canon 3 – On Heresy, The History Guide – Lectures on Ancient and Medieval European History, 2006.
- ^ "Hsu, Jeremy. "Sloppy Records Cast Galileo's Trial in New Light", Live Science, September 30, 2010". Live Science. 30 September 2010.
- ^ [1] Archived 2015-01-22 at the Wayback Machine Dissertation C. Beaudet, The Catholic University of America, 2010
- ^ ""Praedicate Evangelium" on the Roman Curia and its service to the Church and to the World (19 March 2022) | Francis". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
- ^ Domínguez, Nuño (28 Feb 2014). "Una errata reproducida durante siglos cambia la censura de la Iglesia a Galileo". EsMateria.com.; also arXiv:1402.6168
- ^ a b Hannam, James. "The Genesis of Science". 2011. p329-344.
- ^ Finnocchiaro, Maurice (1989). The Galileo Affair. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. p. 291.
- ^ a b Pope Alexander the Seventh and the College of Cardinals by John Bargrave, edited by James Craigie Robertson (reprint; 2009)
- ISBN 0-8018-4387-1
- ^ "The Archives of the Roman Inquisition in Malta". Archived from the original on 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
- ISBN 978-88-04-53433-4.
- ^ a b Connor, E. (January 31, 1990). "Burning times: The inquisition's reign of terror". WomenWise, 12, 5
- ^ Ginzburg, Carlo. 1983. The Night Battles: Witchcraft & Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth & Seventeenth Centuries. London; Melbourne: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
- ^ Currie, Elliott P.. 1968. "Crimes Without Criminals: Witchcraft and Its Control in Renaissance Europe". Law & Society Review 3 (1). [Wiley, Law and Society Association]: 7–32
- ^ Honegger, Claudia. 1979. "Comment on Garrett's 'women and Witches'". Signs 4 (4). University of Chicago Press: 792–798
- ^ Moia, Nelly. 1979. "Comment on Garrett's 'women and Witches'". Signs 4 (4). University of Chicago Press: 798–802.
- ^ Kirsch, Jonathan. 2008. The Grand Inquisitor's Manual: A History of Terror in the Name of God. New York: HarperOne.
- .
- ^ Garrett, Clarke. 1979. "Reply to Honegger and Moia". Signs 4 (4). University of Chicago Press: 802–804.
- ^ Purkiss, Diane. "A Holocaust of one's own: The myth of the Burning Times". The Witch in History. Routledge, London: 1996.
- S2CID 54861464.
- S2CID 54861464.
- ^ Black, Christopher F. 2009. The Italian Inquisition. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- ^ Ruggiero, Guido (1993). Binding Passions: Tales of Magic, Marriage and Power at the End of the Renaissance. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
- ^ Haliczer, Stephen (1986). Inquisition and Society in Early Modern Europe. London: Croom Helm.
- ^ Watt, Jeffrey (2012). "Review of The Italian Inquisition by Christopher F. Black". The English Historical Review. 524: 164.
Short bibliography
- Christopher Black, The Italian Inquisition, Yale University Press, New Haven–London 2009
- Costantino Corvisieri, "Compendio dei processi del Santo Uffizio di Roma (da Paolo III a Paolo IV)," Archivio della Società romana di storia patria 3 (1880), 261–290; 449-471
- Andrea Del Col, L'Inquisizione in Italia. Dall'XI al XXI secolo, Mondadori, Milan 2006
- Dizionario storico dell'Inquisizione, edited by V. Lavenia, A. Prosperi, J. Tedeschi, 4 vol., Edizioni della Normale, Pisa 2010
- Massimo Firpo, Inquisizione romana e Controriforma. Studi sul cardinal Giovanni Morone (1509–1580) e il suo processo d'eresia, 2nd edition, Morcelliana, Brescia 2005
- Massimo Firpo, Vittore Soranzo vescovo ed eretico. Riforma della Chiesa e Inquisizione nell'Italia del Cinquecento, Laterza, Rome–Bari 2006
- Giovanni Romeo, Inquisitori, esorcisti e streghe nell'Italia della Controriforma, Sansoni, Florence, 1990
- Giovanni Romeo, Ricerche su confessione dei peccati e Inquisizione nell'Italia del Cinquecento, La Città del Sole, Naples, 1997
- Giovanni Romeo, L'Inquisizione nell'Italia moderna, Laterza, Rome-Bari, 2002
- Giovanni Romeo, Amori proibiti. I concubini tra Chiesa e Inquisizione, Laterza, Rome-Bari, 2008
- John Tedeschi, The prosecution of heresy: collected studies on the Inquisition in early modern Italy, Medieval & Renaissance texts & studies, Binghamton, New York 1991.
- Maria Francesca Tiepolo, "Venezia", La Guida generale degli Archivi di Stato, IV, Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali, Ufficio centrale per i beni archivistici, Roma, 1994, pp. 857–1014, 1062–1070, 1076–1140
External links
- Works by or about Roman Inquisition at Internet Archive
- Works by Roman Inquisition at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)