The Inquisition played a central role in European history. It moulded societies by enforcing religious and intellectual unity; it helped develop the judicial and police techniques which are the basis of those used today; and it helped lay the foundations for the persecution of witches. An understanding of the Inquisition is therefore essential to the late medieval and early modern periods.
This book looks at how the philosophy and practice of Inquisition developed in the fourteenth century. It saw the proliferation of heresies defined by the Church (notably the Spiritual Franciscans and Beguines) and the classifcation of many more magical practices as heresy.The consequentialwidening of the Inquisition's role in turn led to it being seen as an essential part of the Church and the guardian of all the Church's doctrinal boundaries; the inclusion of magic in particular also changed the Inquisition's attitude towards suspects, and the use of torture became systematised and regularised.
These changes are charted here through close attention to the inquisitorial manuals of Bernard Gui and Nicholas Eymerich, using other sourceswhere available. Gui's and Eymerich's personalities were important factors. Gui was a successful insider, Eymerich a maverick, but Eymerich's work had the greater long-term influence. Through them we can see the Inquisition in action.

DEREK HILL gained his PhD from the University of London.

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Historical Context and Gui's, Eymerich's and Ugolini's Lives
The Interpretation of Gui's Practica and Eymerich's Directorium
Inquisitors' Companions and Relationships with the Secular Arm and with the Rest of the Church
Detection, Interrogation, Abjuration and the Inquisitor's Relationship with his Suspects
Sermones Generales - The Theatre of Inquisition
Changes in Thinking on Inquisition and Heresy
Conclusions and Consequences
Cautelæ inquisitorum decem contra hæreticorum cavillationes et fraudes
Super illius Specula
Bibliography