Chateaubriand: Philosophie de l'hérésie

A voir les choses de plus haut dans leurs rapports avec la grande famille des nations,
les hérésies ne furent que la vérité philosophique ou l’indépendance de l’esprit de l’homme,
refusant son adhesion à la chose adoptée.
Prise dans ce sens, les hérésies produisirent des effets salutaires:
elles exercèrent la pensée,
elles prévinrent la complete barbarie,
en tenant l’intelligence éveillée dans les siècles les plus rudes et les plus ignorants;
elles conservèrent un droit naturel et sacré le droit de choisir.
Toujours il y aura des heresies, parce que l’homme né libre fera toujours des choix.
Alors même que l’hérésie choque la raison, elle constate une de nos plus nobles facultés:
celle de nous enquéoir sans contrôle, et d’agir sans entraves.’

The Inquisition or Crusade of the 13th Century - a dark chapter of the Middle Ages

This dark chapter of the Middle Ages went on for over 30 years, when the Church terrified people into submission.

This was a campaign sanctioned by the Popes to rid Southern France of non-Catholics, the unbelievers or what they called heretics, specifically the Cathars and Waldensians. The church felt threatened by the popularity of their groups. The authority of the church got diminished, their teachings were put into doubt by possible existence of ancient scriptures and people turned away from them disgusted by the opulent lifestyle of its priests and bishops. Not taking responsibility for their own faults, they looked for somebody to blame, and chose the Cathars and Waldensians who had minded their own business but were more popular and successful in attracting believers. Especially the Waldensians tried to live according to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus and were far more Christian than the members of the Catholic Church.

1184 saw Pope Lucius III papal bull ‘Ad abolendam’ (for the purpose of doing away with) initiating the first inquisition.

Pope Innocent III’s (1198-1216) released in 1209 the following papal bull and made it part of the canon law: The property of all heretics in countries under our jurisdiction is to be confiscated, in other countries we suggest to their rulers to the the same. Further, even if heretics renounce their heresay, property will not be returned, unless somebody wishes to return it because of pity. Those who denounce their king will be punished with confiscation of their goods and punished with death, and isn’t it the greater crime to attack the holy than the worldly lord!
Pope Innocent died a very rich man (one million gold gulden of private property).

The Church basically blessed theft and invited people to steal from their neighbours. A disgusting greed for the property of the unfortunate victims initiated and authorised by the Church. They encouraged people to cause great misery and make themselves rich in the process.

When the Church started to try to fight the Cathars, the Cathars didn’t fight back. The Church needed an excuse for an open war and soon found one. When one of the cruel legates of the Pope, who had excommunicated all those protecting the Cathars, including noblemen such as the Count of Toulouse, was found dead, they simply blamed the Cathars for having killed him.

Then the Inquisition began in earnest. It was aided by the French King who wanted to gain control of the independent southern part of France. This was started with a blockade of business of the Languedoc in 1163 by order of the council of Tours. The French ruler promised a great booty, and Pope Innocent III promised those taking part in the crusade eternal salvation after 40 days fighting, and absolution for all sins committed during the war and the property of the heretics. The promise of land quickly brought 20,000 knights and 200,000 soldier from the north into the south.

Pope Innocent III ordered to burn without pity all those who had a view of God different than the Church. His order was to destroy, exterminate and tear out all that the inquisitors considered to be worthy to be destroyed, exterminated and torn out.

Those suspected of being heretics were imprisoned for years before a trial and then it took years to announce the result while the defendants had to stay in prison. Sometimes they were allowed lawyers, but if they were convicted, the lawyer was never allowed to practice again, so it was impossible to find a lawyer. Accusers were easily motivated by the wish to acquire the property of the person they accused. They were tortured to make them confess. They would suspend them on by their hands, dislocating the joints of the arms and hang weights on their feet to dislocate the legs as well.

When they were found guilty and burned, they didn’t just burn them, they bound them on a pole above the fire, so that those watching could see them. They were not allowed to make a noise, because they didn’t want anybody to have pity on them. And they did the burning on days of celebration to allow as many people as possible to come and watch.

The church justified the burning with John XV6: If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Those who weren’t burned at the stake still got their property confiscated and they had to wear a yellow cross for life.

Under the authority of the Pope, the worst inquisitors and army generals were field marshal Abbot Arnaud Amalrich de Citaux (when asked how to distinguish Catholics from Cathars, he replied, kill them all, god will recognise his own – not a single person in the town of Bezier survived), Bernard Gui (who told those fighting for him to just thrust their swords into the heretics and don’t bother arguing with them) and Simon de Montfort (who made sure that every heretic he managed to lay his hands on died a gruesome death) and the brothers of the Dominican Order.

Faydits (outlaws) had to hide in the forests, mountains and caves after their strongholds had fallen. The Dominicans trained dogs to find them and hunted them like wild animals. They only had the choice between dying or leaving their homeland and homes.

Saint Dominic was born in the Languedoc and there he founded the Dominican order or Blackfriars who soon became the main inquisitors of the crusade. Hunting down heretics and burning any books they suspected of containing heretic materials.

Bernard Délicieux was also from the Languedoc, he was a fratricelli (little brother) of the Franciscan Order, the Ordo Fratrum Minorum (Order of Little Brothers) or Grey friars or the Spirituals and founded by Francis of Assisi who had taught them that peace of mind could only be achieved through bearing injustice and suffering with patience and humility. They lived without worldly riches just as Jesus and his apostles had done. This Pope John XXII (1316-34) declared heresy in 1322.

They did not agree with the Dominicans and Bernard persuaded the people of the town of Carcassonne to free those held in their prisons and destroy the inquisition registers. More towns followed their example. He even dared to remind the inquisitors that St Peter and St Paul would also be declared heretics using their methods.

The French king gave even more power to the Dominicans and anybody pointed out by them to be a heretic was imprisoned. If people came up to prove that these weren’t heretics, they faked the registers.

Defending the belief of the Franciscans, Bernard was arrested in 1317. He was also accused to have caused the death of Pope Benedict XI (1303-04) with the help of magic and to have caused an revolt in Carcassonne. It took two years for him to stand trial, which he awaited in prison, before the Bishop of Pamier, Jaques Fournier and the Archbishop of Toulouse. They used his brothers as witnesses against him, threatening every one who would not speak against him with death. The trial lasted 2 months. He as tortured for treason and necromancy and told that only if he confessed to be a heretic would he not be burned at the stake. He did not confess. He was declared guilty of all charges including 70 cases of perjury during his trial, but not the attempt on the life of the Pope and imprisoned for life in the same jail in Carcassonne from which he had saved the heretics. An old man, he was put in chains and only given bread and water and died a few months later.

A form of peace came in 1229 with the treaty of Paris, but the price was high. Southern France had lost its independence (apart from the County of Foix that was independent until 1271), much of its population was killed, its economy was destroyed and its culture suppressed. At this time Jews were also expulsed from France and England.

How could the Church have justified having brought misery to many, having stolen all the possessions of people and having killed over one million people? Theft and murder in the name of God. They were the greatest sinners of all against the Ten Commandments.