Social Control During the Medieval Inquisition
The Inquisition, though it did not become the true instrument of torture and oppression popularized in movies and books until after the Reformation, began during the Middle Ages, in response to the unorthodox religious practices of a variety of different groups throughout Europe. The most threatening of these sects were the Cathars, who lived in what is now southern France. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what frightened the Church fathers most about this group, especially as those people who condemned the Cathars wrote the only surviving records and it was popular at the time to vilify anyone who held radically different religious views. As a result, all manner of horrible rituals and beliefs were associated with the Cathars, the milder of which included, as mentioned in a thirteenth-century chronicle, such apocrypha as “they said also, in their secret doctrine, (in secreto suo) that that Christ who was born in the visible, and terrestrial Bethlehem, and crucified in Jerusalem, was a bad man, and that Mary Magdalene was his concubine.”[1] In addition, they were accused of eating children and participating in orgies. But it is important to remember that during the Middle Ages, people often framed social problems in religious terms. The surviving confessions of Cathars charged with religious heresy reveal the religious establishment attempting not only to quell resistance to its authority, but also to prevent the breakdown of society as the Church perceived it to exist, whether the danger lay in loose sexual mores, a refusal to swear an oath, or less than orthodox religious views. At stake were a social hierarchy and a system of control that regulated everyday life and power r...
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...ccusations Against the Albigensians, <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/heresy1.html> [October 25, 2003].
Note: All subsequent sources are located in the Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
2. The Inquisition Record of Jacques Fournier, Bishop of Pamiers 1318-1325, translated by Nancy P. Stork, <http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/Fournier/jfournhm.htm> [October 25, 2003].
3. Confession of Agnes Francou, <http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/Fournier/afrancou.htm> [October 25, 2003].
4. Ibid.
5. Confession of Arnaud Gélis, also called Botheler “The Drunkard” of Mas-Saint-Antonin, <http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/Fournier/agelis.htm> [October 25, 2003]
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Confession of Grazide, widow of Pierre Lizier of Montaillou, <http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/Fournier/grazide.htm> [October 25, 2003]
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
Fulcher of Chartres, A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem, 1095-1127, trans. Francis Rita Ryan, ed. Harold S. Fink, (Knoxville, 1969)
In 1348, religious authorities determined that the immodest behavior of certain groups led to outbreaks of ubiquitous plague. The tendency to regard indecency as the cause of plague is displayed in records of the day. Henry Knighton’s description of a guilty crowd attending the tournaments is a telling example. He laments that, “they spent and wasted their goods, and (according to the common report) abused their bodies in wantonness and scurrilous licentiousness. They neither feared God nor blushed at the criticism of the people, but took the marriage bond lightly and were deaf to the demands of modesty” (130). As one can gather from this passage, the 1348 religi...
Jeanne de Jussie, a dedicated Catholic nun, recorded events that took place in Geneva during the Reformation as the official chronicler for the Saint Clare convent. Although littered with biases, Jeanne de Jussie’s experiences reflect broader trends during the Reformation; therefore, The Short Chronicle is a valid source and not merely a personal attack against the Protestants. Her experiences and beliefs, including those concerning celibacy, reflected those of many members of the Catholic Church during the Reformation. Also, her categorization of Protestants as ‘heretics’ was consistent with the practices of the Catholic Church. Although biased, her fears about Protestant views on celibacy and marriage were legitimate and consistent with
"Inquisition." In New Catholic Encyclopedia, edited by Berard L. Marthaler, 485-491. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2003.
The book begins with a prologue, in which a letter is sent from a musician working for a cardinal in 1347. It is sent from the papal court of Avignon and is received by some of the musician's ...
In The Lais of Marie de France, the theme of love is conceivably of the utmost importance. Particularly in the story of Guigemar, the love between a knight and a queen brings them seemingly true happiness. The lovers commit to each other an endless devotion and timeless affection. They are tested by distance and are in turn utterly depressed set apart from their better halves. Prior to their coupling the knight established a belief to never have interest in romantic love while the queen was set in a marriage that left her trapped and unhappy. Guigemar is cursed to have a wound only cured by a woman’s love; he is then sent by an apparent fate to the queen of a city across the shores. The attraction between them sparks quickly and is purely based on desire, but desire within romantic love is the selfishness of it. True love rests on a foundation that is above mere desire for another person. In truth, the selfishness of desire is the
The epoch of Medieval European history concerning the vast and complicated witch hunts spanning from 1450 to 1750 is demonstrative of the socioeconomic, religious, and cultural changes that were occurring within a population that was unprepared for the reconstruction of society. Though numerous conclusions concerning the witch trials, why they occurred, and who was prosecuted have been found within agreement, there remain interpretations that expand on the central beliefs. Through examining multiple arguments, a greater understanding of this period can be observed as there remains a staggering amount of catalysts and consequences that emerged. In the pursuit of a greater understanding, three different interpretations will be presented. These interpretations, which involve Brian Levack’s “The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe,” Eric Boss’s “Syphilis, Misogyny, and Witchcraft in 16th-Century Europe,” and Nachman Ben-Yehuda’s “The European Witch Craze of the 14th to 17th centuries:
The DREAM Act, an acronym for Development, Relief, and Education of Alien Minors Act, was first introduced in 2001 by Dick Durbin and Orrin Hatch. The first hearing was scheduled to be held on September 12, 2001, but was postponed due to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Since then, the DREAM Act has been tossed back and forth, but never made it to the point of passing at the federal level. Both the Democratic and Republican parties are for it, so that’s not the problem. Some states, California, for example, have set in place their own adaptation of the DREAM Act.
Although revolutionary, this new change in structure came with a collective anxiety and confusion on how society in the eighteenth century could make the new and more intimate version of marriage and courtship function smoothly. I believe that the overall thesis of this essay, as well as the answer to everyone’s anxiety at that time, can be understood through the quote, “how would they be able to tell a virtuous suitor from a dissipated roué, the woman of their dreams from the Old Regime nightmare… They would do so by reading – by partaking of a new form of commercialized courtship found in the pages of the Le courier de l’hymen” (Jones, 174). Therefore, according to Jones, the answer to the new version of courtship and marriage could be found in the French journal, Le courier de l’hymen, and other works of fiction from that time
"Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. .
The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is one of the most complex movements in European history since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Reformation truly ends the Middle Ages and begins a new era in the history of Western Civilization. The Reformation ended the religious unity of Europe and ushered in 150 years of religious warfare. By the time the conflicts had ended, the political and social geography in the west had fundamentally changed. The Reformation would have been revolutionary enough of itself, but it coincided in time with the opening of the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans and the development of firearms as effective field weapons. It coincided, too, with the spread of Renaissance ideals from Italy and the first stirrings of the Scientific Revolution. Taken together, these developments transformed Europe.
...ly love led to new societal ideas on chivalry and proper knighthood. People raised their expectations to unrealistic ideals that could not be achieved. However, that’s where more creativity was born. The troubadours used these imaginary matters to create such fantasies to entertain society.
Since the first car was developed in 1885, car makers have been striving to create the car that will outshine over the others. There has never been a car to do it better than the Model T. Practical, reliable, and affordable are adjectives that describe the Model T since it came out in 1908. With little over 20 horsepower and a top speed of 45 miles an hour, this simple car propelled the Ford Motor Company to a level of success that had never been seen before(History, “Model T”). Henry Ford and the Model T revolutionized the car industry, as well as people's lives in the 1920s. The influences from the Model T can be found everywhere from the assembly line, to road development, to the middle class even in today’s world.
Religion is an important factor in many lives in today’s society. A particular western religion that is taken very seriously by many is known as Islam. Essentially, Islam means “submission”, or in other words a person is to abide by God and peace will follow. In order to comprehend the Islamic religion, it is consequential to view the major themes associated with this religion. By going through the central themes of Islam it could help others comprehend what is involved with this specific religion.
Bainvel, Jean. The New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York City: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15006b.htm (accessed September 23, 2011).