A History Of The Inquisition Of The Middle Ages Its Organization And Operation

This was originally published in three volumes, but is now comprised in one volume. There is a linked table of contents for each volume as well as a detailed table of contents at the beginning of each volume linked to the specific chapters in that volume. There is also a subject index at the end of the volume which is not linked, but nonetheless it gives the book and chapter in which the subject can be found, as well as the original page number of the printed edition. Henry Charles Lea's History of the Medieval Inquisition pulls from primary sources, so as to give an accurate account of the Catholic Church’s judicial system known as the Inquisition. As he explores the events of the twelfth century, which later become known as the dreaded Inquisition, he breaks the subjects down into three categories. In the first volume he looks at the medieval concepts and of the relationships between individuals and the Church. In volume two he looks at the placement of the inquisitions throughout Europe and the state of different religious conditions within the Languedoc region. He shows how that in Italy and France there was a continual resistance to the Inquisition. In the third and final volume Lea studied the impact of the Inquisition on scholarship and academic life and on faith and society as a whole. He also shows how that the belief in sorcery and witchcraft in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was a product of the Catholic Inquisition and how that the Church authorities were feeding its growth. Through these orders of the Franciscans and the Fraticelli they gained their prominence. Throughout these three books he deals with religious groups such as the Cathari, the Albigensian, the Hussites, as well as looking at the Albigensian Crusades, and its impact. Overview Of The Table of Contents Volume 1 Origin and Organization of the Inquisition: 1. The Church; 2. Heresy; 3. The Cathari; 4. The Albigensian Crusades; 5. Persecution; 6. The Mendicant orders; 7. The Inquisition founded; 8. Organization; 9. The Inquisitorial process; 10. Evidence; 11. The defence; 12. The sentence; 13. Confiscation; 14. The stake; Appendix. Volume 2 The Inquisition in the Several Lands of Christendom: 1. Languedoc; 2. France; 3. The Spanish peninsula; 4. Italy; 5. The Slavic Cathari; 6. Germany; 7. Bohemia; 8. The Hussites; Appendix of documents. Volume 3 Special Fields of Inquisitorial Activity: 1. The Spiritual Franciscans; 2. Guglielma and Dolcino; 3. The Fraticelli; 4. Political heresy utilized by the Church; 5. Political heresy utilized by the state; 6. Sorcery and occult arts; 7. Witchcraft; 8. Intellect and faith; 9. Conclusion; Appendix of documents; Index.

A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages in three volumes is a groundbreaking work on the subject of Inquisition, written by Henry Charles Lea, one of the main authorities on the subject. His goal was to present an impartial account of the institution as it existed during the earlier period. In order to accurately appreciate the process of its development and the results of its activity the author takes in consideration the factors controlling the minds and souls of men during these times. He recapitulates nearly all the spiritual and intellectual movements of the Middle Ages, glancing at the condition of society in certain of its phases. Beginning with the state of church in 12th and 13th century, the study includes various forms of heresy emerging throughout the European continent from Spain and France west, to Slavic countries in Eastern Europe. Lea particularly deals with various fields of inquisitorial activity, notably its utilization in political purposes. Though his study of the Inquisition was criticized for anti-Spanish bias, it is thoroughly researched and contains interesting details surrounding this notorious institution.