Progress of Religious Persecution. 



S02 



persons, or such as held assemblies in 

 secret. The bishops were to visit in 

 person all the towns and villages of tl;eir 

 dioceses twice a-} ear: licrctirs declared 

 such by the bishops, or who would not 

 confess their crime, were to be delivered 

 tiver to the secular arm ; and the 

 favourers of heresy were to be. declared 

 infamous for ever, and deprived of their 

 employments. 



As a consequence of these resolutions, 

 and instigated by the legate of the Holv 

 See in Spain, Alphonso II. king of 

 Arragon, banished all heretics, without 

 distinction of sects, from his dominions, 

 and I'orbad his subjects to afford them 

 an asylum; any failing herein were to 

 have their goods confiscated, as guilly 

 of lese majesi:/, a species of treason. 

 These ordinances were renewed, three 

 years after, by his son Peter II. who 

 moreover allowed all sorts of ill treat- 

 ment to be iiitlicted on the persons of 

 heretics, cxcejit mutilation and death. 



The prosecution of heretics was yet 

 in the hands of the bishops; it remained 

 to establish an ecclesiastical corps, dis- 

 tinct from the episcopal, and imme- 

 diately dependent on the popes. To 

 this authority, kings and other sovereigns 

 were obliged to submit, under pain of 

 excommunication, and being deprived 

 of their dignities. This was not carried 

 into effect till the beginning of the thir- 

 teenth century. 



The accession oflnnoccnt III. to the 

 pontificate, in 1198, forms a memorable 

 epoch for the history of the Inquisition. 

 This pontifi' was i;ot only capable of 

 supporting the pretensions of his prede- 

 cessors, but of extending and tixing 

 tiicm on a more st;ible basis. Dissa- 

 tisfied with the conduct of the bishops, 

 he dispatched commissaries to search 

 and make enquiries, and found means 

 to render in a manner null the episcopal 

 authority, though at first communicating 

 counsels and designs with the bishops. 

 Lest he should meet with hindrances, 

 the pope would not directly institute a 

 permanent and perpetual corps, but 

 created temporary powerp, in hopes 

 that time would consolidate and com- 

 plete his work. 



In 1203 this pontiff appointed Pierre 

 dc Castelnau and Kaonl, both monks of 

 Citeaux, in Narbnncse Gaul, to preach 

 against the heresies of the Albigenses, 

 which they did with some success. 

 Soon after, the pope, conceiving the 

 times favourable, began to introduce 

 into the Catholic church, inquisitors, 

 independent of the bishops, and who 



[May U 



were to assume the power of prose- 

 cuting heretics. For this purpose he 

 nominateil, as his ajiostolical legates, 

 the Abbot de Citeaux, and the monks 

 Pierre and Raoul: all who refu.sed sub- 

 mission, after excommunication, were 

 to have their goods confiscated, and 

 their persons proscribed. 



About the same time, the pope wrote 

 to Philip II. king of France, and to his 

 eldest son Louis ; also to the counts, 

 viscounts, and barons, of the kingdom, 

 to prosecute heretics, and to take pos- 

 session of the goods of such as favoured 

 heresy. To stimulate them, plenary in- 

 dulgences were promised, similar to 

 those granted for combating infidels in 

 the Holy Land. 



Philip II. received this invitation with 

 cool indifference, and would have no 

 concern in the carrying it into effect. 

 As to the Counts dc Toulouse, de Foix, 

 de Beziers, de Carcassonne, and de 

 Commingc, finding the Albigeois prodr- 

 gionsly on the increase, they refused 

 to banish quiet and submissive sidijects, 

 lest the population and prosperity of 

 their states should suffer damage. But 

 a still greater obstacle to the efforts of 

 the pope's legates arose from the bishops, 

 who could not but be exceedingly 

 averse to such a mission ; and the monks 

 of Citeaux had very little success. Not 

 at all discouraged, however, they soon, 

 in conjunction with twelve other monks 

 of their order, and two zealous Spa- 

 niards, that afterwards became famous, 

 one under the name of Diego Acebes, 

 bishop of Osma, and the other under 

 that of St. Dominic de Guzman, renew- 

 ed tlieir prosecution of the heretics. 



As the lords of Provence and Nar- 

 bonese Gaul were very backward in 

 executing the sanguinary orders of the 

 Holy See, and as the most powerful 

 among them, Raymond VI. count of 

 Toulouse, seemed to be ever eluding 

 them, Pierre de Castelnau threatened 

 him with excommunication ; but he had 

 not time to put his threat into execu- 

 tion, being himself assassinated by the 

 Albigeois. This furnished the pope 

 with a pretext for organizing a second 

 crusade against the heretics, and to be 

 directed especially against the Count 

 de Toulouse. Simon, count de Mont- 

 fort, was to command the crusaders. 



It was in France, in the year 1208, 

 during the reign of Philip II. and under 

 the pontificate of Innocent III. that the 

 Inquisition may be said to have been 

 first established. This antichristian 

 institution soon after traversed the 



Alps 



