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Medieval Inquisition

Type Object Region Europe Time 1184–1500

Catholic judicial institution for investigating and punishing heresy, opened by Pope Lucius III's 1184 decree and institutionalized by Gregory IX in …

Timeline

  1. 1184–1231Rome · ItalyA papal decree of 1184 required bishops to investigate heresy; in 1231 Gregory IX issued Excommunicamus, establishing a permanent inquisitorial system, and the Inquisition became a formal judicial body of the papacy.
  2. 1231–1300Southern France and Italy · OccitaniaDominicans and Franciscans were commissioned as inquisitors, establishing permanent courts in Languedoc, Italy, and elsewhere; interrogation procedures and denunciation mechanisms were gradually standardized.
  3. c. 1300–1320Europe · EuropeAround the 1310s, inquisitorial activity intensified with support from the Avignon papacy; cases such as the 1310 trial of Templars showed close cooperation between the Inquisition, the papacy, and royal power, with the scope of scrutiny over heresy and "witchcraft" accusations expanding.

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