The ''Directorium Inquisitorum'' is Nicholas Eymerich's most prominent and enduring work, written in Latin and consisting of approximately 800 pages, which he had composed as early as 1376. Eymerich had written an earlier treatise on

sorcery Sorcery may refer to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Witchcraft, the practice of magical skills and abilities * Magic in fiction, ...

, perhaps as early as 1359, which he extensively reworked into the ''Directorium Inqusitorum''. In compiling the book, Eymerich used many of the magic texts he had previously confiscated from accused sorcerers. It can also be considered as an assessment of a century and a half of official

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

in the " albigensian" country.

Subject matter

The Dominican friar Nicholas Eymerich was appointed Inquisitor General of Aragon in 1357. As he directed much of his efforts to the apparent errors of members of the clergy, he often found his investigations blocked by the court, curia, or papacy. King

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...

had him removed from office at the general chapter held at Perpignan in 1360.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Nicolas Eymeric." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 27 February 2016 In lieu of being elected the Vicar General of the Dominicans in Aragon in 1362 however, Eymerich was again Inquisitor General. For a time King

prevented Eymerich from serving as inquisitor. Finally in 1376 he drove him from the kingdom and Eymerich fled to the papal court of

Pope Gregory XI Pope Gregory XI ( la, Gregorius, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pop ...

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had ...

. There he wrote the ''Directorium Inquisitorum''. It was further amplified by Spanish canonist Francis Peña in 1578. According to Karen Sullivan, they viewed the accused "as a soul deciding for itself whether it is to be united with God or forever alienated from him. Eymerich appears to have been familiar with

Bernard Gui Bernard Gui (), also known as Bernardo Gui or Bernardus Guidonis (c. 1261/62 – 30 December 1331), was a Dominican friar, Bishop of Lodève, and a papal inquisitor during the later stages of the Medieval Inquisition. Due to his fictionali ...

's earlier ''Liber sententiarum'' and other inquisitorial treatises. The ''Directorium Inquisitorum'' includes definitions of various types of heresies, discussion of questions of jurisdiction, and proper trial procedure. The book was used as a manual for inquisitors, and gave practical advice on how to conduct inquiries. It also described various means an accused heretic might use to dissemble, such as equivocation or the pretense of insanity. Witchcraft, which was a marginal issue for early inquisitors, assumed more importance in the later edition. On the subject of magic, it discusses various types and techniques of divination and draws a distinction between practices deemed heretical and non-heretical. He quotes Pope Innocent V in saying that in order to receive aid from a demon, a person must enter into some form of

pact A pact, from Latin ''pactum'' ("something agreed upon"), is a formal agreement between two or more parties. In international relations, pacts are usually between two or more sovereign states. In domestic politics, pacts are usually between two ...

with the demon. Eymerich then extrapolates on this postulate to demonstrate that any agreement with a demon is a heresy. Eymerich was among the first to condemn all forms of demonic conjuration as heresy. Previously, the common belief had been that even a saint might make a demonic pact as exemplified by the story of Saint Theophilus, who made a pact with the devil to gain an ecclesiastical position. In addition to describing common magical practices, Eymerich also described means of extracting a confession which included primitive

psychological manipulation Manipulation in psychology is a behavior designed to exploit, control, or otherwise influence others to one’s advantage. Definitions for the term vary in which behavior is specifically included, influenced by both culture and whether referring t ...

as well as outright

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

. Regarding torture, Eymerich said, ''"Quaestiones sunt fallaces et inefficaces"'' meaning, "Torture is deceptive and ineffectual." However, Eymerich was the first inquisitor to get around the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

's prohibition against torturing a subject twice. He interpreted the directive very liberally, permitting a separate instance of torture for a separate charge of heresy.

Legacy

The ''Directorium Inquisitorum'' was to become the definitive handbook of procedure for the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

until into the seventeenth century. It saw numerous printings, including a run at

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in 1503 and one in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1578. The ''Directorium Inquisitorum'' was one of the primary forerunners of the better known ''

Malleus Maleficarum The ''Malleus Maleficarum'', usually translated as the ''Hammer of Witches'', is the best known treatise on witchcraft. It was written by the German Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinized name ''Henricus Institor'') and first ...

''.

References

Notes

{{Reflist

Sources

* Brian A. Pavlac
List of Important Events for the Witch Hunts
Retrieved 21 January 2006

External links

Text of the ''Directorium Inquisitorum'' (1578) in Latin
Witch hunter manuals Witchcraft treatises Spanish Inquisition 14th-century Latin books 1376 books