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An inquisitor was an
An inquisitor was an official
An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...
(usually with judicial
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
or investigative functions) in an inquisition
The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
– an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy.
Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
and other things contrary to the doctrine
Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...
or teachings of the Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
faith. Literally, an inquisitor is one who "searches out" or "inquires" (Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''inquirere'' < ''quaerere'', 'to seek').
In some cases, inquisitors sought out the social networks that people used to spread heresy.
There were multiple national inquisitions with different approaches and targets.
Controversies
In theAlbigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...
a second-hand story arose that inquisitor and general Arnaud Amalric
Arnaud Amalric (; died 1225), also known as Arnaud Amaury, was a Cistercians, Cistercian abbot who played a prominent role in the Albigensian Crusade. It is purported that prior to the Massacre at Béziers, massacre of Béziers, Amalric, when aske ...
at the storming of Béziers advocated general slaughter, saying “Kill them. For God knows who are his.” Amalric's own report to the Pope was that his troops jumped the gun and took over the town violently before he was aware.
Prominent inquisitors
Some of the better-known and notable inquisitors throughout history include: * Peter of Verona (also known as Saint Peter Martyr), whose canonization was the fastest in history * Pedro de Arbués * Nicolau Aymerich author of '' Directorium Inquisitorum'' * Stephen of Bourbon * Arnaut Catalan * Fabio Chigi (later Pope Alexander VII) * Diego Deza * Bernard Gui * Heinrich Institoris, author of ''Malleus Maleficarum
The ''Malleus Maleficarum'', usually translated as the ''Hammer of Witches'', is the best known treatise about witchcraft. It was written by the German Catholic Church, Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinisation of names, Latini ...
''
* Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros
* Konrad von Marburg
* Sebastien Michaelis
* Giovanni Pietro Carafa (later Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV (; ; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559), born Gian Pietro Carafa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death, in August 1559. While serving as papal nuncio in Spain, he developed ...
)
* Jacob Sprenger, purported co-author of ''Malleus Maleficarum
The ''Malleus Maleficarum'', usually translated as the ''Hammer of Witches'', is the best known treatise about witchcraft. It was written by the German Catholic Church, Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinisation of names, Latini ...
''
* Tomás de Torquemada
* Martín García Ceniceros
* Hentenius (1540s-1566)
* Vincenza Matilde Testaferrata, female inquisitor
From fiction
See also
* Grand Inquisitor * Medieval Inquisition *Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...
* Portuguese Inquisition
The Portuguese Inquisition (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal in 15 ...
* Roman Inquisition
The Roman Inquisition, formally , was a system of partisan tribunals developed by the Holy See of the Catholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, responsible for prosecuting individuals accused of a wide array of crimes according ...
* Mexican Inquisition
* Inquisitorial system
An inquisitorial system is a legal system in which the court, or a part of the court, is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case. This is distinct from an adversarial system, in which the role of the court is primarily that of an ...
, a type of legal systemReferences
{{Authority control Inquisition I Ecclesiastical titles