The secular arm, in

ecclesiastical law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

, is the legal authority of the civil power, the State, or any lay authority, invoked by the Church to punish offenders in cases properly belonging to the jurisdiction of the Church. This was considered the remedy in cases where excommunication was deemed insufficient and that sterner measures were required to secure obedience to the law. The secular arm as a means by which lay power intervenes in ecclesiastical cases had two types: sought and unsought by the Church. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

especially in Inquisition trials for

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 ...

, or grave immorality, ecclesiastical courts delivered convicted clerical and lay offenders over to the secular arm to administer severe capital punishments. The phrase " relaxed to the secular arm" was used by the

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 ...

to describe the handover of the condemned heretic. On the other hand, an individual could seek a civil court to interfere - invoking the secular arm - on account of a miscarriage of justice on the part of church authorities. The medieval Latin phrase 'brachium seculare' was translated first into late Middle English.

Background

Introduced circa 1180–1250 at the time of the

Albigensian 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 ...

, the church inquisitors delivered a

Cathar Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...

heretic, or any heretic, to the secular arm, to be burnt at the stake. Under

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

church tribunals had no jurisdiction to impose penalties involving mutilation or death. The law, however, provided that the judge of a common law court had the right to invoke the secular arm to address the culpability of an individual, who was a subject to ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Notably the contrary circumstance of appeal by individuals to the secular authorities to interfere with, or hinder, the process of ecclesiastical jurisdiction was until recently punished in the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

.The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3 ed.)p.532

Sources

Catholic CultureThe Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Religion

References

Canon law History of Catholicism in Europe {{middleages-stub