The Heresy of Peter Garcias, Toulouse 1247

In 1247 a townsman of Toulouse named Peter Garcias was accused of heresy and made subject to a processus (the collection of evidence against the alleged heretic from a series of witnesses) administered by the inquisition.  The statements in this case were from monks who claimed to have heard Peter proclaim a series of heretical …

The Venerable Bede in European Context

The Venerable Bede (c. 673-735), monk, theologian and the first historian of the English people, lived at the monastery of St Peter and St Paul in Monkwearmouth and Jarrow in Northumbria on Britain’s north-east coast.  While an earlier generation of historians tended to see Bede as living at the ragged edge of Christian civilisation, working …

The Cathar Heresy: Fact or Fiction?

In the 11th century, the Western Christian church began to act against “popular” heresy, that is to say, dissident religious movements involving people at many social levels.  By the mid-13th century in France this effort had solidified into the series of courts and inquiries known as “inquisitions ” (medievalists no longer call this collection of …