Page:A history of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, volume 2.djvu/135

 ORGANIZATIOlSr. n^ With this exception the whole of France was confided to the Dominicans. In 1253 a bull of Innocent lY. renders the Provin- cial of Paris supreme over the rest of the kingdom, including the territories of Alphonse of Toulouse. I^umerous bulls follow during the next few years which speak of the growth of heresy requirino- increased efforts for its suppression and of the solicitude of King Louis that the Inquisition should be effective. Elaborate instruc- tions are sent for its management, and various changes are made and unmade in a manner to show that a watchful eye was kept on the institution in France, and that there was a constant effort to render it as efficient as possible. By a papal brief of 1255 we see that at that time the Inquisition of Languedoc was independent of the Paris provincial; in 1257 it is again under his authority; in 1261 it is once more removed, and in 1264 it is restored to him— a provision which became final, rendering him in some sort a grand- inquisitor for the whole of France. In 1255 the Franciscan pro- vincial was adjoined to the Dominican, thus dividing the functions between the two Orders ; but this arrangement, as might be ex- pected, does not seem to have worked well, and in 1256 we find the power again concentrated in the hands of the Dominicans. The number of inquisitors to be appointed was always strictly limited by the popes, and it varied with the apparent exigencies of the times and also with the extent of territory. In 1256 only two are specified ; in 1258 this is pronounced insufficient for so extensive a region, and the provincial is empowered to appoint four more. In 1261, when Languedoc was withdrawn, the num- ber is reduced to two ; in 1266 it is increased to four, exclusive of Languedoc and Provence, to whom in 1267 associates were ad- jomed, and in 1273 the number was made six, including Langue- doc, but excluding Provence. This seems to have been the final organization, but it does not appear that the Northern kingdom w^as divided into districts, strictly dehmitated as those of the South.* The Inquisition at Besan^on appears to have been at first in- ^ Arch, de I'Inq. de Care. (Doat. XXXI. 90; XXXII. 41).— Wadding. Annal. ann. 1255, No. 14.— Raynald. ann. 1255, No. 33.— Arch. Nat. de France, J. 431, No. 30, 31, 34, 35, 36.— Ripoll I. 273-4, 291, 362, 472, 512 ; II. 29.— MSS. Bib Nat ' fends latin, No. 14030, fol. 2-36.-Martene Thesaur. V. 1814, 1817.