Page:A history of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, volume 2.djvu/450

 ,^, BOHEMIA sist to the last. Frederic, Bishop of Ratisbon, took the audacious ,teD of seizing the papal collector and convepng him away to a olircfstle. An ambush was laid for the Bishop ^^ C. vaillon the papal nuncio charged with the busmess, and his life, ZTLi of his' assistant, Henry, Archdeacon of /^ifge, J-e onl^ W by the active interposition of WiUiam, Archbishop of Co- logne When, in 1372, the levy was repeated by Gregory XL, hf same spiril of resistance was aroused. The clergy of Mainz bound themselves to each other in a solemn engagernent not to paTit, and Frederic, Archbishop of Cologne promised his c e gy to give them aU the assistance he safely could m their refusal to submit. Trifling incidents such as these -^-^^Y^^^f^l ^ sight into the complex relations between the Holy See and the tU^s of Christendom. On the one hand, t^-e jas ^^^^ ^ perstitious awe generated by five centuries of unquestioned dom fnattn as the rfpre.entative of Christ, and there -.moreover the dread of the material consequences of unsuccessful revolt. On he other, there was the indignation ^ornf lawless oppression ever exciting to rebellion, and the clear-sighted recogmtion of the TenaUt; and corruption which rendered the ^^-a-uria a so^^^^^^ of contacrion for all Europe. There was ample mflammab e ma teriaX which the increasing friction might at any moment kindle into flame,* Bohemia was peculiarly dangerous soil, * «r it was thoi^ug^^^^^ interpenetrated with the leaven of heresy. ^^^J^^^J.^ °^^'"jf °^ papal inquisitors after those commissioned by Ber^edic^^^^^^^^^ 1335 and it is presumable that for a while the heretics had peace. Sblp ALst, however, soon after 1^^^^-"' -^^^^ lutely to work to purify the morals of his Church and to uproot heresy He held synods frequently, he instituted a body of Cor- rector's whose duty'it was to visit aU portions of ^^^^^^^_ punish all transgressions, and he organized an «P'^P^ M™ ^ Ln for the purpose of tracking out and suppressing heresy, in he fra'^men^ remains of his synodal acts, the frequency and ea nestness with which this latter duty is insisted upon s^rve as a measure of its importance, and of the numbers of those who had . WerunsUy op. cit.^^j^^^^^^Z^^W^^^^O- ^*^' ^"- Gudeni Cod. Diplom. III. 509.-Hartz),eim Conc.l. Germ. IV. 510.