Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/496

 446 THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE Raymond VII of Toulouse in 1229 agreed to suppoi the Church with all his might in the suppression of heresy Th He would punish the heretics if the Churcl medieval would point them out. Cases of heresy ha( inquisition hitherto been deah with by the local court of th( bishop, but now the pope took the detection of hereti< under his charge and appointed special officials — knowi as "inquisitors," from the Latin word for an investigatioi or inquiry — to visit places infested with heresy. The coi ing of the inquisitor was announced in advance and th( people were encouraged to assemble at a specified time b] the promise of an indulgence. To this assembled multitude the inquisitor preached, urging them to give him all possible information and assistance against the heretics in the local- ity, or to confess and repent of their error if they wen tainted with heresy themselves. A period of grace, usualb a month, was allowed during which any heretic who acknowl- edged his guilt and promised reformation and told the inquisitor what he could about his fellow heretics vr< absolved with some light penance. When the period of grace was over, the inquisitor pr< ceeded to the trials of those against whom he had gatherec evidence and who had not already confessed. The accused usually had neither jawyer nor wi tnesses to speak for him, since others did not wish to or did not dare to defend a prob- able heretic, lest they too be suspected. A notary was pres- ent to record the proceedings and two impartial men to see fair play, but they were sworn to secrecy unless some abuse occurred in the conduct of the trial. Until the close of the thirteenth century, the inquisitor did not have to let the accused know what evidence he had against him or who had given it, but Pope Boniface VIII decreed that the names of the witnesses against him must be revealed to the accused, although he still was not allowed to call them in and cross-examine them. The procedure, therefore, re- solved itself mainly into a questioning of the accused by the inquisitor in order to determine if he really were a heretic. If he refused to answer or made statements that the inquis-