5 - Sermones Generales – The Theatre of Inquisition

Summary

Our perception of the inquisition is shaped by the sources that have survived. We have good records of some interrogations and, although interpreting these records presents difficulties, we have a view of the internal workings of the inquisition which was denied to most people when it was operating. Much has been derived from these interrogations. But they were only a part of the inquisition's work. The inquisition sought not only to uncover heretics and to bring them to penitence and/or punishment, but also to send a message about the Church's fight against heresy in order to deter heresy and reassure the faithful. The most important means of communicating that message were the sermones generales, what would later be called autos-da-fé in Spain. At these events inquisitors' decisions were made known and convicted heretics were formally told of their fate. As we hope to show, these events were in part show trials, with an opportunity to preach, which was part of mendicant friars' core functions. They were intended to create an impression. That is not to say that the judgments delivered at these trials were necessarily unjust by the standards of the times, although that was always a risk with a system that lacked the safeguards modern courts enjoy. We have good evidence of the sorts of legal judgments made at these events, from Gui's Sententiæ in particular. But these are only one aspect of the sermones. We have a far less clear idea about the impact these events had, the words the inquisitors actually used or the physical appearance of a sermo. What we do know has to be pieced together from scattered pieces of evidence.

All inquisitorial actions, such as the seizure of suspects, the release of suspects and even the inquisitors' movements, must have been watched carefully by many in Languedoc in Gui's time. Gui writes in the Practica of the negative public impact of the release of suspects when a case could not be made against them. This would be seen as being done ‘in a confused way’ (quasi confuse) and the faithful would see it as ‘materiam scandali’ (a matter of outrage). Inquisitors had to think carefully about every public move; and the compendious Sententiæ and the Practica both give evidence that Gui's approach as an inquisitor was framed in part by the public of Languedoc.