Directorium Inquisitorum facts for kids
1607 edition printed in Venice
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| Author | Nicholas Eymerich |
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| Original title | Directorium Inquisitorum |
The Directorium Inquisitorum is a very important and long book written in Latin by Nicholas Eymerich. It's about 800 pages long and he finished writing it around 1376. Eymerich had written about sorcery before, and he used those ideas to create this bigger book. He even used notes from magic books he took from people accused of sorcery. This book also shows how the Inquisition worked for about 150 years in areas like "albigensian" country.
Contents
What is the Directorium Inquisitorum About?
Nicholas Eymerich was a Dominican friar. He became the main Inquisitor for Aragon in 1357. An Inquisitor was a special judge who investigated people accused of having beliefs different from the official church teachings. Eymerich often looked into problems with church members. But sometimes, the king or the Pope would stop his investigations. King Peter IV of Aragon even had him removed from his job in 1360.
However, Eymerich became Inquisitor General again in 1362. For a while, King Peter IV stopped him from working. Finally, in 1376, the king forced him to leave the kingdom. Eymerich went to the Pope's court in Avignon. There, he wrote the Directorium Inquisitorum. Later, in 1578, a Spanish expert named Francis Peña added more to the book.
A Guide for Inquisitors
Eymerich seemed to know about other books written for inquisitors. One example is Bernard Gui's Liber sententiarum. The Directorium Inquisitorum explains different types of beliefs that were considered wrong. It also talks about who had the power to judge certain cases. And it describes the correct way to conduct a trial. The book was like a manual for inquisitors. It gave them practical advice on how to do their investigations. It also explained ways an accused person might try to trick them. For example, they might use confusing words or pretend to be unwell.
Magic and Demonic Pacts
At first, witchcraft was not a big concern for inquisitors. But it became more important in later versions of the book. When it came to magic, the book discussed different types of fortune-telling. It also explained the difference between practices that were seen as wrong and those that were not.
Eymerich quoted Pope Innocent V. The Pope said that to get help from a demon, a person had to make some kind of pact with it. Eymerich then used this idea to show that any agreement with a demon was considered a serious offense against church teachings. Eymerich was one of the first to say that all forms of calling on demons were wrong. Before him, some people believed that even a saint could make a deal with the devil. For example, the story of Saint Theophilus said he made a pact to get a church position.
Getting Confessions
Besides describing common magical practices, Eymerich also wrote about ways to get a confession. These included early forms of psychological manipulation. They also included using torture. About torture, Eymerich wrote, "Quaestiones sunt fallaces et inefficaces" which means, "Torture is deceptive and ineffectual." However, Eymerich found a way around the Church's rule against torturing someone twice. He interpreted the rule very loosely. This allowed a new instance of torture for each new accusation.
Legacy of the Book
The Directorium Inquisitorum became the main guide for how the Spanish Inquisition worked. It was used until the 1600s. Many copies of the book were printed. This included printings in Barcelona in 1503 and in Rome in 1578. The Directorium Inquisitorum was one of the most important books that came before the more famous Malleus Maleficarum.
See also
In Spanish: Directorium inquisitorum para niños
