Nicholas Eymerich facts for kids
Nicholas Eymerich (called Nicolau Eimeric in Catalan) was born around 1316 in Girona, Spain. He was a Catholic religious scholar and a very important figure known as the Inquisitor General in the Kingdom of Aragon during the late 1300s. He is most famous for writing a book called Directorium Inquisitorum. This book was a guide for inquisitors, summarizing older rules and customs.
Contents
His Life Story
Early Life and Education
Nicholas Eymerich joined the Dominican Order monastery in Girona on August 4, 1334. There, he learned about theology from a friar named Dalmau Moner. To finish his studies, he traveled to Toulouse and then to Paris, where he earned his doctorate degree in 1352. After his studies, he returned to the Girona monastery and became a theology teacher, taking over from Moner.
Becoming an Inquisitor
In 1357, Eymerich became the Inquisitor General of Aragon. This happened after the previous inquisitor, Nicola Roselli, became a cardinal. Just one year later, Eymerich was honored as a Chaplain to the Pope. This was because he worked very hard to find and deal with people who held beliefs against Church teachings (called heretics) or spoke disrespectfully about God (called blasphemers).
However, his strong dedication as Inquisitor General also made him many enemies. He often investigated Church leaders, and his work was sometimes stopped by the royal court or the Pope. For example, when he questioned a Franciscan spiritualist named Nicholas of Calabria, King Peter IV of Aragon had him removed from his position in 1360.
Conflicts and First Exile
In 1362, Eymerich was chosen to be the Vicar General of the Dominicans in Aragon. But another priest, Bernardo Ermengaudi, challenged this. Ermengaudi had a long disagreement with Eymerich and was supported by King Peter IV. When Pope Urban V was asked to decide, he said Eymerich could not be both Vicar General and Inquisitor General. So, he canceled Eymerich's election.
King Peter IV continued to prevent Eymerich from working as an inquisitor. The king's dislike for Eymerich grew stronger in 1366. This was when Eymerich started to criticize the writings of Ramon Llull and bother his followers, known as Lullists. The king even banned Eymerich from preaching in Barcelona. Eymerich secretly ignored this order and supported a revolt against the king. This conflict ended around 1376 when Eymerich had to flee to the Pope's court in Avignon. It's interesting to note that while Ramon Llull supported the idea of the Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary, Eymerich did not.
In 1370, Eymerich sentenced a Jewish man named Astruc Dapiera, from Barcelona, who was accused of sorcery. Dapiera was ordered to publicly apologize and then was imprisoned for life. Eymerich's famous book, the Directorium Inquisitorum, includes the saying: Quaestiones sunt fallaces et inefficaces, which means 'Interrogations are misleading and useless'.
Return and More Challenges
While living in Avignon, Eymerich finished his most famous work, the Directorium Inquisitorum. In 1377, he went with Pope Gregory XI to Rome and stayed there until the Pope died in 1378. After Gregory XI's death, there was a big split in the Church called the Western Schism, where two different Popes were chosen. Eymerich supported Antipope Clement VII, so he went back to Avignon in late 1378. In Avignon, he disagreed with St. Vincent Ferrer, believing Ferrer was starting to support the other Pope, Pope Urban VI.
Eymerich returned to Aragon in 1381. He found that Bernardo Ermengaudi had taken over as Inquisitor General. Eymerich refused to accept this. In 1383, acting as the Inquisitor General, he told the people of Barcelona that he had banned Ramon Llull's books. King Peter IV was so angry that he ordered Eymerich to be drowned! However, Queen Eleanor of Sicily convinced the king to change the sentence to permanent exile instead. Eymerich ignored this exile order again and stayed in his home country, mostly because King Peter's son, John, supported him.
King Peter IV died in 1386, and his son John I became king. King John I recognized Eymerich as the Inquisitor General. At first, John I supported stopping the Lullists. But this changed in 1388 when Eymerich decided to investigate the entire city of Valencia for heresy. King John I stepped in to free the University Chancellor, who had been imprisoned. The King called Eymerich a diabolicus fratrem (a "devilish brother") and forced him into exile once more.
Second Exile and Final Years
After the trouble in Valencia, Eymerich sought safety in a church to escape King John's anger. Two years later, he went back to Avignon. He stayed there until King John I died. In Avignon, Eymerich worked hard to defend Clement VII as the true Pope. He remained in Avignon even after Clement VII died in 1394, writing in support of Clement's successor, Antipope Benedict XIII. After King John's death in 1396, Eymerich returned to the Dominican monastery in Girona. He stayed there until he died on January 4, 1399. His tombstone describes him as a praedicator veridicus, inquisitor intrepidus, doctor egregius, which means "a truthful preacher, a fearless inquisitor, and an outstanding teacher."
What Did He Write?
The Directorium Inquisitorum
Eymerich's most important and lasting work was the Directorium Inquisitorum. He finished writing it as early as 1376. This book defined witchcraft and explained ways to find witches. To write the book, Eymerich used many magic texts he had taken from people accused of sorcery. The Directorium Inquisitorum became the main guide for the Spanish Inquisition for a long time, even into the 1600s. It also showed how the official Inquisition had worked for a century and a half in the "albigensian" region. Some people even said the Directorium Inquisitorum was written in 'Barbarian Latin' because of its style.
Other Important Writings
While the Directorium Inquisitorum was Eymerich's only full-length book, he wrote many shorter papers on different religious and philosophical topics.
A large part of Eymerich's life and writings was spent arguing against the works of Ramon Llull. Because of Eymerich's efforts, Pope Gregory XI banned some of Llull's writings. Eymerich later dedicated his Tractatus contra doctrinam Raymundi Lulli (Treatise against the doctrine of Ramon Llull) to Clement VII. In this document, he pointed out 135 heresies and 38 errors in the Lullists' beliefs. His Dialogus contra Lullistas (Dialogue against the Lullists) is another example of his works against Llull's followers.
Eymerich also wrote other works, including his Tractatus de potestate papali (Treatise on Papal Power) in 1383. This work defended the legitimacy of the Avignon antipopes, Clement VII and Benedict XIII.
How Is His Name Spelled?
There are many ways to spell Nicholas Eymerich's name. "Nicolau Aymerich" is the correct way to spell his name in medieval Catalan. Today, it would be spelled "Eimeric" in Catalan. Aymerich or Eimeric is still a common Catalan last name. "Nicolau" is the Catalan spelling for "Nicholas". The Spanish spelling, "Nicolas," is also sometimes used. The title page of the 1578 printing of the Directorium Inquisitorum, which is in Latin, spells his name as "Nicolai Eymerici." In English writings, "Nicholas Eymerich" is the most common spelling, with "Eymeric" being a close second. Other less common spellings include Emeric, Eimeric, Aimery, and Eymericus.
Eymerich in Books and Comics
Valerio Evangelisti, an Italian novelist, has written a series of ten science fiction books where Eymerich is the main character. There is also a French comic book series about Eymeric, which is based on Evangelisti's novels.
Eymerich is also one of the main characters in the novel Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones.
See also
In Spanish: Nicolás Aymerich para niños
