A History Of The Inquisition Of The Middle Ages Vol 1 3

A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages in three volumes is a groundbreaking work on the subject of Inquisition, written by Henry Charles Lea, one of the main authorities on the subject. His goal was to present an impartial account of the institution as it existed during the earlier period. In order to accurately appreciate the process of its development and the results of its activity the author takes in consideration the factors controlling the minds and souls of men during these times. He recapitulates nearly all the spiritual and intellectual movements of the Middle Ages, glancing at the condition of society in certain of its phases. Beginning with the state of church in 12th and 13th century, the study includes various forms of heresy emerging throughout the European continent from Spain and France west, to Slavic countries in Eastern Europe. Lea particularly deals with various fields of inquisitorial activity, notably its utilization in political purposes. Though his study of the Inquisition was criticized for anti-Spanish bias, it is thoroughly researched and contains interesting details surrounding this notorious institution.

This installment in a series on science and technology in world history begins in the fourteenth century, explaining the origin and nature of scientific methodology and the relation of science to religion, philosophy, military history, economics and technology. Specific topics covered include the Black Death, the Little Ice Age, the invention of the printing press, Martin Luther and the Reformation, the birth of modern medicine, the Copernican Revolution, Galileo, Kepler, Isaac Newton, and the Scientific Revolution.

Excerpt from A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Vol. 1 of 3 The history of the Inquisition naturally divides itself into two portions, each of which may be considered as a whole. The Reformation is the boundary-line between them, except in Spain, where the New Inquisition was founded by Ferdinand and Isabella. In the present work I have sought to present an impartial account of the institution as it existed during the earlier period. For the second portion I have made large collections of material, through which I hope in due time to continue the history to its end. The Inquisition was not an organization arbitrarily devised and imposed upon the Judicial system of Christendom by the ambition or fanaticism of the Church. It was rather a natural - one may almost say an inevitable - evolution of the forces at work in the thirteenth century, and no one can rightly appreciate the process of its development and the results of its activity without a somewhat minute consideration of the factors controlling the minds and souk of men during the ages which had the foundation of modern civilization. To accomplish this it has been necessary to pass in review nearly all the spiritual and intellectual movements of the Middle Ages, and to glance at the condition of society in certain of its phases. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Volume 3 of this influential 1888 study focuses on the Inquisition's impact on scholarship, faith, politics and culture.

Freedom of thought is one of the great and venerable notions of Western thought, often celebrated in philosophical texts – and described as a crucial right in American, European, and International Law, and in that of other jurisdictions. What it means more precisely is, however, anything but clear; surprisingly little writing has been devoted to it. In the past, perhaps, there has been little need for such elaboration. As one Supreme Court Justice stressed, “[f]reedom to think is absolute of its own nature” because even “the most tyrannical government is powerless to control the inward workings of the mind.” But the rise of brain scanning, cognition enhancement, and other emerging technologies make this question a more pressing one. This volume provides an interdisciplinary exploration of how freedom of thought might function as an ethical principle and as a constitutional or human right. It draws on philosophy, legal analysis, history, and reflections on neuroscience and neurotechnology to explore what respect for freedom of thought (or an individual’s cognitive liberty or autonomy) requires.

What society considers blasphemy - a verbal assault against the sacred - is a litmus test of the standards it believes to be necessary to preserve unity, order, and morality. Society has always condemned as blasphemy what it regards as an abuse of liberty

In a groundbreaking historical work that addresses religious conversion in the West from an uncompromisingly secular perspective, Susan Jacoby challenges the conventional narrative of conversion as a purely spiritual journey. From the transformation on the road to Damascus of the Jew Saul into the Christian evangelist Paul to a twenty-first-century “religious marketplace” in which half of Americans have changed faiths at least once, nothing has been more important in the struggle for reason than the right to believe in the God of one’s choice or to reject belief in God altogether. Focusing on the long, tense convergence of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—each claiming possession of absolute truth—Jacoby examines conversions within a social and economic framework that includes theocratic coercion (unto torture and death) and the more friendly persuasion of political advantage, economic opportunism, and interreligious marriage. Moving through time, continents, and cultures—the triumph of Christianity over paganism in late antiquity, the Spanish Inquisition, John Calvin’s dour theocracy, Southern plantations where African slaves had to accept their masters’ religion—the narrative is punctuated by portraits of individual converts embodying the sacred and profane. The cast includes Augustine of Hippo; John Donne; the German Jew Edith Stein, whose conversion to Catholicism did not save her from Auschwitz; boxing champion Muhammad Ali; and former President George W. Bush. The story also encompasses conversions to rigid secular ideologies, notably Stalinist Communism, with their own truth claims. Finally, Jacoby offers a powerful case for religious choice as a product of the secular Enlightenment. In a forthright and unsettling conclusion linking the present with the most violent parts of the West’s religious past, she reminds us that in the absence of Enlightenment values, radical Islamists are persecuting Christians, many other Muslims, and atheists in ways that recall the worst of the Middle Ages. (With 8 pages of black-and-white illustrations.)

On 18 March 1314, Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Templars, was burned at the stake. For almost two centuries, the knights of the Order of the Temple had flourished during the Crusades in Palestine and Syria, and in the West, notably in France. But in 1307, the Templars in France were arrested by King Philip IV's officials in the name of the Inquisition, their property seized and the men charged with serious heresies, including the denial of Christ, homosexuality and idol worship. Confessions, extracted under torture, were brought before royal and papal tribunals, but in 1310 a number of Templar brothers mounted a defence of their Order, refuelling the controversies which continued for a further four years before the final executions. Malcolm Barber's fascinating account, assessing the charges brought against the Order, once again puts the Templars on trial.

This fourth volume written by Heidi Heiks is dedicated to the prophetic periods of Daniel and Revelation. It addresses twenty objections and other issues that Heiks feels demand clarification. All objections are for the years and events connected to AD 508 and AD 538. Readers will find that Heiks clarifies documentation and resolves all the best arguments brought against what he considers, and has presented as, correct interpretation. The author also includes the Source Books’ bibliographies, which are a great resource for any scholar, historian, or layperson doing research.

Exploring the relationship of heresy, dissent and society in the 12th and 13th Centuries,The Devil’s World shows how people made conscious choices between heresy and orthodoxy in the middle ages and were not afraid to exert their power as ‘consumers’ of religion. The book gives an account of all popular religious movements, looks at the threat that heresy presented to the Church and lay powers and considers the measures they took to deal with it. Ideal for students of medieval and religious history.

This volume focuses on the specialized operations that the insidious inquisition carried out. Whether it was routing political heresy or else dealing with a local witch coven, the inquisition was within all areas of society. No one was safe from their wrath.

An exploration of the historical origins of the “witches’ ointment” and medieval hallucinogenic drug practices based on the earliest sources • Details how early modern theologians demonized psychedelic folk magic into “witches’ ointments” • Shares dozens of psychoactive formulas and recipes gleaned from rare manuscripts from university collections all over the world as well as the practices and magical incantations necessary for their preparation • Examines the practices of medieval witches like Matteuccia di Francisco, who used hallucinogenic drugs in her love potions and herbal preparations In the medieval period preparations with hallucinogenic herbs were part of the practice of veneficium, or poison magic. This collection of magical arts used poisons, herbs, and rituals to bewitch, heal, prophesy, infect, and murder. In the form of psyche-magical ointments, poison magic could trigger powerful hallucinations and surrealistic dreams that enabled direct experience of the Divine. Smeared on the skin, these entheogenic ointments were said to enable witches to commune with various local goddesses, bastardized by the Church as trips to the Sabbat--clandestine meetings with Satan to learn magic and participate in demonic orgies. Examining trial records and the pharmacopoeia of witches, alchemists, folk healers, and heretics of the 15th century, Thomas Hatsis details how a range of ideas from folk drugs to ecclesiastical fears over medicine women merged to form the classical “witch” stereotype and what history has called the “witches’ ointment.” He shares dozens of psychoactive formulas and recipes gleaned from rare manuscripts from university collections from all over the world as well as the practices and magical incantations necessary for their preparation. He explores the connections between witches’ ointments and spells for shape shifting, spirit travel, and bewitching magic. He examines the practices of some Renaissance magicians, who inhaled powerful drugs to communicate with spirits, and of Italian folk-witches, such as Matteuccia di Francisco, who used hallucinogenic drugs in her love potions and herbal preparations, and Finicella, who used drug ointments to imagine herself transformed into a cat. Exploring the untold history of the witches’ ointment and medieval hallucinogen use, Hatsis reveals how the Church transformed folk drug practices, specifically entheogenic ones, into satanic experiences.