The German Inquisition was established by Pope Gregory IX in 1231, and the first inquisitor was appointed in the territory of Germany. In the second half of the 14th century, permanent structures of the Inquisition were organized in Germany, which, with the exception of one tribunal, survived only until the time of the Reformation in the first half of the 16th century. In combating heretics in Germany, the Inquisition always played a secondary role compared to the ecclesiastical courts.
Geographically, the jurisdictional area of the German Inquisition from 14th to 16th century encompassed the ecclesiastical metropolitan provinces: Mainz, Cologne, Salzburg, Bremen, and Magdeburg, as well as the Archdiocese of Trier (without suffragans),The suffragans of Trier, i.e., the dioceses of Verdun, Metz and Toul, were subordinate to the French inquisitors (). the Diocese of Basel (belonging to the province of Besançon), exempted dioceses of Bamberg, Meissen, and Pomerania, as well as the Livonian territories belonging to the Teutonic Order.; ; Burgundy and Lorraine, and until 1515 also southern Netherlands, although part of the Holy Roman Empire, were subject to French inquisitors appointed by the provincial of the Dominicans in Paris.
Heretics in Germany from 11th to 13th century The first mention of heretics in late medieval Germany dates back to 1051 when Emperor Henry III, against the protests of Catholic clergy, ordered the hanging of several individuals in Goslar who were deemed Manicheans due to their refusal to kill animals and consume meat. However, little is known about this group. Around 1114/1115, Tanchelm of Utrecht operated in the diocese of Utrecht, who was also accused of heresy. However, it is more likely that he was merely a radical and tactless religious reformer who antagonized the clergy of Utrecht too much. In any case, after his murder in 1115, his movement collapsed. From 1143 onwards, the presence of the dualistic Cathar sect was recorded in the Rhineland, which from the beginning met with hostile reception. In 1143, Count Otto von Rheineck burned three Cathars in Bonn, and in the same and following years, there were extrajudicial punishments of Cathars captured in Cologne and Liège. At that time, too, the Catholic clergy was opposed to the persecution of heretics. In 1163, there were again extrajudicial punishments of Cathars in Cologne, and shortly thereafter, they were expelled from Mainz. However, it seems that this sect did not establish lasting roots in Germany. Evidence of its presence in Germany in the first half of the 13th century is ambiguous, and later it is absent altogether.; ;
A much greater role in the history of German heterodoxy before the Reformation was played by the Waldensian movement, which from the end of the 12th century gained an increasingly wide following, particularly in the Rhineland, Austria, and Bavaria, and later also in Brandenburg and Pomerania. It was against the Waldensians that one of the first organized large-scale repressive actions was directed. In 1212, Bishop Heinrich Veringen of Strasbourg discovered Waldensians in his diocese and, as a result of the investigation conducted, identified as many as 500 suspects, 80 of whom were burned at the stake.;
In March 1232, Emperor Frederick II officially ordered that all people guilty of heresy in Germany should be punished by death by burning at the stake unless they submitted to the Church.;
Konrad von Marburg
From 1227 onwards, sermons against heretics in Germany were preached by Konrad von Marburg, the confessor of Elisabeth of Thuringia. In October 1231, Pope Gregory IX expanded his mandate, appointing him as a delegate judge to combat heretics. In this way, Konrad became the first papal inquisitor in history, although formally both before and after this date he was only titled as Praedicator Verbi Dei (Preacher of the Word of God), not as Inquisitor haereticae pravitatis (Inquisitor of Heretical Perversity), as was the official title of papal inquisitors after 1233.; ; ;
Konrad chose several fanatical collaborators to assist him, including Conrad Dorso and John the One-Eyed. Their activities quickly aroused fear. According to contemporary accounts, they gave the accused no opportunity for defense. Those who confessed to heresy received absolution, and as a penance, their heads were shaved as a mark of shame. Those who maintained their innocence were sentenced to the stake without proper verification of the charges. Konrad himself and his assistants were aware of the arbitrariness of their methods and the risk of error, but they reportedly claimed that they would burn a hundred innocents if there was even one guilty among them.; ; In these conditions, inquisitorial activity also elicited protests from Catholics, including clergy. Archbishop Siegfried III von Eppstein of Mainz finally admonished Konrad, urging moderation. However, Konrad ignored these appeals. He was confident in the support of Pope Gregory IX, to whom he reported on the existence of a sect of Lucifer worshippers in Germany. Based on these reports, the pope issued the papal bull Vox in Rama in June 1233, repeating in it the fantastic accusations made by Konrad against German heretics. Konrad's and his collaborators' position remained unshaken until Konrad accused Count of Sayn of heresy. The count appealed to the Archbishop of Mainz, and Konrad was forced to submit to his authority. At the synod on 25 July 1233, the count was cleared of charges, despite the protests of the inquisitor. Five days later, Konrad was murdered, and shortly thereafter, Conrad Dorso and John the One-Eyed met a similar fate. The synod in Frankfurt in 1234 rehabilitated about 50 people convicted by Konrad von Marburg.;
In 1231 and 1232, Pope Gregory IX issued identical papal bulls titled Ille humani generis to the Dominicans from the convents in Regensburg (22 November 1231), Friesach (27 November 1231), Würzburg (2 March 1232), and Strasbourg (2 December 1232), entrusting them with anti-heretical tasks. However, most likely, the scope of these tasks was limited to pastoral activities and supporting the activities of the episcopal courts, rather than encompassing inquisitorial powers in the strict sense of the word.;
From 1233 to 1348
The Synod in Frankfurt in 1234 indeed marked the end of the existence of the papal inquisition in Germany for over a hundred years. The combating of heresy during this period was in the hands of the bishops, but there are no traces of any significant anti-heretical actions until the end of the 13th century.; It is only known that around 1266, an investigation against the Waldensians was conducted in the diocese of Passau, and the testimonies obtained were used by one of the anonymous investigators to provide a detailed description of their doctrine, although the detailed course and results of this investigation remain unknown.; ; ;
Only at the beginning of the 14th century did German bishops undertake a more vigorous action against heretics. From 1311 to 1315 and again around 1338, numerous trials and executions of Waldensians took place in Austria.; ; ; In 1336, the same sect was discovered in Brandenburg. Slightly earlier in Germany, hunts for alleged adherents of the so-called Brethren of the Free Spirit began, condemned by the decree of the Council of Vienne, Ad nostrum. Most likely, there never existed any unified brotherhood or association professing such heresy; rather, the term referred simply to a certain group of unorthodox views attributed mainly to members of secular religious associations of uncertain canonical status (such as Beguines and Beghards) and various religious eccentrics. The first persecution of the Brethren of the Free Spirit sect took place in Strasbourg from 1317 to 1319 under the leadership of the local bishop, John Dirpheim. Trials also took place in other locations, including Cologne (1326), Metz (1335), Magdeburg (1336), Constance (1339), Salzburg (1340), and Würzburg (1342).; ;
All the aforementioned persecutions were the work of episcopal courts. For over a hundred years after 1233, not a single case of appointing a papal inquisitor in Germany is known,Although states that three papal inquisitors were recorded in Germany at the time, these inquisitors (Peregryn of Opole, Nicholas Hospodyniec and Jan Szwenkenfeld) were in fact Polish inquisitors operating in Silesia and Lesser Poland. even though Poland and Bohemia further east had papal inquisitors as early as 1318, and Hungary from 1327. Perhaps an explanation for this could be the fact that Emperor Louis IV (died 1347) pursued a policy hostile to the papacy and for a time even supported the Antipope Nicholas V (1328–1330). It was only after Charles IV ascended to the throne in 1348 that relations between the papacy and the empire warmed. In the same year, a tribunal of the papal inquisition was established in Germany.;
From 1348 to the 16th century
Papal Inquisition
In 1348, Pope Clement VI appointed Dominican friar from the Strasbourg convent as the inquisitor for Germany. His nomination was confirmed by Pope Innocent VI in 1353, with a specific mandate to combat doctrinal errors spreading among the Beghards communities. However, it's hard to gauge how seriously the papacy regarded the threat of heresy, given that Schadland was appointed as the sole inquisitor for the entire Germany. Despite his determination in raising funds for organizing the tribunal, there are very few records of his actual anti-heretical activity. He did not receive financial or organizational support from the German episcopal conference or secular authorities. Eventually, in 1359, Pope Innocent VI appointed him as the Bishop of Chełmno, without naming a successor to the inquisitorial position.; ; believes that Schadland may have resigned as early as 1357.
The true architect of the papal inquisition in Germany was Pope Urban V, who in 1364 appointed four Dominican inquisitors: Walter Kerlinger for Saxony, Heinrich Agro for the Archdiocese of Mainz, Ludwig de Caliga for the Archdioceses of Cologne and Trier, and John de Moneta for the Archdiocese of Salzburg. Similar to Schadland, their task was to combat the Brethren of the Free Spirit, mainly among the Beghards and Beguines. Walter Kerlinger, in particular, demonstrated great zeal in his role. From 1367 to 1369 in Erfurt, he punished over 200 Beghards and Beguines, expelled an equal number from the city, and led trials in other locations as well. His actions received significant support from Emperor Charles IV, who issued several edicts in 1369 supporting the inquisition.; ; ; ;
In 1372, Pope Gregory XI authorized the provincial prior of the Dominican province of Teutonia (southern and western Germany) to appoint inquisitors (up to five) throughout Germany, including areas under the province of Saxony (northern and eastern Germany and Livonia). This decision marked the culmination of the formation of permanent structures of the papal inquisition in Germany.; ; ;
Despite the emperor's support, the activities of the inquisitors against the Beghards and Beguines faced numerous protests from clergy and laity who believed the accusations against these communities were unjust. In response to these protests, Pope Gregory XI issued papal bulls in 1374 and 1377, recommending great caution in trials against members of these associations, emphasizing that most of them were good and devout Catholics, with only a few falling into doctrinal errors. These bulls coincided almost perfectly with the death of Walter Kerlinger (1373), leading to a significant decline in papal inquisition activities for several years.; ;