An Inquisitive Historian and a Papal Inquisitor
Résumés
En 1972, Robert E. Lerner a consacré quelques pages aux béguines de la ville silésienne de Świdnica (Germ. Schweidnitz) qui s'appelaient elles-mêmes les "Moniales à capuchon" (moniales Capuciate) et les "Filles d'Odelindis" (filie Vdyllindis). La présente contribution réexamine ses recherches sur les béguines de Świdnica, qui ont donné une forte impulsion au travail sur l'édition critique du protocole de 1332 de leurs interrogatoires, actuellement conservé à la Bibliothèque du Vatican sous le numéro de catalogue Vat. Lat 13119a. Les éditions récemment publiées de cette source inquisitoriale unique, accompagnées d'une collection d'études historiques et théologiques approfondies, ont apporté de nouvelles découvertes et offert de nouvelles interprétations aux observations pionnières de Lerner.
Plan
Haut de pageTexte intégral
Challenging the dominant narrative
- 1 R. E. Lerner, The Heresy of the Free Spirit in the Later Middle Age, Berkeley, University of Cal (...)
- 2 H. Grundmann, Ketzergeschichte des Mittelaters, Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1963, p. 55-5 (...)
1In his magisterial 1972 study on The Heresy of the Free Spirit in the Later Middle Ages, Robert E. Lerner devoted eight pages to the beguines from Świdnica (Schweidnitz) who called themselves the “Hooded Nuns” (moniales Capuciate) and “the Daughters of Odelindis” (filie Vdyllindis). His short section offered an original analysis of this small group of beguines, their organization, their views, and their religious life1. Lerner’s treatment challenged the interpretation provided by Herbert Grundmann (a renowned expert on religious movements in the Middle Ages and one of Lerner’s own mentors), who regarded the Świdnica beguines as exponents of the Free Spirit. According to Grundmann, the Hooded Nuns from Świdnica believed in the possibility of attaining spiritual perfection in the present life, without resort to the sacraments of the Church2.
- 3 H. Grundmann, Religious Movements in the Middle Ages: The Historical Links between Heresy, the M (...)
- 4 Before the publication of Lerner’s monograph, Grundmann’s treatment of the heresy of the Free Sp (...)
- 5 Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, ed. N. Tanner, Ann Arbor, University of Michingan Press, 199 (...)
2For Grundmann, the heresy of the Free Spirit formed a coherent heterodox movement which found adherents primarily among beguines and beghards3. In his opinion, the doctrine of the Free Spirit was precisely described in the decree Ad nostrum drafted at the Council of Vienne in 1312 and published by Pope John XXII in 13174. This document, which sparked widescale repression against beguines and beghards, defined the doctrine of the Free Spirit in eight articles. According to Ad nostrum, the followers of the Free Spirit argued that anyone can reach a state of perfection in which the soul is freed from the body and merges into mystical union with God. By attaining such a state, one becomes sinless and is subject to neither human nor ecclesiastical laws. As stated in Ad nostrum, neither the ministry of the Church nor participation in the sacraments is necessary to achieve spiritual perfection. Moreover, everyone, regardless of his or her social status or merits, has the opportunity to achieve this state of mystical union with God. Such convictions led to the questioning of the pastoral ministry of the Church and encouraged criticism of the clergy. Furthermore, in Ad nostrum, beguines and beghards who adhered to these doctrines were charged with unlicensed preaching and discussing publicly the truths of faith, including the mystery of the Holy Trinity5.
- 6 HFS, p. 83.
- 7 See futher Louis Vereecke, “La réforme de l’Église au concile de Vienne 1311-1312”, Studia Moral (...)
3Not content with Grundmann’s interpretation, Robert Lerner in his 1972 work questioned the very existence of the Free Spirit as a separate movement of religious heterodoxy. In Lerner’s opinion, “Ad nostrum is the birth certificate of the heresy of the Free Spirit since, technically speaking, heresy is defined by the pope and the decree referred explicitly to heretics who spoke of their ‘spirit of liberty’. But, as if it were in the theater of the absurd, there is a birth certificate without it being fully clear whether there was any child.”6 His research proved that the heresy of the Free Spirit described in Ad nostrum was primarily a construct of the persecutory mentality of the clergy, especially German clergy, rooted in an aversion to beguines and beghards, and in particular to their mystical inclinations and claims to spiritual superiority7.
- 8 HFS, p. 228-237; cf. Michael D. Bailey and Sean L. Field, “Historiography, Methodology, and Manu (...)
- 9 For a general overview of beguine spirituality see Simons, Cities of Ladies, p. 60-81.
- 10 Eleanor L. McLaughlin, “The Heresy of the Free Spirit in Later Medieval Mysticism”, Medievalia e (...)
4Based on a broad analysis of printed and manuscript sources, Lerner sought to identify and describe the origins of the view that anyone could attain mystical union with God and a state of spiritual perfection (status perfectionis)8. Such a conviction, largely rooted in the spirituality of the mendicant Orders, originated from the ideals of the vita apostolica and the desire to follow Christ faithfully in his humility and poverty9. Within beguine communities, striving to achieve spiritual perfection was associated with contempt for temporal goods, extreme poverty, bodily mortifications and self-abnegation10.
- 11 Jacques de Vitry, Vita Marie de Oegnies, Supplementum, ed. R. B. C. Huygens (CCCM 252), Turnhout (...)
- 12 Vera von der Osten-Sacken, Jakob von Vitrys Vita Mariae Oigniacensis. Zu Herkunft und Eigenart d (...)
- 13 Vita Christinae Mirabilis, ed. Armelle Le Huërou and Sylvain Piron, in S. Piron, Christine l’Adm (...)
- 14 The Life of Saint Douceline, a Beguine of Provence, trans. and ed. Kathleen E. Garay and Madelei (...)
5Indeed, mystical experience related to lives of extreme poverty and austere asceticism was a frequent occurrence among early beguines. Mary of Oignies (d. 1213), whose life was popularized with such literary flair by Jacques of Vitry, became a model for beguines all across Latin Christianity. As described in her vita, Mary’s life combined poverty, ascetic practices, and service to the poor with prayer and contemplation11. Jacques of Vitry insisted on Mary’s fasts, bodily mortifications, and self-sacrifice in caring for the sick, treating her spiritual experience as an offspring of her deep devotion12. In the vitae of later beguines, more space was often devoted to the description of mystical experiences, emphasizing these women’s special spiritual relationship with God. “Pious women” (mulieres religiosae) whose souls achieved mystical union with God immersed themselves in contemplation, lost contact with the outside world, and sometimes levitated. Ecstatic states were accompanied by profuse crying, often becoming uncontrolled spasms and loud sighs that attracted the attention of those around them. Good examples of such mystical experiences are offered by the Latin vitae of Christina the Astonishing (Mirabilis), penned by the Dominican Thomas of Cantimpré (dated 1236)13, and the Provençal life of Douceline of Digne (dated to the end of the thirteenth century), the author of which was her follower and successor, Felipa of Porcelet14. In beguine communities stories about such mystical experiences circulated widely, stimulating belief in a strict life of poverty and abnegation as the best path to mystical union with God.
Researching the hooded nuns of Świdnica
- 15 The new critical edition of the 1332 protocol with a collection of studies on the community of t (...)
- 16 For an overview of the international research on the Świdnica beguines see P. Kras, “Wstęp”, in (...)
- 17 Bolesław Ulanowski. Examen testium super vita et moribus Beguinarum per inquisitorem hereticae p (...)
- 18 See note 2 above.
- 19 Leff, Heresy in the Later Middle Ages, t. 1, p. 386-395. Ulanowski’s edition of the 1332 protoco (...)
- 20 Leff, Heresy in the Later Middle Ages, t. 1, p. 386.
6In research on the views of the Free Spirit and their reception among beguines, an important place is occupied by the interrogations of the Hooded Nuns of Świdnica (Schweidnitz), which took place between 8 and 12 September 133215. All researchers who have studied the record of these interrogations have seen it as a unique source providing detailed, often intimate information about the functioning of this small community of beguines both before and after Ad nostrum16. In 1889 Bolesław Ulanowski’s publication of the interrogations of the Świdnica beguines opened the way to research on this valuable source17. The protocol with the 1332 interrogations was then introduced to international scholarshp by Herbert Grundmann, who considered it one of the most valuable sources for researching the heresy of the Free Spirit18. A similar opinion was expressed in Gordon Leff’s 1967 study on medieval heresy, which reprinted Ulanowski’s edition19. This British scholar regarded these testimonies as a key source which enabled researchers “to pose vital questions” about beguine communities that preached ideas of the Free Spirit20.
- 21 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica; p. 61-65 ; Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of t (...)
- 22 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 57-61.
7In fact, the Świdnica protocol is the only detailed record of testimonies concerning a beguine community that remained undisturbed by the provisions of Ad nostrum as late as 1332. The trial was conducted by John of Schwenkenfeld, papal inquisitor in the diocese of Wrocław and lector at the Świdnica Dominican friary21. The fifteen-year delay between the publication of Ad nostrum and its implementation in the diocese of Wrocław can be attributed to several reasons that I have discussed elsewhere22. The content of the 1332 protocol is closely related, on the one hand, to the decree Ad nostrum and, on the other hand, to the personality of the inquisitor who gave final form to the records. As Bolesław Ulanowski noticed, “the examen testium conducted by the Świdnica inquisitor” was based on the two decrees Ad nostrum and Cum de quibusdam mulieribus. In a short introduction, barely five pages long, Ulanowski did not provide a detailed analysis of the interrogations and formulated his comments on the influence of Ad nostrum only as loose observations. Still, it is fair to say that Ulanowski set out the main subjects for exploration with great insight and his 1889 remarks established the main directions for later research.
Two versions of the protocol
- 23 On the dominant role of an inquisitor during such interrogations see J.H. Arnold, Inquisition an (...)
- 24 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica; , p. 151-156.
- 25 See HFS, p. 112, n. 15.
8More than eighty years later, Robert Lerner was the first to analyze seriously the content of the 1332 protocol and to demonstrate the dominant role of the papal inquisitor who conducted the interrogations and supervised production of their records23. Lerner was also the first historian who not only worked with Ulanowski’s edition but also closely examined the original notarial instrument which survives in the Vatican Library under the catalogue number Vat. lat. 13119a. Bolesław Ulanowski had published the protocol from a fifteenth-century copy found in the Archives of the Krakow Cathedral Chapter (Ms AKKK LA 37). The original document from 1332, however, was only discovered in the Vatican Library in the 1950s, when the Czech Dominican Vlastimíl Koudelka was the first to encounter the original protocol, which takes the form of an almost two-meter-long parchment roll.24 Such an important discovery was quickly noticed by Polish and foreign medievalists, but did not immediately lead to any systematic studies of this unique document. Researchers who briefly examined the Vatican manuscript came to the conclusion that it differed only slightly from the Krakow copy published by Ulanowski. They noted in passing the existence of the original protocol, but their analyses continued to be based exclusively on the 1889 edition. By contrast, Robert Lerner worked directly on the Vatican roll while collecting evidence for his doctoral dissertation. He noticed significant discrepancies between the Krakow copy and the Vatican manuscript, compiling in footnotes a dozen different readings from the latter25. Unfortunately, his important remarks were not developed over the next forty years.
- 26 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 157-164.
- 27 Nicholas, son of Henry de Pencwynsdorph who was closely associated with the chancery of the Wroc (...)
- 28 Examinatio testium, p. 168-169.
- 29 Examinatio testium, p. 256-257: “Et ego Nycolaus quondam Heynrici de Pencwynsdorph clericus Wrat (...)
9Systematic paleographic analysis of the Vatican manuscript carried out between 2015 and 2017 has now confirmed Lerner’s preliminary observations. As Tomasz Gałuszka O.P., the most recent editor of the 1332 protocol, showed, in over 500 places the Vatican manuscript has different readings from the Krakow copy. Most of these differences are technical in nature and do not affect the content of the testimonies recorded. Some are different readings of proper names, and some are evident errors of the Krakow copyist who changed the order of words or replaced individual words with synonymous terms. There are, however, a number of omissions and very significant spelling differences that change the meaning of the text. They prove that the Krakow copy was based on a different manuscript than the one currently preserved in the Vatican Library26. Undoubtedly both versions were prepared almost simultaneously on the basis of a preliminary Latin draft penned by Nicholas of Panków (de Pencwynsdorph), a public notary ex auctoritate imperiali27. Obviously, John of Schwenkenfeld had a crucial influence on the form and content of the records. In the formula that opens the protocol, Schwenkenfeld is named as chairman of the tribunal conducting the hearings in September 133228. In the written testimonies that follow, he conducted the interrogations, asked the questions, and confronted deponents with the testimonies of other witnesses. In the formula concluding the protocol, the papal inquisitor is the only person, apart from the notary Nicholas of Panków, who is listed as responsible for the preparation of the interrogation records29.
John of Schwenkenfeld, inquisitor
- 30 HFS, p. 112 and 116.
- 31 At that time all known information about John of Schwenkenfeld could have been presented in a fe (...)
- 32 Tomasz Jurek, Obce rycerstwo na Śląsku do połowy XIV wieku [Foreign Knights in Silesia until the (...)
- 33 Krzysztof Kaczmarek, Szkoły i studia polskich dominikanów w okresie średniowiecza [Schools and S (...)
- 34 A very good knowledge of Meister Eckhart’s teaching and a particular interest in the mysticism o (...)
- 35 Schwenkenfeld’s appointment to the position of papal inquisitor in the diocese of Wrocław took p (...)
- 36 Kras, “Dominican Inquisitors in Mediaeval Poland”, in Praedicatores, Inquisitores - I. The Domin (...)
- 37 Gałuszka and Kaczmarek, Fratres apud Sanctam Crucem. Z badań nad dziejami dominikanów w Brzegu, (...)
- 38 For recent overviews of Schwenkenfeld’s life see Kras, “Dominican Inquisitors”, p. 260-261 and 3 (...)
10Although Robert Lerner noticed the dominant role played by the inquisitor in the interrogations of Świdnica beguines, he did not pause to examine his career and intellectual training30. In 1972 very little was known about John of Schwenkenfeld31. Recent research has demonstrated that he was quite a remarkable figure, a well-trained theologian entrusted with many responsibilities in the Polish province of Dominican Friars and a close collaborator of Bishop Nanker of Wrocław. His knightly family of German origins settled in the village of Schwenkenfeld (Polish Makowice, today a district of Świdnica) in the middle of the thirteenth century32. Probably in the late 1290s, John joined the Dominican friary in Świdnica. Nothing is known for certain about his studies, but his later function as lector of the Świdnica convent proves that he at least completed theological studies in a Dominican provincial convent, most probably in Krakow33. His extensive education and good knowledge of current theological controversies, reflected in the manner he conducted his hearings of the Hooded Nuns, suggest that Schwenkenfeld might have studied in one of the leading Dominican studia in Western Europe, most likely in Cologne34. His theological competence, religious experience, and good relations with the bishop of Wrocław influenced his election as the papal inquisitor in the diocese of Wrocław between 1327 and 133035. He was the second Dominican to hold this office, established by Pope John XXII in 1318. His predecessor was Peregrinus Polonus (of Opole), a three-time provincial of the Polish Dominicans and the author of a popular collection of sermons de tempore and de sanctis36. John of Schwenkenfeld combined the function of papal inquisitor with the position of lector and then prior of the Świdnica convent. Due to his good contacts with Bishop Nanker of Wrocław, he performed various duties in the service of the Order of Preachers; for instance, in 1336-38 he supervised the foundation of a new Dominican friary in Brzeg (Brieg)37. It can be assumed that only his sudden death in October 1341 prevented him from assuming higher dignities in the Polish Dominican province38.
- 39 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 66-69.
11The records of the 1332 interrogations were drafted by the notary Nicholas of Panków. Both versions of the protocol bear his subscription formula and notarial sign. In the case of the roll from the Vatican Library, they close the entire document, and Nicholas also added his notarial sign at each place where the parchment sheets that make up the roll were sewn together. In the Krakow manuscript, we are dealing with a transcript of the subscription formula and a reproduction of the notary’s sign placed only at the end of the final testimony (that of Blind Anne). Nicholas of Panków was delegated to serve John of Schwenkenfeld, probably shortly after John’s inquisitorial powers were recognized by Bishop Nanker in November 1330. It remains unknown how long he accompanied Schwenkenfeld, but after 1336 he resumed his work in the chancery of the Wrocław bishop39. The presence of the bishop's notary at the interrogations of the Świdnica beguines testifies to the close cooperation between Bishop Nanker and Schwenkenfeld, and at the same time proves the support of the bishop of Wrocław for inquisitorial operations against beguines in his diocese.
- 40 Kras, The System of the Inquisition in Medieval Europe, Bern, Peter Lang, 2020, p. 307-315. For (...)
- 41 Decrees, ed. Tanner, t. 1, p. 383.
12The very existence of two parallel manuscripts of testimonies given in the heresy trial is a rare but explainable phenomenon. Studies on inquisition documentation from Western Europe have shown that the protocols were sometimes copied to protect them from destruction, and also to make them available to other inquisitors or bishops involved in anti-heretical activities40. The production of two original records of the trial documentation from 1332 seems justified in the context of the new rules introduced by the Council of Vienne which forced close cooperation between papal inquisitors and bishops. Under the constitution De inquisitoribus, which was largely a reaction to the abuses of papal inquisition in Languedoc, papal inquisitors were required to conduct anti-heretical activities in cooperation with bishops, to provide them with information about their activities, and to obtain approval of their judgments41. It can be assumed that one of the copies of the 1332 protocol was made for Bishop Nanker, and that Schwenknefeld kept the other for himself and his successors in the office of papal inquisitor.
A papal inquisitor and the heresy of the Free Spirit
- 42 For an overview see Kras, The System of the Inquisition, p. 243-246.
- 43 Examinatio testium, p. 174-175: “Item Hedwigis interrogata per iuramentum dixit quod cum esset i (...)
- 44 Examinatio testium, p. 246-249.
- 45 My analysis of the 1332 protocol has been much inspired by the research of James B. Given and Jo (...)
13The protocol of the 1332 investigation covers the inquisitorial proceedings and other actions taken by the inquisitor42. All the deponents were Germans and the questioning was held in German. Their testimonies were collected and written down by the notary, revised by Schwenkenfeld, and finally recorded in the notarial instrument which is preserved in the Vatican Library. During the work on the official register all testimonies were translated from German into Latin. Only a few German words were left to describe items that – according to the notary’s knowledge – had no proper equivalents in Latin. Exceptionally, the notary also recorded a contemptuous German statement of the older sisters against Hedwig of Wroclaw, linked to her prolonged prayers at church: du mynsth selbe (“you think only about yourself”) (I.1.5)43. The Latin protocol was based on Schwenkenfeld’s interrogatory (question list), but these questions were usually not included in the final record. In fact, the notary recorded questions only in a few places. Four of them are found in the testimony of Gertrude of Świdnica, one of the older sisters (II.2. 1, 7-9)44. Her statements were vague and evasive; probably for this reason the notary decided to also note Schwenkenfeld’s questions. Other questions are recorded within the testimony of Margaret the Painter. But here they are rather technical, exposing the method of interrogation, during which the inquisitor referred to the decrees Ad nostrum and Cum de quibusdam mulieribus45.
- 46 Examinatio testium, p. 208-209.
- 47 HFS, p. 118.
- 48 Examinatio testium, p. 208-236.
- 49 Examinatio testium, p. 180-188.
14As the protocol shows, John of Schwenkenfeld found it much easier to elicit information from former sisters who testified as witnesses in the first part of the interrogations. Embittered and disillusioned with their past experience, they spoke openly and willingly about their suffering and humiliation. They also provided most of the details about the controversial views and suspicious conduct of the Świdnica beguines. The Dominican inquisitor exploited their willingness to cooperate and asked them a number of questions related to the beliefs and religious life of the Hooded Nuns. The most detailed testimonies come from Margaret the Painter and Adelheid. The former spent a little more than half a year in the Świdnica community, the latter less than a year46. Though their experience among the Świdnica community was relatively short, they provided lengthy answers to the inquisitor’s questions and offered unique information about the Świdnica community. The testimony of Margaret, whom Lerner calls “the star” of the inquisitor47, is the longest, containing forty-one articles48. The testimony of Adelheid is a bit shorter, with thirty-four49.
15In his 1972 study Robert Lerner aptly pointed out that during the interrogations of Świdnica beguines the Dominican inquisitor had the text of Ad nostrum right before his eyes. The protocol includes direct quotations from Ad nostrum and references to specific articles of this decree. It is worth recalling Lerner’s analysis, in which he proves how the papal inquisitor used Ad nostrum during the hearings:
- 50 HFS, p. 116.
[…] the Dominican Inquisitor wanted to show that the women were exponents of errors condemned by the pope and therefore confronted them with the decree Ad nostrum. But the notary only occasionally indicated this fact. The first witness reported, as if spontaneously, that the sisters said that man can become perfect and can reach such a state of spiritual liberty that he does not have to obey anyone. The next witness repeated these statements and added she had also heard it said that perfect souls do not need to practice acts of virtue and that it is necessary for them to show reverence for the body of Christ. These are points one, three, and eight respectively of Ad nostrum. Had the notary not indicated later that the papal decree was used as a basis for the examination it would have seemed from these answers that the women of Schweidnitz were saying exactly the same things that German beghards were reputed to have said decades earlier50.
- 51 Examinatio testium, p. 212-213: “Item iurata, utrum assererent secundum articulum, qui ponitur i (...)
16The questions asked by Schwenkenfeld and the rendering of the sisters’ testimonies say a great deal about how the Dominican inquisitor perceived the doctrine of the Free Spirit. As a trained theologian and inquisitor he did not doubt the existence of the Free Spirit sect. Schwenkenfeld knew what ideas formed its doctrine, and how they were disseminated among beguines and beghards. As an inquisitor his task was to prove that the Hooded Nuns of Świdnica were exponents of the heresy of the Free Spirit. The 1332 inquisition report reveals that he worked hard to gather information and put together distorted pieces of evidence to demonstrate that the community of Świdnica beguines was a hotbed of heresy. Having the text of Ad nostrum on his table, he frequently cited passages from this document and expected deponents to comment on them. Sometimes, being aware of the complex theological discourse of Ad nostrum, Schwenkenfeld rendered some articles in a simpler form. Frequently he asked leading questions and suggested possible links between the condemned tenets of the Free Spirit doctrine and particular views of the Świdnica beguines. The notary Nicholas omitted most such questions, but when recording the depositions he sometimes made reference to particular articles of Ad nostrum, as is well demonstrated by the testimony of Margaret the Painter. During her interrogation, Margaret was asked about the view attributed to the Free Spirit in article 2 of Ad nostrum, which reads as follows: “After obtaining such a degree of perfection there is no need either to fast or to pray, since the senses are subject so perfectly to the spirit and reason that a person may allow his body whatever it likes”. The protocol indicates that his article was read to Margaret verbatim from the decree, of course translated into German. In response, she stated that she had never heard such words in the form in which they were recalled to her. She added, however, that she had heard other statements that were similar to them. In the rest of Margaret's answer to the question about article 2 of Ad nostrum, we learn that she associated with its content separate meetings of older sisters in the basement, which were inaccessible to the younger sisters. According to other testimonies, during these secret meetings scandalous things might have occurred, which confirmed the inquisitor’s assumptions about the rejection of moral principles by the older sisters, who, as they claimed, had achieved a state of spiritual perfection. This line of reasoning justified the conclusion that ended this record of the testimony, in which Margaret admitted that the older sisters did not observe church fasts, which corresponded to the content of article 2 of Ad nostrum (I.4. 11)51.
- 52 Examinatio testium, p. 214-215.
- 53 Decrees, ed. Tanner, t. 1, p. 382.
- 54 Examinatio testium, p. 228-229, 250-251.
17Direct references to subsequent articles of Ad nostrum were also found in subsequent portions of Margaret’s testimony. When asked about article 4 of Ad nostrum, “she says the women think and say that through the poor life they lead they will be equal to the Apostles in heaven and shall in no way be inferior to them” (I.4. 16)52. This article reads: “In the present life a person may achieve in every degree of perfection the highest blessedness he will obtain in the life of the blessed.”53 The words Margaret heard from the Hooded Nuns look similar in content to the view attributed in Ad nostrum to the doctrine of the Free Spirit. The Świdnica beguines not only believed that they were leading a life in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, but considered them to be more perfect than those practiced by mendicant friars. In their community, there was a common belief that a life full of mortifications would ensure salvation for all members and avoid the punishment of purgatory. Margaret’s words reflect well the position of the Hooded Sisters that leading a poor life like the apostles, they will be treated like them after death (II.3 5; I.5 1)54.
18In article 18 of Margaret's testimony, she was forced to comment on the next two articles, the fifth and the sixth of Ad nostrum. Article 5 reads: “every intellectual nature is itself of its nature blessed in itself and a soul does not need the light of praise to lead it to see God and gain blissful enjoyment of Him.” The sixth article states that: “it is a sign of an imperfect person that he takes care to advance according to virtue but a perfect soul does not need this and shuns virtues.” In responding to these two articles, presented to her in German translation, Margaret said:
that they think and say that after a person has left behind, abandoned and put beneath her feet all things below in this world, then she gives herself to making herself like God alone, naked and pure; and she no longer cares what she suffers from forces below because her soul henceforth stands in its citadel and cannot be attacked or afflicted and then they free themselves from virtuous works since henceforth doing good works or giving up such practices avails them the same and they continue to show themselves to be the same, as if they do not need to fast or pray. If they do good works, they do so as an example for their young subordinates. Such sisters as overcome all inferior matters, as they say, should serve their inferiors, as they say, in all their needs and not hold themselves back in high contemplation (I.4. 18).
- 55 Decrees, ed. Tanner, t. 1, p. 382 (article 8): They must not stand at the elevation of the Body (...)
19In the 1332 record of Margaret’s testimony there is also her reply to article 8 from Ad nostrum concerning the adoration of the Eucharist55. When asked about this particular view of the Free Spirit as described in the papal decree, which the notary mentioned only by its number, Margaret says:
- 56 Examinatio testium, p. 218-219.
the sisters say, ‘we have to do nothing or virtually nothing, just seek in our human nature in order to have God in our soul’. If they pay reverence to the Body of Christ, they do so in order not to be noticed by other people. She sees this goes against the agreement made in Cologne, because she noticed that there some men and women were rarely in the habit of standing up at the elevation of the Body of Christ or showing any reverence (I.4. 20)56.
- 57 Examinatio testium, p. 244-245: “dicit, quod sine licencia magistre non confitentur nec recipiun (...)
- 58 W. Wattenbach, “Über die Secte der Brüder vom freien Geiste”, Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen (...)
20The Hooded Nuns’ attitude to the Eucharist requires a broader comment, as it reflects their views on a state of spiritual perfection and the ministry of the clergy. On the one hand, the protocol does not record a single critical comment on the Eucharist which might openly contradict Church teachings. On the other hand, however, it is easy to see the sisters’ ambivalent position about the value of receiving Communion. The Świdnica beguines attended church services, regularly confessed in their parish church, and received the Eucharist there, though they did so only with the permission of their mistress (II.1.5; II.3 6)57. Nevertheless, they did not consider the Eucharist particularly important in their pursuit of spiritual perfection. Quite to the contrary, in their opinion, receiving the Eucharist had no meaning for the most important goal of their religious life. Similar views were professed by other beguines and beghards. John of Brünn, who had lived twenty-eight years with the beghard community in Cologne, confessed that they rejected the adoration of the Eucharist and claimed they did not care for such external and futile manifestation of devotion58.
21Even during illness, the older sisters refused to ask for the Eucharist, believing that it was not needed for the salvation of the soul. When Hedwig of Wrocław, the first witness interrogated by Schwenkenfeld, was asked by the older sisters:
- 59 Examinatio testium, p. 172-173: “Item iurata et interrogata respondit quod Capuciate dixerunt ei (...)
‘if infirmity overcomes you and the Body of Christ is not brought to our house, would you rather leave the house to receive the Body of Christ or stay in the house and die without the Body of Christ?’, she said that she would rather leave the house and receive the Body of Christ. Hearing such an answer the sisters replied that they would not do this and they added: ‘You are not fit for our way of poverty’ (I.1. 4)59.
22Thus, Margaret’s biting remark that the Hooded Nuns publicly worshiped the Eucharist just to be well perceived by other faithful seems apt.
- 60 Examinatio testium, p. 174-175.
- 61 Examinatio testium, p. 244-245: “aliquando diebus dominicis iusserunt eam domi manere aliquibus (...)
- 62 Examinatio testium, p. 244-245; cf. Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 99-100.
- 63 Kras, “W poszukiwaniu duchowej doskonałości”, p. 119.
23According to the testimony of younger sisters, prayers or fasts played only a minor role in achieving the state of spiritual perfection. As noted above, the older sisters' attention was drawn to Hedwig's long prayer in the church, which, in their opinion, was just a waste of time (I.1 5)60. Although older sisters attended services in the parish church and received the sacraments, they did not attach much importance to such religious practices. They felt that on Sundays it was more profitable to work at spinning and weaving in their house than to attend Mass in a church61. For this reason, they discouraged younger sisters from attending Mass, claiming that their work at home would benefit the community more (II.1 8; II.3 9)62. As the younger sisters who left the Hooded Nuns before the interrogations believed, they showed themselves at church so as not to be distinguished from others and not to reveal their views63.
Conflicting discourses
24In his 1972 study Robert Lerner demonstrated how John of Schwenkenfeld conducted his interrogations to prove that the Świdnica beguines adhered to the views of the Free Spirit. Analysing in much detail the testimony of Margaret the Painter, one of the novices among the Hooded Nuns, Lerner revealed how the papal inquisitor used Ad nostrum and manipulated the witness to lead to the conclusions he was eager to hear:
- 64 HFS, p. 116-117.
The notary does mention the fourth witness was asked to comment on the Clementine articles. When she said that the older members of the community met separately, the Inquisitor, who was quick at drawing conclusions, asked her if they also subscribed to the second point of Ad nostrum which stated that the perfect can grant to their bodies all they desire. To this the novice, who had been in the house for only a year replied that she never heard this tenet expresse verba but had heard similar things and was suspicious of the senior members because of the suggestive nods and signals they gave to each other and because they would not reveal what they did in secret64.
- 65 McLaughlin, “The Heresy of the Free Spirit”, p. 47; Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świd (...)
- 66 Examinatio testium, p. 216-217; cf. Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 91-92.
25Actually, the words of Margaret the Painter reflect fairly accurately the views of the Hooded Nuns, which are also recorded in the testimony of other women. They show that there was a common belief among the beguines that extreme poverty and abnegation were regarded as necessary for a spiritual union with God65. It was about not only getting rid of all temporal goods, nice clothes, regular meals, etc., but also harnessing one’s own senses: hunger, thirst, cold, or abhorrence of unpleasant things. The older sisters used brutal methods, imposing on the younger ones the severe principles of their communal life. At the time of admission to the community, young adepts had their hair cut and their clothes taken away66. They had to wear old and used clothing. They were regularly flogged and forced to observe strict fasts on bread and water. All such practices were aimed at showing contempt for one’s own body.
- 67 Examinatio testium, p. 184-187: “[…] aliqua mirabiliter horret, ad tanto plus cogitur talis huiu (...)
- 68 Examinatio testium, p. 186-187.: “Adylheydis iurata dixit de catta mortua inuenta in platea per (...)
26In order to tame the senses and control the reflexes of human nature, the older sisters forced the younger to perform repulsive activities. The testimony of Adelheid, the second witness, provides the most detail on this subject. She says that in the opinion of the older sisters, “the more a sister is stunned by horror of a thing, the more she is forced to do it so that her will and nature may be broken”. Then she describes a sort of test to which one of the women was subjected to prove that she was able to control her nature. Once this woman found a caterpillar cooked among her cabbage; since this naturally disgusted her the sisters urged her to eat it (I.2 7)67. Adelheid also reports another similar experience that took place in Strasbourg, where the local sisters “found a dead cat in the street and forced one of them to skin it. When this sister refused, they compelled her to press out or remove whatever fat there was in the cat and grease their shoes with it and take the pelt to sell in the market. She was forced to do that in order to overcome further her natural disgust” (I.2 8)68.
- 69 Examinatio testium, p. 172-173.
- 70 Examinatio testium, p. 184-185.
27Such repulsive practices were aimed at achieving spiritual perfection by liberating the soul from its bodily limitations. Another former beguine, Hedwig of Wrocław, testified that the older sisters used various brutal methods to break the resistance of the younger and force them to obey. They told those subordinate to them: “You should be beaten and broken” (I.1 3)69. Severe mortifications of the body and spiritual humiliation caused serious health problems. Adelheid said that the older sisters had taught the younger that they should follow spiritual exercises that were so hard that they were driven out of their minds. She also added that “due to ill-advised exercises and unrestrained punishments, a girl from Kłodzko (Glatz) had lost her beauty and health, and became the wreckage of a person. In her striving to reach a state of perfection she refused to eat and drink because she believed that Christ would feed her. In a consequence, she was completely imbecilic and mentally destroyed” (I.2 6)70.
28Robert Lerner alertly drew attention to the tense relationship between older and younger sisters in the community of Świdnica. He pointed out that the older sisters supported the mistress in managing the community and enforcing obedience on the younger ones. It was their responsibility to teach the younger sisters the principles of community life and to implement strict discipline to ensure they attained a state of spiritual perfection. Older sisters used violence and terror to subdue the younger ones. Flogging, food restrictions, and all kinds of mental humiliation were the order of the day. In Lerner’s view, the atmosphere of terror and paralyzing fear influenced the testimonies given to the papal inquisitor John of Schwenkenfeld.
- 71 HFS, p. 117.
- 72 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 67-68.
29Lerner’s great merit was to perceive that all opinions presenting the community in Świdnica in a negative light came from former younger sisters who stayed there for a relatively short time. Their testimony was a form of revenge on the older sisters for the humiliation and tribulations they had suffered. The former sisters talked to the inquisitor willingly and at length. Encouraged by his leading questions, they provided additional information which fulfilled his expectations and allowed him to match the tenets of Ad nostrum with details about the beguine community. They were also susceptible to the inquisitor’s suggestions regarding the interpretation of some “suspicious” behaviour and customs in the Świdnica community. Sometimes, as in the case of Margaret the Painter, the lack of knowledge and first-hand experience was compensated by imagination intentionally stimulated by the inquisitor. As mentioned earlier, when asked by the inquisitor about article 4 of Ad nostrum, Margaret recalled that suspicious behaviours occurred during the secret meetings of older sisters (closed to Margaret herself and other younger sisters). This assertion perfectly fit the view expressed in Ad nostrum that in a state of perfection, one can do anything one wants to do without sin. Commenting on Margaret’s words, Robert Lerner wrote that “though she repeated her guesses that the secret meetings of the elders were occasions for scandalous behaviour she admitted that neither she nor any of other neophytes really knew what transpired at them”71. In other testimonies, the meetings of the older sisters with the beghards were sometimes associated with sexual excesses. This confirmed Schwenkenfeld's interpretation of the immoral behaviour resulting from the opinion listed in Ad nostrum that people who had achieved a state of spiritual perfection were allowed to do whatever they want without sin72.
- 73 HFS, p. 119.
30As Lerner rightly noted in his 1972 study, the most controversial statements about the antinomian behaviour, suspicious meetings between beguines and beghards, and sexual deviances came second-hand and were based on gossip. He was also the first to question the credibility of such testimonies, pointing out that they came only from novices who felt humiliated by the older sisters and could simply have been driven by revenge to testify against their former persecutors. He observes: “one might guess that many of these young girls, who had starved and flagellated themselves to the point of deformity, were in a highly wrought if not to say hysterical state.” Then he asks whether it was really possible to give uncritical credence to the statements which showed the beguine house in Świdnica as a secret place of debauchery and sexual misconduct. It can be added here that the Świdnica Hooded Nuns lived at the very heart of the busy city for almost three decades and were highly respected by its inhabitants. Some of the women came from Świdnica and were related to local families of some wealth and high reputation. It is known from the testimonies that the older sisters visited some burghers, ate meals with them and received food for the community. In this context, one should agree with Lerner’s opinion that “the fact that the house was not a clandestine community makes it seem doubtful that it sheltered a nest of perverts”73.
- 74 Examinatio testium, p. 246-247.
31In fact, it is difficult to reconcile the views of beguines about poverty, humility, and obedience with statements about their immorality and sexual excesses. Was the community in Świdnica really a group of perverse hypocrites who sadistically abused younger women and indulged all carnal whims, as some testimonies would suggest? Robert Lerner found the right answer to this question. On the one hand, he confronted the most controversial, and at the same time the most detailed testimonies of novices with the brief statements of the older sisters. Among the former, only two, Gertrude of Świdnica and Blind Anne, appeared in the court for interrogation. They both were convinced of the perfection of life in the Świdnica community and believed that though their way of life was not approved by the Church it was as good as that of other religious orders and would grant their members eternal salvation74. For the older sisters, who spent more than twenty years among the Hooded Nuns, the sacrifices and mortifications appeared natural because they served the achievement of spiritual perfection. Such views, however, seemed incomprehensible to the younger sisters, who preferred to abandon the community of beguines rather than obey severe discipline forced on them by their elders.
- 75 HFS, p. 118.
- 76 Examinatio testium, p. 246-247.
- 77 Examinatio testium, p. 254-257.
32Robert Lerner noticed that John of Schwenkenfeld did not question the two older sisters about antinomian conduct in the Świdnica community. It might be added that as far as the records reveal, John of Schwenkenfeld did not even try to confront them with the charges of sexual scandals described by some former sisters. Explaining this, Lerner guesses that “he did not want to mar the picture that his star [i.e. Margaret the Painter] had painted so vividly”75. In the next sentence Lerner points to the attitude of both older sisters during the interrogations, as they were reluctant to answer inquisitor’s questions and made evasive statements. He also notices that the notary himself considered it necessary to enter in the protocol that one of them (Gertrude of Świdnica) “responds to all the inquisitor’s questions convolutedly and as though through paraphrases” (II.2 6)76 and the other (Blind Anne) “changed her words, saying that she did not know whether she had ever said that” (II.5 2)77. It is worth noting that in both cases such technical comments were inserted in the middle of the depositions.
33Actually, one cannot always be certain what kind of questions were asked by the inquisitor during interrogations. The depositions of the two older sisters who spent twenty-eight and twenty-six years in the community, respectively, are oddly short and their content laconic. Obviously, due to their many years of experience and high position in the community, Getrude and Anne had extensive knowledge of its organization and religious life. As opposed to the younger sisters, they were, however, unwilling to share confidences with the inquisitor. They did not trust the inquisitorial court and doubted whether their sincere and extensive testimony would change the suspicion of the inquisitor and members of the tribunal toward their community. Their refusal to talk can be regarded as a “silent cry of despair” in the face of the dissolution of the community they had loved and in which they had spent most of their adult life. From the notary’s remarks, it can be concluded that both older sisters were asked about various matters regarding the Hooded Nuns, but did not wish to answer the inquisitor’s questions in detail. They were almost certainly asked, like other beguines, about the articles of Ad nostrum, but there is no trace of their statements on this subject in the protocol. Knowing the inquisitiveness of Schwenkenfeld, it is reasonable to suppose that they were also asked about the views on spiritual perfection and the religious practice in their community.
- 78 Examinatio testium, p. 246-247: “dicit etiam, quod earum congregatio non sit statuta ab Ecclesia (...)
- 79 Examinatio testium, p. 168-169, cf. Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 62-64.
34Probably the Dominican inquisitor also confronted them with some statements on sophisticated theological topics that were noted in the testimonies of other deponents. But again the protocol does not provide any information on this. Only in Gertrude’s testimony can one find hints that her interrogation may have been more extensive and stormy than it appears from the records. She was confident and even passionate in defending the orthodoxy of the Świdnica community and attempted to put straight some controversial opinions attributed to her by younger sisters. For example, responding to the inquisitor’s question about the status of the Hooded Nuns, Gertrude says: “we can be saved as well in our sect as a Friar Preacher [Dominican] or Minor [Franciscan] can in his, if we live and keep our vows as well as they do” (II.2 2)78. It is worth remembering that she uttered such words of pride of her community facing an inquisitorial court staffed by four Dominicans and three Franciscans79.
- 80 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 145-147; Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of (...)
35The views recorded in the 1332 protocol provide a multi-faceted picture of the piety and organization of the Świdnica beguines. Reading the depositions we can hear the voices of the former members of the community, younger sisters who recalled their stay among the Hooded Nuns as a period of mental and physical anguish. The opposite opinions are represented by the older sisters who, along with the mistress, administered the Świdnica community. As the testimonies clearly show, the older sisters were unwilling to share confidences and tried to conceal details of the activities of the Hooded Nuns. They believed that their community – though not approved by the ecclesiastical authorities – pursued a life of poverty and abnegation in accordance with the ideals of vita apostolica and was the equal of cloistered congregations80.
- 81 Arnold, Inquisition and Power, p. 164-226; Arnold, “The Historian as Inquisitor: The Ethics of I (...)
- 82 Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of the Free Spirit”, p. 133.
36In the case of both younger and older sisters’ testimony, we are dealing largely with “subaltern voices” in the way J.H. Arnold has introduced such a concept in his research on the registers of the Languedoc inquisitors81. The protocol differs from the kind of schematic inquisitorial documentation that was strictly subordinated to a formula and merely reflected an interrogatory. John of Schwenkenfeld was sincerely interested in the views and details of the life of the Świdnica beguines. That is why he allowed them to speak, listened willingly to their statements, and asked additional questions to elicit details and clarify the information he received. In the process of drafting the Latin version of the protocol, he tried to keep as much information obtained during the hearings as possible. Hence the testimonies recorded in the protocol retain many statements that reflect the women’s independent speech. It can be assumed that these are actually “authentic voices” of the Świdnica beguines which give us insight into the multi-coloured world of their views and experience. Of course, it should be remembered that these voices are still distorted, if only because of the process of translation from German into Latin82.
In honour of the inquisitive historian
- 83 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 79-90; Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of th (...)
- 84 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 104-144.
- 85 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 102-103; see also remarks by Martin Nodl in (...)
37Fifty years after the publication of his work on The Heresy of the Free Spirit in the Later Middle Ages, most of Lerner’s observations regarding the community of the Hooded Nuns in Świdnica remain valid. Recent research on the 1332 protocol sheds fresh light on the origins and spirituality of this community, as well as the sources of its austere religious practices. The collection of studies published in 2017 significantly expands our knowledge of the Hooded Nuns’ of Świdnica, and of the much wider association of German-speaking beguines who called themselves the Daughters of Odelindis. It has been demonstrated that Odelindis, whose daughters the sisters of Świdnica considered themselves to be, can be safely identified with Odelindis of Pyrzyce (Piritz), who in 1291 had founded a new community of poor beguines supervised by the Dominican friary in Cologne. Over the next decades, the spirituality of Odelindis’ Daughters gained great popularity, and their branch communities mushroomed all across Central Europe from Cologne, Aachen, and Strasbourg to Leipzig, Prague, Wrocław, and Świdnica.83 Furthermore, recent analytical studies of the 1332 depositions have linked some views presented by the Świdnica beguines with theological controversies debated at universities and settled by papal decrees. Some of their views might have been influenced by the doctrine of such intellectuals as Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, or Meister Eckhart.84 It remains an open question as to whether or to what extent these views reflect the position of the Daughters of Odelindis themselves, or whether the records simply enshrine the erudition of the inquisitor John of Schwenkenfeld, reckoned as one of the best educated Polish Dominicans in his day; that is, whether the Świdnica beguines were simple and illiterate though very pious women, or whether they should be seen as self-trained theologians with great interest in the sophisticated theological debates of their times85.
- 86 R. Kieckhefer, “Robert E. Lerner: A Portrait”, in Late Medieval Heresy: New Perspectives, p. vii
38Drawing a portrait of Robert E. Lerner, his friend and fellow researcher at Northwestern University Richard Kieckhefer makes a number of fascinating observations about Robert’s favourite medieval topics, his research methods, and his attitudes toward his own past research. Reading this text, I was particularly moved by a story about an exchange between Richard and Robert concerning a lecture on the English monarchy under Henry II that Robert once delivered at Northwestern University. In his concluding remark, Richard notes that Robert “often revisits and revises what he has said, orally or in writing”86. Though having very limited experience of personal encounters with Robert, I can fully subscribe to this opinion. Robert’s research on the heresy of the Free Spirit has made a great impact on my own studies, and his 1972 work, which I first read as MA student in Leuven, is surely among the most influential readings that have shaped my approach to medieval heresy. I read this book again in 2014 when I started to work on the beguine community in Świdnica, planning, together with Tomasz Gałuszka, a new critical edition of the 1332 protocol. In May of 2017 I had the pleasure of meeting Robert in downtown Chicago and was proud to offer him the fruit of my research. He appreciated the gift but regretted that he could not read it because the book was in Polish. When, three years later, on the initiative of Peter Biller, an extended and modified version of the book was translated into English, I had no doubt about who should be the first reader of the manuscript. I sent the draft translation to Robert, asking for comments and inquiring as to whether he might be willing to write a foreword. He replied enthusiastically, and a few months later sent me his foreword along with a list of corrections to the English translation of the 1332 protocol. I am very pleased that this recent research has allowed Robert to revisit a topic he examined for his doctoral dissertation decades ago, and to revise some observations he made in his magisterial work on the Free Spirit heresy. I cannot resist quoting here the opening paragraph of his foreword, which so well confirms Richard Kieckhefer’s aforementioned remarks:
- 87 Lerner, “Foreword”, in T. Gałuszka and P. Kras, The Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. xi-xiv.
Medievalists are seldom granted a gift as rich as the record of the interrogations of the beguines of Świdnica in 1332. Here we have examinations of sixteen witnesses concerning life in a female community implicated in heresy, with responses numbering 183 articles. The document not only draws back a curtain on a secret society, but it offers a trove of fascinating details and sometimes even allows us to hear authentic voices from the long-distant past. Half a century ago I treated the Świdnica beguines in my Heresy of the Free Spirit in the Later Middle Ages, but there I allowed myself only seven pages for consideration of the subject. Now Fr. Tomasz Gałuszka O.P. and Paweł Kras offer an exemplary full-length study, together with a meticulous, unsurpassable edition. The appearance of this splendid book thus offers me an opportunity to refresh some points I had previously made and call attention to others that I had neglected…87
39I hope the publication of the English collection of studies on the Świdnica beguines, along with the Latin-English edition of the protocol of their interrogations in 1332, will give a strong impulse to new research on this intriguing female community and stimulate a fruitful continuation of studies that Robert Lerner began fifty years ago.
Notes
1 R. E. Lerner, The Heresy of the Free Spirit in the Later Middle Age, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1972, p. 112-119 [henceforth HFS].
2 H. Grundmann, Ketzergeschichte des Mittelaters, Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1963, p. 55-56.
3 H. Grundmann, Religious Movements in the Middle Ages: The Historical Links between Heresy, the Mendicant Orders, and the Women’s Religious Movement in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Century, with the Historical Foundations of German Mysticism, trans. S. Rowan, introduction by R. E. Lerner, University of Notre Dame Press, 1995, p. 241-245; Grundmann, Ketzergeschichte, p. 49-56.
4 Before the publication of Lerner’s monograph, Grundmann’s treatment of the heresy of the Free Spirit was widely adopted in medieval studies. See e.g. Gordon Leff, Heresy in the Later Middle Ages, Manchester University Press, 1967, t. 1, p. 308–407. A good overview of the topic is offered in Malcolm Lambert, Medieval Heresy. Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation, 2nd edn, Oxford, Blackwell, 1992, p. 205-214; updated in his 3rd edn, 2002, p. 225-235.
5 Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, ed. N. Tanner, Ann Arbor, University of Michingan Press, 1990, t. 1, p. 382-383; cf. HFS, p. 78-84. Thorough examinations of Ad nostrum can be found in Walter Simons, Cities of Ladies. Beguine Communities in the Medieval Low Countries, 1200-1565, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001, p. 132-137; and Jörg Voigt, Beginen im Spätmittelalter. Frauenfrömmigkeit in Thüringen und im Reich, Köln, Böhlau, 2012, p. 199-311.
6 HFS, p. 83.
7 See futher Louis Vereecke, “La réforme de l’Église au concile de Vienne 1311-1312”, Studia Moralia, 14, 1976, p. 283-335; Simons, Cities of Ladies, p. 113-132.
8 HFS, p. 228-237; cf. Michael D. Bailey and Sean L. Field, “Historiography, Methodology, and Manuscripts: Robert E. Lerner and the Study of Late Medieval Heresy”, Late Medieval Heresy: New Perspectives. Studies in Honor of Robert E. Lerner, ed. M. D. Bailey and S. L. Field, Woodbridge, York Medieval Press, 2018, p. 5-7.
9 For a general overview of beguine spirituality see Simons, Cities of Ladies, p. 60-81.
10 Eleanor L. McLaughlin, “The Heresy of the Free Spirit in Later Medieval Mysticism”, Medievalia et Humanistica, n.s. 4, 1973, p. 37-64, cf. p. 42–43; for a comparative treatment of medieval female mystics see Andrea J. Dickens, The Female Mystic. Great Women Thinkers of the Middle Ages, New York, Bloosmbury, 2009.
11 Jacques de Vitry, Vita Marie de Oegnies, Supplementum, ed. R. B. C. Huygens (CCCM 252), Turnhout, Brepols, 2012; English translation: The Life of Marie d’Oignies by Jacques of Vitry, trans. Margot H. King, in Mary of Oignies. Mother of Salvation, ed. Anneke B. Mulder-Bakker, Turnhout, Brepols, 2006, p. 33-138.
12 Vera von der Osten-Sacken, Jakob von Vitrys Vita Mariae Oigniacensis. Zu Herkunft und Eigenart der ersten Beginen, Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2010, p. 63-122; André Vauchez, “Prosélytisme et action antihérétique en milieu féminin au XIIIe siècle: La vie de Marie d’Oignies († 1213) par Jacques de Vitry”, in Propagande et contre-propagande religieuses, ed. J. Marx, Éditions de l’Université de Bruxelles, 1987, p. 95-110; Simons, Cities of Ladies, p. 40-45. See Jacques de Vitry, Vita Marie de Oegnies, p. 11-18; English translation in The Life of Marie, p. 85-87.
13 Vita Christinae Mirabilis, ed. Armelle Le Huërou and Sylvain Piron, in S. Piron, Christine l’Admirable. Vie, chants et merveilles, Brussels, Vues de l’esprit, 2021.
14 The Life of Saint Douceline, a Beguine of Provence, trans. and ed. Kathleen E. Garay and Madeleine Jeay, Woobridge, Boydell & Brewer, 2008, p. 129-133.
15 The new critical edition of the 1332 protocol with a collection of studies on the community of the Świdnica beguines was published by Pawel Kras, Tomas Gałuszka, and Adam Poznański, Proces beginek świdnickich w 1332 roku: Studia historyczne i edycja łacińsko-polska [The Trial of the Beguines from Świdnica in 1332: Historical Studies and Latin-Polish Edition], 2nd ed. Lublin, 2018. In 2023, a modified and extended version of this book was published in English as T. Gałuszka and P. Kras, The Beguines of Medieval Świdnica: The Interrogation of the ‘Daughters of Odelindis’ in 1332, trans. Stephen C. Rowell, with a contribution by Letha Böhringer, Woodbridge,York Medieval Press, 2023. All references to the testimonies recorded in the 1332 protocol are made to the Latin edition published in this volume, the Examinatio testium Capuciatarum monialium in Swydnicz, edited by T. Gałuszka and annotated by P. Kras. It is cited as Examinatio testium. In addition, an abbreviated system of references in brackets is also used within the text. The Roman numeral indicates the first (I) or second (II) part of the 1332 records; the second Arabic numeral refers to the deposition of witnesses questioned in a specific sequence or the “hooded nuns”; and the third numeral indicates the consecutive paragraphs of the testimony.
16 For an overview of the international research on the Świdnica beguines see P. Kras, “Wstęp”, in Proces beginek, p. 15-31; cf. Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of the Free Spirit”, p. 113-118.
17 Bolesław Ulanowski. Examen testium super vita et moribus Beguinarum per inquisitorem hereticae pravitatis in Sweydnitz anno 1332 factum, in Archiwum Komisyi Historycznej 5, Scriptores Rerum Polonicarum, 22 vols. (Kraków, 1872-1917), t. 13, p. 239-255.
18 See note 2 above.
19 Leff, Heresy in the Later Middle Ages, t. 1, p. 386-395. Ulanowski’s edition of the 1332 protocol is reprinted in t. 2, p. 721-740.
20 Leff, Heresy in the Later Middle Ages, t. 1, p. 386.
21 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica; p. 61-65 ; Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of the Free Spirit”, p. 113.
22 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 57-61.
23 On the dominant role of an inquisitor during such interrogations see J.H. Arnold, Inquisition and Power: Catharism and the Confessing Subject in Medieval Languedoc, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001, p. 74-115.
24 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica; , p. 151-156.
25 See HFS, p. 112, n. 15.
26 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 157-164.
27 Nicholas, son of Henry de Pencwynsdorph who was closely associated with the chancery of the Wroclaw diocese, and was in charge of producing various documents for Bishop Nanker and his deputy judge Apeczko of Ząbkowice. Frtz Luschek, Notariatsurkunde und Notariat in Schlesien von dem Anfängen (1282) bis zum Ende des 16. Jahrhunderts, Weimar, Böhlau, 1940, p. 216-217; Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of the Free Spirit”, p. 113-114.
28 Examinatio testium, p. 168-169.
29 Examinatio testium, p. 256-257: “Et ego Nycolaus quondam Heynrici de Pencwynsdorph clericus Wratislauiensis diocesis, publicus auctoritate imperiali notarius una cum domino fratre Johanne de Swenkynfelt hereticorum inquisitore, et testibus suprascriptis omnibus ac singulis prout premittitur anno, mense, Indictione, diebus, horis et loco presentialiter interfui et testes prefatas recepi ipsasque diligenter examinaui et ipsarum dicta in has quatuor pergameni pecias de mandato inquisitoris predicti fideliter conscripsi” [And I Nicholas, son of the late Henry of Panków, clerk of the diocese of Wrocław, by imperial authority notary public, was present in person in the aforesaid year, month, indiction, days, hours and place together with the lord Friar John of Schwenkenfeld inquisitor of heretics, and each and every one of the abovementioned witnesses, as required, and I received the aforesaid witnesses and diligently examined them and on the order of the aforementioned inquisitor I wrote down their words on these four sheets of parchment].
30 HFS, p. 112 and 116.
31 At that time all known information about John of Schwenkenfeld could have been presented in a few short sentences. He was known mostly as the second papal inquisitor appointed for Silesia, murdered in 1341 in Prague. His fellow friars venerated him as martyr and attempted to procure his canonization but to no avail. Alexander Patschovsky was the first to produce a critical though short biography of Schwenkenfeld. A. Patschovsky, “Johannes von Schwenkenfdeld”, in Neue Deutsche Biographie, X, Berlin, Duncker & Humblot, 1974, p. 567; Patschovsky, Die Anfänge einer ständigen Inquisition in Böhmen. Ein Prager Inquisitoren-Handbuch aus der ersten Hälfte des 14. Jahrhunderts, Berlin and New York, De Gruyter, 1975, p. 61-65. Only recently have more details concerning the life of Schwenkenfeld come to light. I have collected all known information about his education, career, and postmortem cult in a paper to be published shortly: Kras, “Jan ze Schwenkenfeldu: konstruowanie wzorca świętego inkwizytora i męczennika w historiografii średniowiecznej i nowożytnej”, in Święci tylko w pamięci? Dominikanie polscy zmarli w opinii świętości od XIII do XXI wieku, ed. T. Gałuszka (forthcoming).
32 Tomasz Jurek, Obce rycerstwo na Śląsku do połowy XIV wieku [Foreign Knights in Silesia until the Middle of the 14th Century], Poznań, 1996, p. 104, 108, 143, and p. 293-294.
33 Krzysztof Kaczmarek, Szkoły i studia polskich dominikanów w okresie średniowiecza [Schools and Studies of the Polish Dominicans in the Middle Ages], Poznań, 2005, p. 139, 149, 412-413, and n. 63. Recently, Tomasz Gałuszka has demonstrated that the Dominican studium generale in Kraków started to operate as early as 1304, and thus for Schwenkenfeld, a friar of the Polish province of Friar Preachers, it might have been a natural place for his studies. T. Gałuszka, “Studium generale dominikanów polskich w XIV wieku”, Folia historica Cracoviensia, 20, 2014, p. 35-63.
34 A very good knowledge of Meister Eckhart’s teaching and a particular interest in the mysticism of Rheinish Dominicans is apparent in the way Schwenkenfeld conducted the 1332 interrogations. This fact makes his studies in the Dominican studium generale in Cologne a well-grounded hypothesis. In his foreword to The Medieval Beguines in Świdnica, Robert E. Lerner has no doubt about Schwenkenfeld’s link to Cologne, writing “John of Schwenkenfeld O.P. would have been well-informed about Eckhart’s teachings, for the two were contemporaries who belonged to the same Dominican Order, came from the same home base of Cologne, and might plausibly have known each other” (see note 91).
35 Schwenkenfeld’s appointment to the position of papal inquisitor in the diocese of Wrocław took place after the resignation of Peregrinus Polonus in 1327 and before the publication of Bishop Nanker’s letter dated 23 November 1330 which required all clergy of his diocese to cooperate with Schwenkenfeld in his inquisitorial operations. Patschovsky assumes that Schwenkenfeld’s appointment took place in 1327 (“Johannes von Schwenkenfeld”, p. 567) and this date has been widely accepted. In my opinion it is more likely that Schwenkenfeld took his office in 1330, shortly before his inquisitorial powers were recognized by the Bishop of Wrocław. Kras, “Inkwizycja papieska w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej: powstanie i organizacja” [Inquisition in East-Central Europe: emergence and organisation], in Inkwizycja papieska w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej, ed. P. Kras, Krakow, 2010, p. 131-139.
36 Kras, “Dominican Inquisitors in Mediaeval Poland”, in Praedicatores, Inquisitores - I. The Dominicans and the Mediaeval Inquisition. Acts of the 1st International Seminar on the Dominicans and the Inquisition. Rome, 23–25 February 2002, ed. A. Palacios Bernal, (Dissertationes Historicae 29), Roma, Istituto storico domenicano, 2004, p. 259 and 306.
37 Gałuszka and Kaczmarek, Fratres apud Sanctam Crucem. Z badań nad dziejami dominikanów w Brzegu, [Research into the history of the Dominican n Brzeg], Poznań, 2018, p. 28-30.
38 For recent overviews of Schwenkenfeld’s life see Kras, “Dominican Inquisitors”, p. 260-261 and 301-302; Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of the Free Spirit”, p. 113; Jarosł Szymański, “Joannes Swenkenfeldt – inquisitor et martyr”, Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka, 58, 2003, p. 1-17; Szymański, Ruchy heretyckie na Śląsku w XIII i XIV wieku [Heretical movements in Silesia in the 13th and the 14th centures], Katowice, 2007, p. 119-133.
39 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 66-69.
40 Kras, The System of the Inquisition in Medieval Europe, Bern, Peter Lang, 2020, p. 307-315. For the technology of keeping and copying records of papal inquisitors operating in Languedoc see Y. Dossat, Les Crises de l’inquisition toulousaine au XIIIe siècle (1233–1273), Bordeaux, Bière, 1959, p. 42-59.
41 Decrees, ed. Tanner, t. 1, p. 383.
42 For an overview see Kras, The System of the Inquisition, p. 243-246.
43 Examinatio testium, p. 174-175: “Item Hedwigis interrogata per iuramentum dixit quod cum esset inter eas, et ut eis interdum uidebatur, quod nimiam moram in ecclesia orando protraxisset, Stomachate dixerunt ei ‘Tu iaces super te ipsam, tu fugis te ipsam du mynsth selbe non expedis paupertati’” [Again, Hedwig was questioned under oath and said that when she was amongst the sisters and it sometimes seemed to them that she had stayed behind too long praying in church, they would become angry and say to her, ‘You rely on yourself, you resort to yourself, you only think about yourself and are not suited to our way of poverty’].
44 Examinatio testium, p. 246-249.
45 My analysis of the 1332 protocol has been much inspired by the research of James B. Given and John H. Arnold concerning the operation of papal inquisitors in Languedoc, their methods of interrogations and the technology of keeping records. J. B. Given, Inquisition and Medieval Society. Power, Discipline and Resistance in Languedoc, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1997; Arnold, Inquisition and Power.
46 Examinatio testium, p. 208-209.
47 HFS, p. 118.
48 Examinatio testium, p. 208-236.
49 Examinatio testium, p. 180-188.
50 HFS, p. 116.
51 Examinatio testium, p. 212-213: “Item iurata, utrum assererent secundum articulum, qui ponitur in Clementinis, uel aliquid ei simile de hereticis, Ad nostrum, dixit se non audiuisse ab eis ita expresse uerba illa, sicut in illo articulo continentur, sed similia uerba et appropinquancia huic sensui audiuit, ut dixit, et facta consona huic opinioni suspicatur eas facere ex hoc, quando conueniunt in cellario iuuenculabus exclusis ex nutibus precedentibus et annuitionibus et aliis gesticulationibus multimodis et ex hoc, quod celant se et occultant a iuuenculabus et prohibent sibi mutuo, ne reuelentur inuenculabus ipsarum secreta, per hoc habet, quod antique numquam aliquod ieiunium ecclesie teneant uel ieiunent” [Again under oath, asked about whether the sisters acknowledge the second article, Ad nostrum, of the Clementine Constitutions or anything similar dealing with heresy, she said she had not heard those words from them exactly as they are contained in that article, but she had heard words that were similar and approximating to this meaning, so she said, and she suspects them of committing deeds consonant with that proposition when they gather in the cellar after shutting out the young sisters. She suspects this also from the nods and winks and many other kinds of signs and gestures that precede it, and from the fact they the older sisters conceal themselves and hide away from the young sisters and make one another promise not to tell the young sisters their secrets and from this she understands that the senior sisters never keep the Church’s fast or abstain from food at all].
52 Examinatio testium, p. 214-215.
53 Decrees, ed. Tanner, t. 1, p. 382.
54 Examinatio testium, p. 228-229, 250-251.
55 Decrees, ed. Tanner, t. 1, p. 382 (article 8): They must not stand at the elevation of the Body of Christ nor pay Him honour, since they claim that for them it would be a mark of imperfection if they fell so low from the purity and height of their contemplation to contemplate the religious service or the Sacrament of the Eucharist or the suffering of the humanity of Christ.
56 Examinatio testium, p. 218-219.
57 Examinatio testium, p. 244-245: “dicit, quod sine licencia magistre non confitentur nec recipiunt Corpus Christi” [she also said that they neither confess nor receive the Body of Christ without the mistress's permission]; p. 242: “non audet ire ad ecclesiam, nec ad sermones nec ad alia diuina officia sine licencia magistre uel ea contradicente” [she dares not go to church nor to the sermons nor to any other divine service without the Mistress’ permission, or if she forbids it].
58 W. Wattenbach, “Über die Secte der Brüder vom freien Geiste”, Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie den Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 29, 1887, p. 531.
59 Examinatio testium, p. 172-173: “Item iurata et interrogata respondit quod Capuciate dixerunt ei ‘Si necessitas infirmitatis te occuparet et quod Corpus Christi non portaretur ad domum nostram, uelles tu pocius domum exire et accipere Corpus Christi uel manere in domo et mori sine sacramento Corporis Christi’, tunc ego dixi: ‘pocius uellem domum exire et accipere Corpus Christi’. Capuciatis respondentibus, quod ipse hoc non facerent et subiunxerunt ‘Tu non uales nobis ad paupertatem’”.
60 Examinatio testium, p. 174-175.
61 Examinatio testium, p. 244-245: “aliquando diebus dominicis iusserunt eam domi manere aliquibus ipsam laboribus occupando, dicendo, quod ita bene domi oraret, sicut in ecclesia et tantum mereretur” [sometimes on Sundays the sisters ordered her to remain in the house and busy herself with some jobs, saying she could pray just as well in the house as in church, and merit as much]; p. 244: « dixerunt ei: ‘tu potes domi aliquid laborare, de quo meretur, sicut in ecclesia orare’” [they (= the older sisters) told her, ‘You can gain as much merit from any work you do in the house as you can from praying in church’].
62 Examinatio testium, p. 244-245; cf. Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 99-100.
63 Kras, “W poszukiwaniu duchowej doskonałości”, p. 119.
64 HFS, p. 116-117.
65 McLaughlin, “The Heresy of the Free Spirit”, p. 47; Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 97-99; Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of the Free Spirit”, p. 124-125.
66 Examinatio testium, p. 216-217; cf. Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 91-92.
67 Examinatio testium, p. 184-187: “[…] aliqua mirabiliter horret, ad tanto plus cogitur talis huiusmodi operare, ut earum uoluntas frangatur et natura. Et ad hoc confirmandum Hedwigis de Wratislauia iurata dixit, quod inter eas existens semel inuenit erucam inter olera coctam, quam cum naturaliter horret, incitauerunt eam, ut ipsam comederet et suam naturam uinceret, quod tamen non fecit, sed flendo ipsarum conatum euasit [...] ”.
68 Examinatio testium, p. 186-187.: “Adylheydis iurata dixit de catta mortua inuenta in platea per quandam ad earum coactionem excoriandam, quod cum illa ex horrore nature facere dissimularet, cogerunt eam tandem aruinam, que esse poterat in catta, exprimere, uel excipere et cum ea ipsarum calceos inungere et pellem super forum uenalem portare, ut magis uinceretur in ea horror naturalis; et hoc accidit in Strozburg” [Adelheid spoke under oath about a dead cat found in the street and they forced one of the sisters to skin it, but she would not suffer herself to do this out of natural disgust, and they compelled her in the end to press out or remove whatever fat there was in the cat and grease their shoes with it and take the pelt to sell in the market in order to overcome further her natural disgust. And this happened in Strasburg].
69 Examinatio testium, p. 172-173.
70 Examinatio testium, p. 184-185.
71 HFS, p. 117.
72 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 67-68.
73 HFS, p. 119.
74 Examinatio testium, p. 246-247.
75 HFS, p. 118.
76 Examinatio testium, p. 246-247.
77 Examinatio testium, p. 254-257.
78 Examinatio testium, p. 246-247: “dicit etiam, quod earum congregatio non sit statuta ab Ecclesia, nec confirmata. Item iurata dixit, quod ‘Nos in secta nostra possimus ita bene saluari, sicut predicator uel minor, si ita bene uiuimus et seruamus’. Dicit, quod nullum inimicum habeat in Swydnicz” [she also says their community was neither founded nor confirmed by the Church. Also, under oath she said that ‘we can be saved as well in our sect as a Friar Preacher [Dominican] or Minor [Franciscan] can in his, if we live and keep our vows as well as they do’].
79 Examinatio testium, p. 168-169, cf. Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 62-64.
80 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 145-147; Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of the Free Spirit”, p. 133-134.
81 Arnold, Inquisition and Power, p. 164-226; Arnold, “The Historian as Inquisitor: The Ethics of Interrogating Subaltern Voices”, Rethinking History, 2, 1998, p. 379-386.
82 Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of the Free Spirit”, p. 133.
83 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 79-90; Kras, “The Hunt for the Heresy of the Free Spirit”, p. 118-123.
84 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 104-144.
85 Gałuszka and Kras, Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. 102-103; see also remarks by Martin Nodl in his review of Proces beginek świdnickich w 1332 roku, Český Časopis Historický, 116, 2018, p. 209-211.
86 R. Kieckhefer, “Robert E. Lerner: A Portrait”, in Late Medieval Heresy: New Perspectives, p. vii.
87 Lerner, “Foreword”, in T. Gałuszka and P. Kras, The Beguines of Medieval Świdnica, p. xi-xiv.
Haut de pagePour citer cet article
Référence électronique
Paweł Kras, « An Inquisitive Historian and a Papal Inquisitor », Oliviana [En ligne], 7 | 2023, mis en ligne le 22 juillet 2023, consulté le 24 mars 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/oliviana/1588
Haut de pageDroits d’auteur
Le texte et les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés), sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.
Haut de page