A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages Volume 1

by Henry Charles Lea

Unaccustomed to restraint, vigorous manhood asserted itself in all its greatness and all its littleness, whether in wreaking cruel vengeance upon the defenceless or in offering itself joyfully as a sacrifice to humanity. Thrills of delirious emotion spread from land to land, arousing the populations from their lethargy in blind attempts to achieve they scarcely knew what... -from "Chapter II: Heresy" Considered America's first great scholar of the Middle Ages and a trailblazing proponent of utilizing primary sources when inquiring into the past, Henry Charles Lea gave us what is still a vital history of the centuries-long reign of terror known as the Inquisition. A passionate account of mass hysteria, its spiritual and intellectual roots, and its "inevitable" evolution, this is grimly fascinating and highly readable, an excellent investigation into one of the foundations of modern civilization the repercussions of which are still being felt today. Volume 1 of this three-volume 1888 work explores the rigid asceticism of early Christian sects, the cruelty of the Albigensian crusaders and their "mad carnage and pillage," the growth of intolerance in the early Church, the Inquisitorial process, and much more. American historian and publisher HENRY CHARLES LEA (1825-1909) also wrote Superstition and Force (1866), Historical Sketch of Sacerdotal Celibacy (1867), and History of the Inquisition of Spain (1906-1908).

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval

600 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 2002

Reviews

[Sharon]

If you took a shot every time Lea gets something wrong, you'd be dead halfway through chapter 1.

Lea is the founder of inquisition studies as we know it, so he's important to read in that sense. However, his data and sources have long since been superseded, and his uncontrolled hatred of Christianity makes him a bad historian. We owe him a debt, but he's not who you read if you want accuracy.

The first red flag is in the preface, when the editors - in the second paragraph! - define heresy as "freedom of individual thought". That's not what heresy is, but more importantly, that's not how the Church defines heresy, which tells me that you already have failed at your job as a historian of, you know, heresy and the Church.

Anyway, if you want to know more about the historiography of the Inquisition, read this book. If you want any accurate information on the Inquisition, don't read this book. Read Henry Kamen, Albert Shannon, John Tedeschi, and Richard Greenleaf.

[Walter B.]

Hello,

I am a historian with a master's degree. I've read many greatly detailed books on many subject covering a range in time of over 1500 years. I wanted to know much more about the Inquisition. Not the Spanish Inquisition alone but to study the character of inquisition and discover what unique qualities there might be about the conditions ot the times, people involved, political and religious aspects, generally anything the creates the conditions leading to an "inquisition".

I read the intro to the book by Henry Charles Lea and liked the approach he wrote about toward exploring the Inquisition process. I looked forward to reading it with much anticipation.

What I got was extremely disappointing, even repulsive. Honestly I couldn't stand to go on after reading the first chapter because the book is such a rabidly biased negative slant on everything about the Catholic Church. The impression one gets from the first chapter is there is almost nothing redeemable about the Church or anyone involved at all. While I knew a lot about the gross abuses of many involved in the Church and have no issue with the facts, the book is such an overwhelming litany of excess and abuse by everyone connected to the Church that the reader would be led to believe it's little more than a fountain of evil men and women consumed with the worst qualities of mankind from robbery and rape to murder and slaughter.

To be sure, Lea makes very brief note that there are exceptions, but there's so little of decent persons, a couple of paragraphs, the book comes off like some kind of Calvinist ranting crusade against everything about the Catholic Church. I expected to read about ,many terrible people and events, but this book comes off as nothing more than purposeful complete condemnation.

I'm sorry I wasted a penny going near this book.

sincerely,

W.J.

[Sidney Weber]

Excellent description of horror

This book relates the background of one of the greatest atrocities in world history - the Inquisition - and it's general workings. It provides great detail on the environment in which it arose and the manner in which it was conducted. It is therefore a great historical document, but a reader must expect to be sickened by its contents.

[z]

- harrowing stories
- his account of how money and political ambitions contributed to the Inquisition is sorely lacking: for him, greed was simply a symptom of a religious division. and he doesn't address how politics were at play. which means, he never addresses the motivations behind the Inquisition: money & political influence.

[Nick Shipley]

Solid text book like history. Highly recommend if you want in a deep dive. If you want a glossy overview, look elsewhere.

[Robert Allen]

The writing style is absolutely gorgeous!!!!!