The Inner Lives of Medieval Inquisitors

“In focusing on the inquisitors’ and their predecessors’ own understanding of the nature and motivation of their work rather than on their institutional and cultural contexts, Sullivan offers an original and stimulating contrast to most current approaches in the field. Its clarity, vividness, and straightforwardness in approach make The Inner Lives of Medieval Inquisitors an excellent general introduction to the subject and a valuable addition to the literature.”

“In a stunning example of the New Humanism, Karen Sullivan manages with consummate tact and resourcefulness to get inside the head of medieval inquisitors and their victims. Inner Lives is relevant to contemporary considerations of religious intolerance, techniques of interrogation, and torture. From the well known case of Saint Bernard’s pursuit of Abelard, to the fascinating stories of lesser known zealots and resistants, we enter the inquisitor’s chamber with the vividness and intelligence of Karen Sullivan’s earlier work on Joan of Arc. A must-read for anyone interested in the place where religion meets the long arms of social and political practice.”

“Karen Sullivan’s book is a major contribution to the literary history of the inquisition. She has carefully read the self-portraits that six inquisitors have left us in their writings concerning their motivations, inner spiritual lives, and religious commitments. She offers her readers (who need not be specialists in the Middle Ages) a useful complement to the literature on the inquisition that emphasizes the role of social, economic, ecclesiological, or historical factors. There are moments when her book reads like a good novel—an extension of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose. She also gives her readers an accurate and sensitive interpretation of the sermons, manuals, and autobiographical writings of the inquisitors themselves, moving in turn through the rich but troubled lives of Dominic Guzmán, Conrad of Marburg, Peter of Verona, Bernard Gui, Bernard Délicieux, and Nicholas Eymerich.”