Ad abolendam: Heresy and Heretics ~ Part I

In November of 1184 Pope Lucius III issued a derectal and bull from Verona. It was called Ad abolendam which means ‘toward abolishing’. The document prescribed measures to abolish any and all ‘heresies’ that threatened the sovereignty and authority of the Church of Rome. Pope Lucius III was one of the popes under which Lotario dei Conti di Segni served. Lotario was later to become Pope Innocent III.

Lucius III condemned any and all persons who preached or offered scriptural interpretations without the authority of the Church, either publicly or privately. He also condemned any persons who supported such heretics openly or covertly. They were all to be excommunicated. Those who supported the heretics were also considered heretics. They were deprived of their rights to hold public office, the right to a trial, the right to draft a will and the hereditability of their lands and offices. They were to be handed over to the authorities to receive their ‘due penalty’ – whatever that might mean in each case.

The Ad abolemdam seems to have been drafted somewhat in response to Lucius’ answer to settling his dispute with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa over the disposition of the territories left by the passing of Countess Matilda of Tuscany. Frederick made what seems to be a fair proposal that wasn’t going to break the backs of the locals on these lands. They apparently were not to Lucius’ liking. He wanted the land itself, not just a tithe of the imperial income. This was not the only bone of contention between the Pope and the Emperor but it seems to have sparked the need for wording in the derectal to the effect that: all counts, barons, rectors, and consuls of cities and other places who did not join in the struggle against heresy when called upon to do so would be excommunicated and their territories placed under interdict. He declared that these provisions joined the apostolic authority of the church with the sanction of imperial power. With this sort of wording, he made Frederick and any future Emperor complicit in and answerable to this decision. 

In a move much like todays ‘corporate sales goals’, Lucian III obligated all his patriarchs, archbishops and bishops to re-announce these rules and the excommunication on certain feast days and holidays. If they didn’t do this for three consecutive years, they were stripped of their offices. They were furthermore obligated to seek out heretics in their bi-annual or tri-annual rounds of their dioceses, by visiting places rumored to harbor heretics and questioning people about heretical activities in the area.

Those they questioned were required to swear their testimonies of anything they knew about heretical activity under an oath. If they were later found to have been lying in any way, they too were considered sympathizers and condemned as heretics. If those found guilty were landed persons, their lands were seized by the Church. In this way, the Church became wealthy in lands and fiefs. Any ecclesiastic who did not turn up a heretic now and then became suspect himself, so it was to their benefit to find one or two on occasion. This wasn’t the official beginning of the Inquisition, but it set the stage for it and for the Fourth Crusade, also known as the Albigensian Crusade.

There were several specific sects mentioned in the Ad abolendam – among them were the Cathars, the Humiliati, the Waldensians, the Arnoldists and the Josephines. In 1211, under the pontificate of Innocent III, more than 80 Waldensians were burned as heretics at Strasbourg. It was a specter of things to come.

Continued in Part II