Bernard Gui
Encyclopedia
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
of the Dominican Order
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
in the Late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
during the Medieval Inquisition
Medieval Inquisition
The Medieval Inquisition is a series of Inquisitions from around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisition and later the Papal Inquisition...
, Bishop of Lodève, and one of the most prolific writers of the Middle Ages. He is known for his tenure as Inquisitor of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
against the Albigenses at the behest of Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got was Pope from 1305 to his death...
between 1307 and 1323.
Biography
He was born at RoyèresRoyères
Royères in a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.-Personalities:Royères was the birth place of the Dominican inquisitor, Bishop of Lodève and prolific author Bernard Gui, circa 1261.-External links:...
, in the Limousin
Limousin (province)
Limousin is one of the traditional provinces of France around the city of Limoges. Limousin lies in the foothills of the western edge of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter...
, in 1261.
He entered the Dominican Convent at Limoges, and made his profession in 1280. Ten Years later he was made Prior of Albi, and subsequently at Carcassonne
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc.It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century,...
, at Castres
Castres
Castres is a commune, and arrondissement capital in the Tarn department and Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It lies in the former French province of Languedoc....
, and at Limoges
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
.
Working in the area of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
(in modern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
), his inquisition of those examined as suspected, known, reputed, or accused of the crime of heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
or support to heretics, led to over 900 guilty verdicts in fifteen years of office. People convicted of heresy during the time of the Inquisition
Medieval Inquisition
The Medieval Inquisition is a series of Inquisitions from around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisition and later the Papal Inquisition...
were turned over to the secular arm (Nobles and city leaders) for punishment. Out of all those convicted during examination by Gui, 42 were executed. The four sects of Christian heretics Gui wrote about in his Inquisitor’s Guide were the Manicheans, the sect of the Waldensians, the sect of False Apostles, and the Béguin sect. Other groups which were not considered Christian but were cited in Gui’s Inquisitor’s Guide as “treacherous” were Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, as well as Sorcerers
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
, Fortune-tellers
Fortune-telling
Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination...
, and those who Summon Demons.
In recompense for his services as Inquisitor he was made Bishop of Tui in Galicia, by Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...
, and a year later Bishop of Lodève.
Bernard Gui died at the castle of Lauroux
Lauroux
Lauroux is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France.-External links:*...
in the Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, south France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, 30 December 1331.
Works and legacy
In spite of his manifold occupations, he wrote numerous works of importance such as the Flores chronicorum or "Anthology of the chronicles", which is a universal historyUniversal history
Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Abrahamic wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of humankind as a whole, as a coherent unit.-Ancient authors:...
to 1331; "Chronique abrégée des empereurs", "Chronique des rois de France", "Catalogue des Évêques de Limoges", "Traité sur les saints du Limousin", "Traité sur l'histoire de l'abbaye de St. Augustin de Limoges", "Chronique des Prieurs de Grandmont" (as far as 1318), "Chronique des Prieurs d'Artize" (as far as 1313), "Chronique des évêques de Toulouse" (as far as 1327), "Sanctoral ou Miroir des saints", "Vie des saints", "Traité sur les soixante-douze disciples et sur les apôtres", "Traité sur l'époque de la célébration des conciles" and "Compilation historique sur l'ordre des Dominicains".
His most important and famous work, Practica Inquisitionis Heretice Pravitatis or "Conduct of the Inquisition into Heretical Wickedness", gives a list of serious heresies
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
in the early 14th century, and advises inquisitors how to deal with the questioning of members of particular groups. It is an exposé of the prerogatives and duties of the inquisitor: its citations, its forms of condemnation, its instructions for examinations, constitute a unique document for the study of the Inquisition during the first period of its existence. This work, lost for a time, was finally published in full by the abbé Douais at Toulouse in 1886.
Bernard is also the author of a number of theological treatises; "Abrégé de la doctrine chrétienne", "Traité de la messe", "Traité sur la conception de la Vierge" and also of various sermons.
Literary references
Bernard Gui (as Bernardo Gui) is an antagonist in the historical novel The Name of the RoseThe Name of the Rose
The Name of the Rose is the first novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
by Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
. In the 1986 movie based on the book, his part was played by F. Murray Abraham
F. Murray Abraham
Fahrid Murray Abraham is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He has appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films such as All the President's Men and Scarface...
. Bernard Gui also appears in the historical novels of Catherine Jinks
Catherine Jinks
Catherine Jinks is an Australian author. She has written more than 30 books for all ages, and has won many awards, including the Children's Book Council Of Australia Book of the Year Award three times, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, the Aurealis Award for Science Fiction, the IBBY...
, including The Notary (2001, as an antagonist), and The Secret Familiar (2006, as a protagonist). Gui is also briefly mentioned in Victor Hugo's novel "Les Miserables".