Inquisition
New York: Free Press/ Macmillan, 1988. First edition. Hardcover. First edityion, first printing. Fine in generally fine dust jacket. Hardcover. 362 pp. with index. illustrated with reproductions of antiquarian (sometimes rather gruesome) drawings and engravings. A meticulously researched history by medievalist Edward Peters that strips away the centuries deep layers which have accumulated to obscure the intellectual and social history of the phenomenon of the Inquisition over two millennia. An impressive volume that is actually three histories in one: of the legal procedures, personnel, and institutions that shaped the inquisitorial tribunals from Rome to early modern Europe; of the myth of The Inquisition, from its origins with the anti-Hispanists and religious reformers of the 16th century to its embodiment in literary and artistic masterpieces of the 19th century; and of how the myth itself became the foundation for a "history" of the inquisitions. With roots extending back to a simple procedure in Roman law, the practice was adapted by the Latin Christian Church to preserve orthodox religious beliefs from the attacks of heretics. From the 13th to 15th centuries, popes appointed individual to function as inquisitors in specific cases. It was not until the late 15th century that inquisitions were instituted on a permanent basis to protect orthodox beliefs and maintain ecclesiastical discipline---a period when the notorious practices took place. Fine / fine. Item #E37382
ISBN: 0029249805
Price: $27.50