Lisa Weston | California State University, Fresno (original) (raw)

Uploads

Book Reviews by Lisa Weston

Reviews Speculum 91/1 (January 2016) systematic coverage. In a series of short subsections, he mo... more Reviews Speculum 91/1 (January 2016) systematic coverage. In a series of short subsections, he moves through the legal principles guiding the establishment of an inquisition, the qualifications required of inquisitors, the duration of their appointment, the method of their selection, and so forth. He also specifies how inquisitors were expected to treat various categories of heretics and their supporters: credentes, fautores, receptatores, defensores, and relapsi. The process of an inquisition is also described, from opening sermon to final judgment. What gets treated here are officially prescribed forms of practice. There is no discussion of how prescribed practices were actually carried out and possibly modified in real situations, except in cases where a later pronouncement responded explicitly to some problem that had arisen in carrying out certain procedures. Drawing on the standard and authoritative sources that created the office of papal in-quisitor, Bivolarov presents a sound and thorough summary of how an inquisition was expected to operate in theory. Students looking for a clear description of the underlying legal framework of inquisitorial operations will be well served by this final chapter. In summarizing the results of his study, Bivolarov stresses its value as a basis on which scholars can build. He alludes to a few insights that his own diligent reading of these foundational sources has yielded, but he largely limits himself in this book to cataloging the sources themselves. The utility of his book as a reference work is, unfortunately, somewhat undercut by the decision to include only an index of proper names. Anyone looking to trace an idea or theme through the sources that Bivolarov has assembled will find no help here.

Reviews Speculum 91/1 (January 2016) systematic coverage. In a series of short subsections, he mo... more Reviews Speculum 91/1 (January 2016) systematic coverage. In a series of short subsections, he moves through the legal principles guiding the establishment of an inquisition, the qualifications required of inquisitors, the duration of their appointment, the method of their selection, and so forth. He also specifies how inquisitors were expected to treat various categories of heretics and their supporters: credentes, fautores, receptatores, defensores, and relapsi. The process of an inquisition is also described, from opening sermon to final judgment. What gets treated here are officially prescribed forms of practice. There is no discussion of how prescribed practices were actually carried out and possibly modified in real situations, except in cases where a later pronouncement responded explicitly to some problem that had arisen in carrying out certain procedures. Drawing on the standard and authoritative sources that created the office of papal in-quisitor, Bivolarov presents a sound and thorough summary of how an inquisition was expected to operate in theory. Students looking for a clear description of the underlying legal framework of inquisitorial operations will be well served by this final chapter. In summarizing the results of his study, Bivolarov stresses its value as a basis on which scholars can build. He alludes to a few insights that his own diligent reading of these foundational sources has yielded, but he largely limits himself in this book to cataloging the sources themselves. The utility of his book as a reference work is, unfortunately, somewhat undercut by the decision to include only an index of proper names. Anyone looking to trace an idea or theme through the sources that Bivolarov has assembled will find no help here.