Ein Modell und seine Reinterpretation. Die Entscheidungsverfahren der italienischen Inquisition in der Auffassung von Papsttum und Inquisitoren (1252–1334)

This article aims at demonstrating that the management of the inquisitorial officium in Italy – which effectively became an institution following Innocent IV’s Ad extirpanda (1252) – gradually moved from being controlled by the papacy to the full control by the Mendicant orders. The friars effectively and knowingly moulded a ‘model for repression’ which we shall name ‘Italian model’: it took various shapes, as it was designed to suit characteristics and needs of different local contexts, as well as being imprinted by the individuality of its various officers. This article will mainly – if not exclusively – focus on inquisitorial manuals in order to investigate management strategies by Italian inquisitors. With the support of John XXII’s policies on repression, Italian inquisitors effectively reinstated the status quo ante, changing only what could not be applicable to the new situations. Our impression is that, notwithstanding the organisation of a more careful control system, the issue of new procedural norms and the setting of new targets for repression, inquisitors gradually returned to a mostly autonomous management of the tribunal of faith.