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COURTNEY KNEUPPER

Reconsidering a Fourteenth-Century HeresyTrial in Metz: Beguins and Others 1

What were Spiritual Franciscan Beguins doing in Metz in1337? This question will immediately seem a strange one to askbecause the conventional answer would be: nothing - there were, ofcourse, no Beguins in Metz in 1337. Beguins were far away, inSouthern France. (In this article I refer to "Beguins" as hereticsoriginally from Languedoc who revered Peter Olivi and supportedthe maintenance of extreme poverty held by the SpiritualFranciscans), Even when they fled from inquisitors, theyremained in the south, escaping to Catalonia, Italy, or Sicily.Any heretics as far north as Metz must have been Waldensiansor beghards, or even "Free Spirits". This has been the consensusregarding the heretics burned in Metz in the 1330s - they musthave belonged to one of the heresies known to exist in NorthernEurope. Case closed. However, new evidence has appearedregarding these heretics, proving that some of them were in factBeguins who had fled persecution in Southern France, and thatthe circumstances oftheir trial require reexamination.

This re examination comes in two forms. First, the discoveryofBeguin involvement prompts us to reconsider the report of the

1 I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Robert Lerner, RichardKieckhefer, and Dylan Penningroth, as well as the graduate students at NorthwesternUniversity, for their incisive comments and indispensable expertise, along withthe generous devotion of their time.

188 COURTNEY KNEUPPER

Metz trial, which was edited by Ignaz von Döllinger in 1890. Astudy of the manuscript containing the report reveals Döllinger'sedition to be critically flawed, rendering a new edition necessaryfor a clear understanding ofthe trial. (Ihave therefore includeda new edition in the appendix). Second, although the report citeswhat we now recognize as Beguin beliefs, it also refers to anumber of non-Beguin ideas. The presence of different kinds ofheretical ideas in one inquisitorial report raises questions aboutthe beliefs of those examined. It also implies that interactionmay have occurred between Beguins and other heretical groupsfound in Metz.

THE SOURCES

The evidence for the presence of Southern French Beguins inMetz comes from two sources. The breakthrough source in thisregard is a martyrology discovered by Alexander Patschovsky aspart of a dossier concerning the trial of two Italians apprehendedin Montpellier in 1354 2. The martyrology lists the names andplaces ofdeath of Spiritual Franciscans and lay followers burnedfor their beliefs. Such secret lists of martyrs were used by theBeguins, along with recovered body parts of the burned, for

2 MS Wolfenbüttel, Herzog-August-Bibliothek, 1006, if. l2v-13v. Patschovsky firstmentioned the martyrology in Strassburger Beginenverfolgungen im 14.Jahrhundert, in Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters, 30 (1974),pp. 56-198, p. 110, n. 136. As part of the dossier on Franciscus of Arquata andJohannes of Castiglione drawn up in Avignon in the middle of the fourteenthcentury, the martyrology was recopied several times. Another version of themartyrology from the same dossier appears in a manuscript found in the Escorial.See Notes sobre el manuscrit del Directorium Inquisitorum de Nicolau Eimericconservat a la Biblioteca de l'Escorial (MS. N. I. 18), ed. JAUME DE Pore I OLIVER, inArxiu de textos catalans antics, 19 (2000), pp. 538-39. The martyrology from theWolfenbüttel manuscript is edited by L. BURNHAM,Heresy, Community andResistance: the Beguins of Montpellier, Ph. D. dissertation, NorthwesternUniversity, 2000, pp. 315-320.

RECONSIDERING A FOURTEENTH-CENTURY HERESY TRIAL IN METZ 189

purposes ofveneration. A copywas carried among the belongings ofthe Italians, who were associated with the Spiritual Franciscanmovement, and was seized when they were apprehended. Theywere later burned in Avignon and the record of their trial refersto the martyrology as one of their possessions. This martyrologylists a group of six heretics burned in Metz, indicating that notonly were there Beguins in Metz, but they had a network whichallowed news of their deaths to reach their coreligionists back insouthern Europe 3.

The research of Louisa Burnham establishes corroboratingevidence for the vast majority of entries in the martyrology. Incontrast, the entry for Metz would have remained uncorrob-orated if it were not for the evidence of an entirely independentdocument, an inquisitorial report on heretics burned in Metz in1337. Until now, all of our knowledge of the trial in Metz hasderived from this short treatise, titled Tractatus de Beghardis 4.

The title of the Treatise may have created some confusion overthe identity of the heretics, since the term "beghard" can betaken to refer to a certain type of religious person - those whopursued lives of evangelical poverty outside the purview of theCatholic Church, living either in established houses or wanderingin groups. For this author, however, the word "beghard" appearsto be roughly synonymous with our word "heretic"; it acts as ageneral pejorative term to describe proponents of heretical ideasor behavior.

The first three tenets in the report unambiguously reveal thepresence of Spiritual Franciscan Beguins among the questioned.First, they refer to themselves as brothers of the highest

3 .. Item in confinibus de Almannie et Bourgondie in civitate de MetzoAlbertus de Clarentia, Frater Molinarius, et iiii alii pauperes ... »; MSBibliotecade l'Escorial N.!. 18, f. 111; .. In Burgundia civitate Metensi Fratres Albertus deClarensa, Molinarius Petri et quatuor alii... ..;MSWolfenbüttel1006, f. 13 v.

4 MSVienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, CVP 4201, fT. 7r-v.


poverty, following the footsteps of Christ 5. Next, they claimthat they ownnothingeither personallyor communally,maintainingthat such poverty exemplifies the state of the Apostles 6. Third,they assert that they do not have the power of ownership ordominion even over their clothes and other things, but that Godalone is lord of their possessions 7. Such words echo the doctrineof the Spiritual party as found in the writings of prominentSpirituals such as Peter Olivi and Ubertino da Casale, as well asin the account of the inquisitor Bernard Gui 8. The phrase"highest poverty" was specifically associated with this group.Olivi, for example, in his De Usu Paupere, a foundational workfor Spiritual' Franciscans, repeatedly refers to the concept of"highest poverty", altissima paupertas. He also argues at length

5 « Beghardi qui seipsos nominant fratres de altissima paupertate dicunt etaffirmant se imitari vestigia Christi et tenere ewangelium. »: MS Vienna CVP4201,7r.

6 « Dicunt se nichil habere, nee in proprio nec in communi, et in hoc vitamsuam et modum vivendi preferunt statui apostolorum .• : ibid.

7 «Dicunt quod in vestimentis suis et in rebus aliis quibus utuntur nonhabent potestatem proprietatis aut dominii, nec aliquis est dominus suarumrerum nisi solus Deus .• : ibid.

8 PETRUSIOANNISOLM, De Usu Paupere, D. BURR,ed., Perth, 1992. AlthoughUbertino da Cas ale's opinion on the question of whether Christ and the Apostlesowned communal property seems to have changed during his lifetime, he followsOlivi in this regard in his early writings. See, for instance, Ubertino's response toClement Vs four questions in F. EHRLE, Zur Vorgeschichte des Concils vonVienne, in Archiv {ur Literatur- und Kirchengeschichte des Mittelalters, 3 (1887),p. 52: «Paupertas altissima est evangelica ex institutione Christi et nostreobligacione regule: est expropriativa, ita quod nichil nee in communi nec speciaIipossint sibi appropriare ... ». BERNARDGUI, Practica officii lnquisitionis hereticepravitatis, G. MOLLAT,ed. and trans., Manuel de l'Inquisiteur, Paris, 1964, p. 118:« Illi qui a vulgo Bequini nominantur ... se credere et tenere quod DominusJhesus Christus, in quantum fuit homo, et ejus apostoli nichil habuerunt inproprio nee etiam in communi, quia fuerunt perfecti pauperes in hoc mundo ».

According to Gui, the Beguins also adhered to usus pauper, a concept expoundedby Olivi and Ubertino. Ibid., p. 120. Best on details of Spiritual Franciscanbeliefs is D. BURR,The Spiritual Franciscans: From Protest to Persecution in theCentury after Saint Francis, University Park, Pennsylvania, 2001.


that Christ and the Apostles owned property neither personallynor communally, and maintains the Spiritual position thatFranciscan brothers may have no ownership or dominion overgoods or property, including items for everyday use 9. Of course,at the time that Oliviwas writing, these opinionswere upheld bythe entire Franciscan Order. Itwas only in 1323 that John XXIIdeclared heretical the beliefs that Christ and the Apostles ownednothing privately or in commonand had no right to use, sell, orexchange the things that they had. At that point, these beliefsbecame the exclusive property of the heretical FranciscanSpirituals 10.

The remarkable conjunction of these two disparate sources -the martyrology and the Treatise - allows us to conclude withcertainty that at least some of the heretics burned in Metz wereBeguins who had flown from persecution in Southern France.Nevertheless, other mysteries still remain with regards to thecontents of the Treatise and what these contents can tell usabout the experiences and interactions of the Beguins once inMetz.

THE MANuSCRIPT

The Treatise on the Beghards is known to exist in only onemanuscript, MS 4201, of the Austrian National Library inVienna 11. The manuscript, which contains several works onheresy, once belonged to Leonardus Huntpichler (t1478), a

9 PETRusIoANNlSOLM,De Usu Paupere cit., see particularly pp. 93, 94, 114, 119.10 Cum inter nonnullos, in J. TARRANT, ed., Extravagantes Iohannis XXII,

Vatican City, 1983, pp. 255-57.11The manuscript is inadequately described in Tabulae codicum manu scriptorum

praeter graecos et orientales in Bibliotheca Palatina Vindobonensi asservatorum,vol. 6, Vienna 1864-1899, repr. Vienna 1965, p. 199. A fuller description is C.HOECKER, ed., Disputatio inter catholicum et paterinum hereticum: die Ausein-andersetzung der katholischen Kirche mit den italienischen Katharern im


Viennese Dominican 12.Descriptions of the manuscript date it tothe year 1462, evidently on the grounds of a statement on thefirst folio that the book was bound in that year. Nevertheless,the hand of the treatise in question is a specimen ofwhat AlbertDerolez describes as "Cursiva Antiquior", a script which,according to Karin Schneider, followedby Derolez, can be datedto the second and third quarters of the fourteenth century 13. Asthis copy of the Treatise was hence produced at most a fewdecades after the trial, it appears that it was originally part ofan older manuscript and was rebound by Huntpichler in 1462 14.

By the time the surviving copy was made, the Treatise hadclearly traversed language realms. While the trial in Metz wasin all probability conducted in French by a French-speaking

Spiegel einer kontroverstheologischen Streitschrift des 13. Jahrhunderts, Florence,2001, pp. CXXIII-CXXIV.

12 I.W. FRANK, Leonhard Huntpichler O.P. (t1478) Theologieprofessor und Or-densreformer in Wien, inArchivum Fratrum Praedicatorum, 36 (1966),pp. 313-388.

13A DEROLEZ, The Paleography of Gothic Manuscript Books, Cambridge, 2003,pp. 133-34. K. ScHNEIDER, Paläographie/ Handschriftenkunde, Tübingen, 1999,pp. 59-62. The hand of the Tractatus exhibits several forms typical of "CursivaAntiqua", including a two-compartment "a", a short "g" in the shape of 8, and along Us"and "i", I am extremely grateful to Dr. Kar! UbI for his help in dating andidentifying the regional provenance of this hand.

14Hoecker indicates that folios 3·7 (which includes the Tractatus deBeghardis) are a unit written in the same hand. She concludes that this unit wasprobably inherited and bound into Huntpichler's manuscript. Nevertheless, theTractatus de Beghardis and the extract from Thomas Aquinas' De articulis fideiwhich precedes it are not written in the same hand. Hoecker also neglects tomention a small insert in still another hand. This insert, which refers to the lifeof St. Helena, mother of Constantine, is sandwiched between the end of theAquinas extract and the Tractatus de Beghardis. In the top margin of the secondpage of the Tractatus is a list of heresies written in another, approximatelycontemporaneous hand. The heresies named can be found in Augustine's DeHaeresibus, but the list is not copied directly from this work. Folios 3-7 contain,besides the Tractatus, other heresiological material, including, in order, theDisputatio inter catholicum et paterinum hereticum, the bull of Gregory IX,Excommunicamus et anathematizamus (X 5.7. 15), and the Compilacio magistriThome de Aquino sive pars prior opusculi de articulis fidei.


inquisitor, the orthography of certain words in the survivingcopy of the Treatise, especially the use of the letter "WH instead of"v", for example, as in "serwus" for "servus", reveals that thiscopy comes from a German-speaking region. In addition, once, atthe end of the report, the scribe substitutes the spelling"pechard" for "beghard", a use which points to composition inSouthwestern Germany - Bavaria or Austria. Thus, a certainamount of corruption occurred in the transmission of thisdocument. This can also be seen in occasional scribal errors,such as a missing negative which reverses. the meaning of asentence 15. Moreover, it is possible that the title of the treatiseitself, and the Arabic numerals in the margin which number theheretical errors, 'may be later additions.

Although the Treatise on the Beghards was published by IgnazvonDöllingerin1890,unfortunately Döllinger'sedition is abysmal 16.

A large number of transcription errors and unwarranted libertiesappear throughout, often altering the meaning of the text.Döllinger also misread the numerals provided by the scribe forthe date of the trial, giving the date 1334, when in fact the reportstates that the trial occurred in 1337. Most extraordinarily, heomitted the entire final paragraph of the text without comment.The first, and vastly longer, part of the report, which was editedby Döllinger, closes with the place and date of the trial.Nevertheless, a second part follows which is written in the samehand. This new paragraph concerns a different heretic, describedas being of the "Free Spirit". The text explicitly connects the twoheresy cases, commenting that the two types ofheretics refuse totestify against each other. At the end of the second part appearthe words "Explicit tractatus de erroribus (to which a later hand

15 For example: «Item dicunt quod -cnulli» iudici ecclesiae clericali velseculari est revelandum illud de quo aliquis sacramentaliter est confessus eciamsi sit publicum et notorium »:MS Vienna CVP 4201, 7r.

16 I. VON DÖLLINGER, Beiträge zur Sektengeschichte des Mittelalters, vol. 2,Munich, 1890, pp. 403-406.


adds pechardorum)". Due to Döllinger's omission, the heretic ofthe last paragraph has not yet entered the historical record. The"Free-Spirit" portion of the Treatise deserves independentconsideration. Here it is enough to note that the heretic's nativecity, Toulouse, offers further evidence of the link betweensouthern France and the heretics burned in Metz 17.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

Having ascertained that Beguins were present at the trial,there remains the question of how to interpret the rest of theTreatise. Historians have been unable to deal adequately withthis material due mainly to the unusual nature of the source,which cannot be read item by item as a straightforward list.When read in this manner, the contents of the treatise appear tobe a jumble ofvarious heretical ideas. Indeed, the fewhistorianswho have dealt with the Metz case have been disoriented by theseeming variety of errors listed in the report, attributing themvariously toWaldensians, "Free Spirits", or beghards.

The French student of German mysticism, Henri Delacroix,was the first to refer to the heretics tried in Metz, not long afterDöllinger's publication 18. He was also the closest to discoveringthe Beguin character of the opening tenets, clearly remarkingtheir resemblance to Spiritual Franciscan ideas and to theSpiritual stance in the controversy between John XXII and

17 « Est aliud genus beghardorum, et isti nominant se de libertate spirituscontra quos in conciIio Vienensi facta est decretalis sub tytulo "de hereticus" "adnutum nostrum", et ibidem enumerantur et condempnantur viii errores etquantum coligitur ex confessionibus eorum qui fuerunt examinati in civitateMetensi fuit quidam nomine Gallenius de Tholosa. Hie fuit de secta eorum quifamant se de libertate spiritus. ~:MS Vienna CVP 4201, 7v.

18 H. J. DEIACROIX, Essai sur le mysticisme speculatif en Allemagne au quatorziemesiecle, Paris, 1900, pp. 114-17.


Franciscan leadership. However,he was still convincedthat theheretics burned in Metz were beghards, in his opinion relativelyorthodox beghards at that, with no trace of the Free Spiritheresy. He further concludedthat these particular beghards hadsome affinity with Waldensians and had adopted some of theWaldensians' literal-minded approach to the Gospels 19.

It appears to have been half a century before anyonementioned the heretics burned in Metz again. The East-GermanMarxist scholars Martin Erbstösser and Ernst Werner were thenext to refer to them in their bookon "the social roots ofthe FreeSpirit Heresy" 20. Erbstösser and Werner found traces of thisheresy in the Treatise, claiming that mendicancy was thedistinguishing mark of the Brothers and Sisters of the FreeSpirit. Robert Lerner in his reconsideration of the Free SpiritHeresy took the opposite stance, arguing that the Metz hereticswere in fact non-heretical beghards, and that their executionsshowed "that beghards could be persecuted for their unlicensedapostolic conduct and organization without their havingsubscribed to the heresy of the Free Spirit" 21. Lernet alsoeffectively captured the difficulty of placing the Metz hereticswithin a category, noting that several of their beliefs seemedcharacteristically Waldensian, such as their refusal to takeoaths and their condemnation of the taking of human life, butthat their organization and their practice of begging seemedtypically beghard.

Gordon Leff also mentioned, though briefly, the heretics inMetz, and he too judged that they possessed both beghard andWaldensiancharacteristics.However,Leffmistakenly saw beghard

19 DELACROIX,Essai sur le mysticisme speculatif cit., pp. 114-17.20 M. ERBSTÖSSER - E. WERNER, Ideologische Probleme des mittelalterlichen

Plebejertums: Die freigeistige Häresie und ihre sozialen Wurzeln, Berlin, 1960,

pp. 62-74.21 R. E. LERNER, The Heresy of the Free Spirit in the Later Middle Ages,

Berkeley, 1972, p. 51.


traits in the report's statement that they "claim to be in thehighest state ofpoverty, followingthe example ofthe Apostles inhaving not even their tunics for their own",beliefs that actuallyexpress their Beguin identity 22. The remaining items of theTreatise he attributed with very little analysis, to the Waldensians,noting a similar characteristic in the inquisitor John Wasmod ofHomburg's Contra hereticos Bekardos, Lulhardos et Swestriones,which mistakenly labels Waldensian beliefs and practices asbeghard.

Finally, Alexander Patschovsky referred to the heretics atMetz. Patschovsky's observations on the subject were laconic,but in a footnote to an article on the persecution of Strassburgbeguines, he correctly dated the examination to 1337 ratherthan 1334, indicating that he had examined the manuscriptcontaining the Treatise. Furthermore, his intimation that Lernerwas unlucky in his choice of Metz as an example of beghardpersecution suggested that he was aware of a different possibleidentity for the heretics and also that he had read the final,unpublished paragraph ofthe report 23.

THE INQUISITOR

We have varying degrees of information regarding the keyparticipants for the 'prosecution'. There is strong reason tobelieve that we can identify the inquisitor at the trial, named inthe Treatise as Brother "Garinus" of the Dominican Order. Heappears to be the Parisian theologian, Garinus de GiacoO. P. 24

Garinus de Giaco read the Sentences in Paris in 1328-9, waslicensed as DoctorofTheologyin 1333,and ultimately advanced

22 G. LEFF, Heresy in the Later Middle Ages, vol. 1,Manchester, 1967, pp. 361-63.23 PATSCHOVSKY, Strassburger Beginenverfolgungen cit., p. 117, n. 152.24 On him see T. K.u;PPELI, Scriptores Ordinis Praedicatorum, vol. 2, Rome,

1975, pp.IO-H.


to the position of master general of his order 25. As Dominicantheological regent master at Paris from 1336-37,Garinus was anobviouschoiceto be summonedtoMetzforhis theologicalexpertise,inwhich case he would have specifically been called in by thebishop, as he was not a papal inquisitor on circuit. If Garinus deGiacowas indeed the inquisitor at this trial, then we can assumethat not only was he well-acquainted with theological disputesand the concerns of the Church, but that he had access toinquisitorial material from a variety of sources. The bishopreferred to in the treatise can also be identified, as Ademar deMonteil26• He appears to have had ties to the papacy, as he wasappointed in 1327by John XXII,who had recently been activelyengaged with the city 27. It seems probable that Ademar deMonteil was responsible for initiating the heresy trial. Verylittle can be ascertained about the author of the Treatise.Because the Treatise seems to report testimony and events fromthe trial, we can assume that the author was present at theseproceedings. It is unlikely, though, that the author was theinquisitor himself, for the work lacks the scholastic approachone might expect from a Dominican theologian.

THE TREATISE

Without a doubt, a cloud of confusion has surrounded theseheretics. Even now that we can say with confidencethat at leastsome of their beliefs were in fact Spiritual Franciscan, the other

25 H. DENIFLE,Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis, vol. 2, Paris, 1891, pp.312 (#876), 462 (#1000), and Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum PraedieatorumHistoriea, vol. IV, pp.172, 186, 242; vol. XVIII, p. 16. I am very grateful toProfessor William Courtenay for his help in clarifying the various stages oftheological advancement at the University of Paris.

26 K. EUBEL,Hierarehia Catholiea Medivii Aevi, vol. 1, Regensburg, 1898,reprinted Regensburg, 1960, p. 338. See also J. SCHNEIDER,La ville de Metz auxXlII etXN siecles,Nancy, 1950, p. 299.

27 G. THIRIOT,La Cathedrale de Metz - Les Epitaphs, Langre, 1928. SCHNEIDER,La ville de Metz cit., pp. 464-67.


items listed in the report must still be explained. If, as appearsto be the case, a group of Beguins from Southern France stoletheir way north in an attempt to pass beyond inquisitorial reach,why did they choose Metz? Who was there to aid them? Whathappened to them once they arrived? Did they become involvedwith other kinds of heretics? If so, what kind? We must turn tothe Treatise itself and its remaining contents, in order to learnmore about the heretics tried in Metz.

Aß we saw above, while the report never identifies them assuch, it begins by recording Beguin ideas. The phrase "highestpoverty"and the accompanyingconceptsofholdingpropertyneitherindividually nor in common,and ofowningnot even one's clothes,were unique to the Spiritual Franciscan interpretation of theGospels. However, beyond these first items, the Treatise doesnot make any clear reference to Beguin beliefs or practices. Oneof the reasons that the identity of the heretics in Metz has beensohard to pinpoint is that after the first three items, the Treatisemakes an abrupt transition in both content and style. These firstitems, for example, all begin with the word "dicunt", "they say",and present assertions which the heretics appear to have madeduring their trial. But the fourth item does not begin with a"dicunt", and is instead a description of the heretics' behavior,not during the trial, but in their everyday lives. This shift isstriking, and a reading of the rest of the items quickly revealsthat the Treatise continues to jump back and forth betweenreporting the heretics' statements and providing descriptions oftheir behaviorand manner ofliving.Yet another transition appearsnear the end of the Treatise. At this point, while continuing todescribe heretical behavior, the items begin implicitly to narratethe immediate events of the trial and the moments leading up tothe execution. These different types of information all jumbledtogether in one treatise indicate that it is a unique type ofdocument, one which is playing several roles at once. It musttherefore be examined in a unique way. Consequently, I havechosen to tease apart the different strands and examine eachone separately, rather than review the items in their given

RECONSIDERING A FOURTEENTH-CENTURYHERESY TRIAL IN METZ 199

order. As will be seen, this method provides greater clarity, andallows us to draw certain conclusions about the nature of theheretics tried in Metz.

Let us begin with the assertions, which are usually disting-uishable because they contain words such as "dicunt"and "affirmant"(they say or they affirm). I have already examined and verifiedthe trustworthiness of the first assertions, which show the hereticsavowing distinctly Beguin ideas. The reliability ofthese statementssuggests that the other assertions also accurately representwhat the heretics actually said during their examination.

The Treatise next tells us that several ofthe accused assertedthat one must not kill, "even to execute justice against robbers,murderers, heretics, or other evil-doers" 28. This is followed by adescription of the unwillingness of those under examination toexpose their companions, motivated by their belief "that they sinmortally if they say anything which causes another to sufferharm" 29. The report links this refusal to testify against otherswith another "evil", the unwillingness to swear, and specificallyto swear to the truth of a statement made during questioning.According to the Treatise, these heretics did not follow thestandard glosses and expositions of the saintly doctors, butinstead interpreted the Gospels as dictating "that one ought notswear with his hand on the Gospels in order to affirm the truthof a statement" 30. The heretics understood the words of the

28 " Item plures ipsorum dieunt quod non est occidendum in quocumque casu eciampro justicia contra Iatrones, homicidas, hereticos et alios maleficos exequenda .• :MS Vienna CVP 4201, 7r-v.

29 "Item quando ipsi examinantur nullo modo volunt complices revelaredicentes quod ipsi crederent se peccare mortaliter si ipsi dicerent aliquid undealius aliquid mali pateretur, .: ibid., 7v.

30 " Item cum dicat decretum quod hereticus est qui aliter sacram scripturamexponit quam spiritus sanctus eftlagitat (C. 24, q. 3, c. 27; FRIEDBERG 1, 997-98),isti exponent verba ewangelii de iuramento contra glosas ordinaries etexposiciones sanctorum doctorum quorum dicta ab ecclesia Bunt approbata. Itemex ista mala radice affirmant quod pro quacumque veritate affirmanda non


Gospels literally, interpreting Matthew's "let your words be onlyyes, yes, or no, no" and James' "do not swear on heaven or onearth" as injunctions against all forms ofoath-taking.

Bernard Gui appears to have encountered similar beliefsamong Beguins. In his Practica, he notes that the defendants"say that they, the Beguins... are not required to take oath beforeprelates and inquisitors in regard to anything but the faith andthe articles of faith, even though they have been brought toanswer charges before them concerning the sect and heresy ofthe Beguins" 31. This statement implies that the Beguinsexamined by Gui refused to give away any details of their orderwhich might aid him in the capture of others, although theywere willing to answer regarding their beliefs. He specificallycomplains about this reticence, observing that "they say they arenot obliged to take oaths or to expose or reveal under oath theirbelievers, accomplices,or associates, for this, they assert, wouldrun counter to love of one's neighbor and would tend to injurehim" 32. Conceivably,then, the account provided in the Treatisedescribes exactly the same situation encountered by Gui:Beguins who would not swear or injure one another with theirtestimony. However, many historians (including Delacroix,Lerner, and LeID maintain that this section of the report

debent iurare supra sancta dei ewangelia manu tacta allegantes illud ewangeliisit sermo vester est est non non (Matt. 5:37) et illud nolite iurare neque per celumnequeper terram (James 5:12). -: ibid., 7v.

31 "Item, dicunt quod ipsi Bequini seu Pauperes de tertio ordine nontenentur jurare coram prelatis et inquisitoribus, quamvis delati sint de secta etheresi Bequinorum ad respondendum eis, nisi solum de fide aut de articulisfidei. », I use the English translation of W. L. WAKEFIELD - A. P. EVANs,eds.,Heresies of the High Middle Ages: Selected Sources, New York, 1991, p. 421.MOLLAT, Manuel de l'Inquisiteur cit., p. 136.

32 WAKEFIELD _ EVANs,Heresies of the High Middle Ages cit., p. 421. MOLLAT,

Manuel de l'Inquisiteur cit., p. 136: " Item, dicunt quod non tenentur jurare neejuramento possunt aut debent obligari, quod suos credentes et complices autconsortes detegant aut revelent, quia, ut dicunt, hoc esset contra caritatemproximi et in dampnum ejus. »,


presents heretical beliefs which were common to Waldensians. Arefusal to take any kind of oath, for instance, reflects standardWaldensian practice, as does a staunch opposition to the deathpenalty - both of these stemming from a literalist interpretationofthe Gospels 33. This marks the first of a number of items whichcould be interpreted as evidence ofWaldensian inclinations.

A succeeding group of "affirmations" reveals the attitudeswhich the heretics held towards the Church. In spite of theirprecarious position, the accused stood firm in their beliefs. Theyrefused to credit anyone who spoke contrary to the dictates oftheir consciences, whether he was "a mortal creature" or "one ofthe saints of paradise" 34. They denied the authority of the Popeto excommunicate them 35. They insisted that they must notobey any prelate of the church who told them to act contrary tothat state which they had assumed and in which they lived, norshould they obey the Pope or anyone else who required them toact contrary to the dictates of the Gospels 36. By such avowals,the author ofthe treatise observes, the accused heretics repudiatedecclesiastical jurisdiction and denied that the Church had thepower of the keys of St. Peter to bind and loose souls 37.

These statements could also have been made by a group ofBeguins, as we can see in the attitudes which Bernard Gui

33 Among copious evidence for Waldensian rejection of killing and swearingoaths, see P. BILLER,Medieval Waldensian abhorrence of killing pre-c. 1400, inBILLER,ed., The Waldenses, 1170-1530,Aldershot, Great Britain, 2001, pp.Sl-95,and E. CAMERON, Waldenses, Rejections of Holy Church in Medieval Europe,Oxford, 2000, pp. 34,103,105-07,115-16,139.

34 « Item dicunt et affirm ant [MS: affirmatJ quod ipsi non tenentur debent-cnec> alicui credere contra conscienciam suam nee creature mortali nec sanctisparadisi. »:MS Vienna CVP 4201, 7r.

35 « Item quod ipsi non possunt excommunicari a papa seu a quocumque aliocontra conscienciam suam. ": ibid.

36 « Item quod ipsi non tenentur obedire alicui prelato ecclesie contra statumilium quem assumpserunt et secundum quem vivunt, dicentes quod contraewangelium nec pape nec alteri debent obedire. »: ibid.

37 «In predictis et pluribus alijs eorum verbis de facto apparet quod ipsibeghardi claves ecclesiae et ecclesiae jurisdicionem contempnunt. ": ibid.


relates in his Practica. Gui writes that the Beguins resolutelydenied the ability of the Pope to excommunicate them, believingas they did that the Church had itself become heretical. So longas the pope remained in a state of heresy, they felt that he hadlost his authority to bind and loose. They also maintained thatthey couldnot violate their vows ofpoverty, chastity, and obedience(whether simple or "solemn"), even at the dispensation of thepope. Similarly, the Friars Minor were not obligated to obey thepope ifhe altered the rule of St. Francis regarding poverty, "noteven under pain of excommunicationfor disobedience,because suchexcommunication would be unjust and would bind no one" 38.

However, such opposition to the Church was in fact espousedby medieval heretics of many different stripes. Among these,Waldensian believers again stand out as vociferous critics of theChurch and its officials and vigorous defenders of their owninterpretation of the Gospels. Indeed, in his Practica, BernardGui provides a very similar description of Waldensians, tellingus that "the foolish followers and impious teachers of this secthold and teach that they are not subject to our lord pope, theRoman pontiff' and that "they declare positively that theycannot be excommunicated by the said Roman pontiff andprelates, to none of whom ought obedience be given should heenjoin or command the members of this sect to desert and abjureit" 39.

38 W AKEFlELD - EVANS, Heresies of the High Middle Ages cit., p. 416. MOLLAT,Manuel de l'Inquisiteur cit., p. 122: « nee aliquis frater Minor aut aliquis aliusteneretur obedire eidem in predictis, quantumeumque preeiperet alicui autetiam exeommuniearet non obedientem sibi, quia talis excommunicatio essetinjusta et aliquem non ligaret. », See also WAKEFIELD - EVANS, pp. 415-420; MOLLAT,pp. 118-134.

39 MOLLAT,Manuel de l'lnquisiteur eit., p. 38: «Istius itaque seete deviisectatores et prophani professores tenent et dogmatizant se non esse subjeetosdomino pape seu Romano pontifici nee aliis prelatis Romane eeclesie, asserentesquod Romana ecclesia eos injuste et indebite persequitur et eondempnat. Item,asseverant se non posse exeommunicari ab eisdem Romano pontifice et prelatis


The next set of assertions is rather more unusual. In these,the heretics declared that what was told in confession shouldnever be revealed, even to a judge, maintaining that someone whodid disclose the secrets of confession sinned mortally 40. This, ofcourse, was not heresy. Whether a priest could reveal what wasconfessed to him regarding heresy was already a disputed issuewithin the Church at this time, with important canonists andtheologians taking either side 41. The question was also debatedat universities and would therefore have been familiar to theParisian theologian and master Garinus de Giaco. In practicemany priests did feel compelled to disclose heretical tendenciesheard in confession. Perhaps this was how the heretics had beenexposed, which would explain their outspokenness on the subject.

The statements regarding confessionare the last ofthe heretics'direct assertions. While they defy a definitive interpretation,these items suggest the possibility that Waldensian as well asBeguin beliefs may have been expressed during the trial inMetz. Certainly, the typical Waldensian traits of refusing to takeoaths and of opposing the death penalty seem to point towardsthis conclusion. However, what the inclusion of these beliefs inthe trial record implies about the heretics in Metz requiresfurther examination.

nee esse obediendum alicui ex eisdem precipienti seu mandanti sectatoribus etprofessoribus dicte secte quod ipsam deserant et abjurent ... », WAKEFIELD- EVANs,Heresies of the High Middle Ages cit., p. 388_

40 « Item dicunt quod [milli] iudici ecclesiae cIericaIi vel secuIari est revelandumillud de quo aliquis saeramentaliter est confessus eciam si sit publicum etnotorium. Nee est inteIIigendum quod ipsi dicunt quod confessor non debet iIIudquod audit in confessione revel are quantumcumque sit notorium eciam si fueritin iudicio super hoc requisitus. Item dicunt et affirmant quod nullus iudex secularisvel eccIesiasticus potest aIiquem compeIIere recognoscendum tale factumquantumcumque sit publicum vel notorium. Et quod si ad hoc recognoscendumcompeIIerent aliquem peccarent mortaliter »:MS Vienna CVP 4201, 7r.

41 The debate over the seal of confession is thoroughly described in D. ELLIOIT,Proving Woman, Female Spirituality and Inquisitional Culture in the LaterMiddle Ages, Princeton, 2004, pp. 26-28, 31-43.


It is interesting to note as we turn to the descriptive items inthe treatise that we again find hints of what could beWaldensian traits. Nevertheless, the descriptive items are thehardest to categorize, perhaps because they are the least likelyto pertain directly to the heretics on trial. Indeed, it is difficult toimagine that the descriptive material emerged from directtestimony, as it would not have been immediately relevant. Forexample, a heretic's position on oath-taking would have becomeapparent, since he would have been asked to swear to the truthofhis statements. Less likely to comeout in the trial, though notimpossible, were details of his life such as the fact that he wentdown on bended knee in order to gain admission to the order.This is especially true of the Metz trial, since the author of theTreatise tells us that the heretics who were burned refused tocooperate or to confess, suggesting that they revealed only themost minimal information to their inquisitor. Moreover, whenwe compare the descriptions found in the Treatise with otherknown sources on heresy, we find noticeable similarities. Ittherefore seems likely that many or all of the descriptive itemswere borrowed from other sources which are no longer extant.Although it is impossible to determine exactly what thesesourceswere, we can still gain a greater picture of the heretics inMetz by examining the descriptive items alongside othercontemporary descriptions ofheretical practices. In this way, wecan form a clearer impression of what the author intended toconveyabout the heretics he described.

From the first descriptive item in the Treatise, the practicesare difficult to categorize. It begins by relating that some of theheretics live together in houses (domus). This much could havereferred to Beguins, who generally resided in their own homes,but sometimes lived communally in what they called "houses ofpoverty" 42. Bernard Gui claims that such houses served as

42 MOLLAT, Manuel de l'lnquisiteur cit., p. 114: « Bequini itaque predicti habitantesin villis et castris habent mansiunculas in quibus aliqui simul cohabitant et easappellant domos paupertatis tali suo vocabulo usitato. ".


meeting places, where the occupants and those who dwelt inprivate homes gathered together for religious observances andtaught and read aloud to each other concerning their beliefs.However, such communal living was apparently uncommon, andthe followingdetails of their organization have no known parallelsinBeguin practices. Nor was such behavior generally characteristicofWaldensians, who lived mainly in private residences. For thisreason, historians have tended to identify this item as evidenceof beghard practices 43. Nevertheless, it was not unheard of forWaldensians to live in communal homes, and one particularsourcewhichmentions Waldensian communal livingbears a strikingresemblance to the account in the Treatise - the anonymous Devita et actibus, de fide et erroribus hereticorum qui se dicunt'Pauperes Christi' seu 'Pauperes de Lugduno' 44. The De vita etactibus not only describes Waldensians living in houses (domusor hospicia), but specifies that such houses could be found inGermany (Alamania), further substantiating the plausible connectionwith Metz 45.

The Treatise further states that one member of the group hadcharge of the house and "managed the alms which were given to

43 LERNER,Heresyof the FreeSpirit cit., pp. 50-51.44 While Gui's Practica is sufficiently well known, the De vita et actibus has

only recently come into the spotlight as the result of the research of Peter Biller.According to Biller it was written roughly in the first third of the fourteenthcentury, most likely in Southern France. For a full description, edition andtrani?lation of the De vita et actibus, see BlLLER,Fingerprinting an AnonymousDescription of the Waldensians, in C. BRUSCHl• P. BILLER,eds., Texts and theRepression of Medieval Heresy, Suffolk, 2003, pp. 163-207.

45 BILLER,Fingerprinting an Anonymous Description cit., 198-99: «Tercio,sciendum est quod predicti heretici in diversis Iocis, provinciis et regiminibushuiusmodi, tarn in Alamania quam in aliis partibus, commorantibus per domoset familias, duos vel tres in uno hospicio cum duabus vel tribus mulieribus, quassuas uxores esse fingunt vel sorores. », While the restricted sense of Alamaniarefers to the upper Rhine area, it is plausible that a person in Southern Francemight have used the term in a larger sense to mean the entire Germanic region.Indeed we have evidence of this usage in the Beguin martyrology, which placesMetz • in the region of Alamania »,


them and distributed them among the brothers as he saw fit" 46.

He was called by the others, "neither prelate, nor master, nor doctor,nor rector, but servant" 47. This use of a humble appellation forthe leader is rather unusual. It appears to resemble the customofbeguine houses, where the sisters referred to their mistress as"maid servant" or "Martha" (the less exalted sister of Mary).However, while such a description ofcommunal living might bringto mind beguine communities, we have reason to believe thatbeguines in Metz lived in their own homes 48. Furthermore,concerning the gender of the heretics on trial, we know that twowere men because their names are given in the martyrology, buthave no information on the others, who were simply referred toas "four other pauperes" 49. Therefore, the possible presence ofheretical lay religious women at the trial is entirely uncertainand the significance of the resemblance to a beguine communityis difficult to grasp. Itmight be that the author or the hereticsthemselves had heard ofand appropriated such an observance ofhumility. Or, alternatively, it may actually reveal a distinctstrand of heretical practice in Metz.

The Treatise next accuses the heretical brothers of travelingfrom various locations to yearly meetings "under the guise ofpilgrimage" or "under the cover of the chapter meetings of the

46 " Et ille serwus de elemosinis que dantur eis ordinat et distribuit inter eossicut sibi placet. »:MS Vienna CVP 4201, 7r.

47" Item ubi habent domos reguntur per unum quem non vocant prelatum velmagistrum seu doctorem neque rectorem sed serwum. »: ibid.

48 Alberic of Metz, a papal chaplain and canon lawyer, writes c. 1323, that"the prohibition of this constitution [Cum de quibusdam] does not extend to thebeguines of Metz, Verdun, and many other places in which they live in their ownhomes (per hoc apparet quod prohibicio istius constitucionis non extendit se adbeguinas metenses virdui et in pluribus Iods que in domibus propriis morantur) »,

E. MAKOWSKl, "A Pernicious Sort of Woman": Quasi-religious Women and CanonLawyers in the Later Middle Ages, Washington D.C., 2005, p. 36 (I owe thisreference to Robert Lerner).

49 MS Wolfenbüttel1006. The entry reads: .. in civitate de Metzo Albertus deClarentia, frater Molinarius, et iiii alii pauperes. ".


Orders of Preachers, Minors, and Hermits" 50. This passage ofthe Treatise is again usually interpreted as referring to beghards,based on sources which tell of wandering mendicants dressed aspilgrims or in clothing resembling that of the sanctioned religiousorders, and of such appearing at official chapter meetings 51.

Yet, while such beghard behavior was clearly similar to thatdescribed in the Treatise, it is in Waldensian sources that wefind the most substantial parallels. Concerning disguises, forexample, Stephen ofBourbon,writing in the mid thirteenth century,charged Waldensian heretics with wandering everywhere andconcealing themselves "under various disguises and occupations"52.Of one leader in particular, Stephen claimed, "sometimes hewore the garb and marks of a pilgrim, at others he bore the staffand irons of a penitent" 53. A late-thirteenth century treatise onheresy inGermany and Austria, the Peeudo-Reinerius, alsomentionsWaldensians masquerading as pilgrims, this time while visitingtheir heretical bishops in Lombardy 54.

Moreover, a number of sources, including Gui's Practica andthe De vita et actibus, inform us that these disguised Waldensians

50 « Item singulis annis pluries et in pluribus locis sub pretextu peregrinacionisvel sub pallio capitulorum Predicatorum, Minorum, aut Heremitarum congregantur. »:

MS Vienna CVP 4201.51 Beghard appearances at chapter meetings are described in LERNER,Heresy

of the Free Spirit cit., p. 43, and H. GRUNDMANN, Religious Movements in the MiddleAges, S. ROWAN,trans., Notre Dame, 1995, pp. 172-73, with footnotes 113-117.

52 STEPHANUSDE BORBONE,Tractatus de dioersis materiis proedicabilis,IV.vii.342, ed. A. LECOYDELA MARCHE,Anecdotes historiques, legendes et apologuestides du recuil inedit d'Etienne de Bourbon, dominicain du Xllleme siecle, inSociete de l'histoire de France, Publications, CLXXXV (Paris, 1887), pp. 290-92. Iuse the English translation of J. KIRCHNER- K. F. MORRISON,eds., MedievalEurope, in Readings in Western Civilization, 4, Chicago, 1986, p. 261.

53 KIRCHNER- MORRISON,Medieval Europe cit., p. 261.54See M. NICKSON,The Pseudo-Reinerius Treatise, the Final Stage of a

Thirteenth Century Work on Heresy from the Diocese of Passau, in Archivesd'histoire doctrinale et litteraire du moyen age, 34 (1967), pp. 255-314, p. 302:" Item peregrinari Roman [sic] et ultra mare dissuadent, tarnen ipsi se finguntperegrinari et ita Lombardiam intrantes visitant episcopos suos. »,


were traveling not to the chapter meetings of the approvedorders, as beghards were, but to their own chapter meetings,usually held in Lombardy or Provence. According to Gui, the"perfected" attended these meetings disguised as merchants.But the De vita et actibus depicts them differently, noting thatthe "full heretics celebrate a general council or chapter-general",and that the heretics traveling to this council "pretend that insomeway they want to visit the holy places of the Apostles Peterand Paul" 55. A later Austrian source describes these Waldensianmeetings as held "onmarket day in large cities where a crowd ofpeople come together, so that they may be hidden among thecrowd"56. Such a practice might easily correspond to meetingsheld at the same time and place as those of the approved orders,so that the heretics could be concealed among the crowd ofvisitors. It therefore seems likely that the meetings reported inthe Treatise were heretical rather than orthodox, possiblyperformed in the manner of the chapter meetings of theapproved orders as well as under the coverof them.

One other instance of heretics posing as pilgrims must bementioned. This vivid example comes very near to our story:when the two Spirituals carrying the Beguin martyrology wereapprehended in Montpellier, they were said to have beendisguised as pilgrims claiming to be on their way to Santiago deCompostela 57. Apilgrim's garb must have seemed an efficaciousdisguise for many sorts of surreptitious travelers. However, wehave no evidence that Beguins engaged in organized meetingslike those described in the Treatise.

55 BILLER,Fingerprinting an Anonymous Description cit., pp. 200-03: «celebrantconcilium vel capitulum generale ... et fingunt aliquo modo se velle apostolorum Petriet Pauli limina oisitare. »,

56 From a report on Austrian Waldensians written c. 1391, G. E. FRIESS, ed.,Patarener, Begharden und Waldenser in Österreich während des Mittelalters, inÖsterreichische vierteljahresschrift für katholische Theologie, 11 (1872), p. 258:«Deinde ducitur in concilium seu capitulum ipsorum, quod solet multitudopopuli convenire, ut et ipsi ibidem inter eum possint latitare. ".

57 PATSCHOVSKY, Strassburger Beginenverfolgungen cit., p. 110, n. 136.


Accordingto the Treatise, at these secretmeetings the convenedheretics assigned responsibilities for the management of theirprovisions (victualia) to those among them considered "morewise" 58_ The Treatise relates that the heretics conferred abouthowthey shouldrelinquishtheir homesand possessionsand wanderthe earth 59. They also discussedhowthey wouldvisit other houses"under the pretense of sanctity" and preach there "carefullychosen words of seduction" 60. Finally, the Treatise refers to theexclusivity of the leadership. Even among those who attended, aselect group often or so of the servants <theirword for leaders)made rules "part of which were not revealed to all, but only tosome considered more committed within the sect" 61. Thisdescription bears a number of similarities to the Waldensianchapter meetings described in the De vita et actibus, which alsorefers to the making of regional assignments, the distribution ofalms among household leaders, decisions about who shouldenter the order, and the exclusivity ofthe chapter meetings 62.

The writer of the Treatise next concerns himself with theanti-clericalism broadcasted at these heretical gatherings. TheTreatise claims that when the brothers convened, one preachedto the others, announcing that they had not been called togetherby the Roman Curia, or the pope, whose clergy pursued anddispersed them as much as possible. Instead, he said, the HolySpirit had brought them together, and they, not the religious

58 « Et in congregationibus suis per aIiquos paucos tarnen decem dumtaxatvel circa qui prudenciores inter eos reputantur reguntur quam ad victualia. »;

MS Vienna CVP 4201, 7r.59 "Item specialiter ibidem ordinantur qualiter procedendo per terram

seipsos gerere debeant et quaIiter domos suas seu diverticula relinquant .• ; ibid.60 "Et ad aIiorum domos sub specie simulate sanctitatis vadant. Et illis

exquisite seducionis verba predicunt aut proponent .• ; ibid.61 "Et huiusmodi magistri vocant serwos et decem vel circiter faciunt

ordinaciones secrete ad partem quas non revelant omnibus sed aliquibus quosreputant in secta sua magis confirmatos .• ; ibid.

62 BILLER, Fingerprinting an Anonymous Description cit., pp. 202-03.


orders, were the true imitators of Christ and observers ofevangelical poverty 63. Furthermore, he reports that the hereticsclaimed that it was well known that they differed from othercommunal associations of men in their way of living, theircustoms, their words and deeds, an assertion which implies thattheir ways were superior to the practices of the establishedreligious orders 64. Certainly, the Roman curia and its clergy, aswell as the official orders of the Church, were arrayed againstunauthorized groups dedicated to apostolicpoverty.And predictably,many such groups did react to the persecution of the Churchwith anti-clerical rhetoric and claims of superiority in theirimitation ofChrist and the Apostles.

Similarly rebellious attitudes appeared in many lay religiousgroups. For example, according to Bernard Gui, the Waldensiansteach that "they are not subject to our lord pope, the Romanpontiff, or to other prelates of the Roman Church, for they declarethe Roman Church persecutes and censures them unjustly andunduly" 65. Waldensians were certainly known to congregate andhear unlicensedpreaching. Indeed, suchwordscouldhave easilybeenspoken by the "perfect"when preaching at a clandestine gathering.

Finally, although these specificcomments have no direct Beguinparallels, the Beguins shared with other apostolic groups thenotion that the Roman Church had become corrupt and wasinferior to those practicing true evangelical poverty. Moreover,many Beguins had gone so far as to see in John XXII's persecutionof the Spiritual Franciscans the acts of the Antichrist announcingthe impending eschatological crisis. Their resistance to the

63 .. 'qualiter spiritus Dei nos congregat et surnus a spiritu sancto congregati ...' ":ibid.

64 .. Item notorium est quod ipsi begardi sunt a communi conversationehominum vita, moribus, sermone ac laboribus discreti seu differentes. »: ibid.

65 WAKEFIELD - EVANS, Heresies of the High Middle Ages cit., p. 388. MOLLAT,

Manuel de l'lnquisiteur cit., p. 114: .. tenent et dogmatizant se non esse subjectosdomino pape seu Romano pontifici nec aliis prelatis Romane ecclesie, asserentesquod Romana ecclesia eos injuste et indebite persequitur et condemnpnat. ".


Church was often couched in apocalyptic language and theirexecuted coreligionists viewed as martyrs. Bemard Gui saysabout them in his Practica, "they say that the prelates andinquisitors who judged and condemned them as heretics ... haveby this act become heretics" 66. He adds that they believe thatthe Beguins condemned as heretics "were glorious martyrs" 67.

By 1337John XXIIwas dead, but the defiant stance of the Beguinscould easily have allowed them to make such anti-clerical decl-arations.

The Treatise next details the rites ofentrance into a community. Itstates that when one wishes to assume the habit of the brothers,he goes before the others and, genuflecting, asks to be admittedto their society, declaring that he desires to be a "pauper". Fromthe leader, he receives the brothers' particular habit and offersall ofhis possessions to the group 68. The process of assuming thepoor life could also be done privately, for apparently some choseto adopt this life on their own and would only later join acommunity 69. Interestingly, the author of the Metz treatise slips

66 WAKEFIELD - EVANs,Heresies of the High Middle Ages eit., pp. 419-20.MOLLAT, Manuel de l'Inquisiteur eit., p. 114: «Item, dicunt quod prelati etinquisitores qui ipsos judicaverunt et condemnpnaverunt velut hereticos et etiamomnes illi qui eonsenserunt aut eonsentiunt scienter in eondempnationibuseorum ex hoc facti sunt heretiei ... ".

67 WAKEFIELD - EVANs,Heresies of the High Middle Ages cit., p. 418. MOLLAT,

Manuel de l'Inquisiteur eit., p. 128: • et ideo dieunt ipsos non fuisse heretieos, setcatholieos, et esse martires glorioses, ipsorumque implorant orationes etsuffragia apud Deum. »,

68 « Item quando primo assumunt habitum wegardicum modus eorum talisest quod iste qui vult assumere habitum venit ad preseneiam aliorum et genuflexo petit admitti ad societatem ipsorum dieens quod desideret esse pauper ettunc de manu illius qui maior reputatur inter eos reeipit mantellum seucaphardum vel alium habitum qui sibi datur. Et ipse qui habitum recipit sialiquid habet quod suum sit volumptati illius et aliorum exponit talis estcommuniter modus eorum. »:MS Vienna CVP 4201, 7r.

69 « Licet aliqui motu proprio ipsum habitum pro seipsos assumant quisocietati eorum postea coniunguntur. ": ibid.


at this point from describing the house leader as "servant" tocalling him "the one reputed more senior", a common appellationfound in sources on beghards and also Waldensians. This slipimplies that the author might have been borrowing from differentsources.

Indeed, this description has counterparts in other inquisitorialwritings. Robert Lerner has observed strong similarities betweenthe rite of entrance described in the Metz report and two Germansourcesoncommunitiesofpoorbrothers: an anonymous descriptionof"brothers of the poor life" and the confession of John of Brunnregarding a "domus pauperis" in Cologne, both of which wereedited by Wilhelm Wattenbach from a late fourteenth centurymanuscript in Greifswald 70. Little is known about the anonymousdescription, including its date and place of origin, but much ofJohn of Brunn's testimony has proved highly suspect 71. Theconfession of John of Brunn is also undated and could haveoccurred any time during the inquisitor Gallus de Novo Castro'slong career which lasted from 1335-1355. There is a slimpossibility, then, that news John of Brunn's confession mighthave reached the author in Metz, biasing his report.

When we compare the Metz Treatise with these two accounts,we find that they depict a similar household structure, althoughthe language used is not exactly the same. A similar position ofauthority appears in both the anonymous Greifswald accountand the testimony of John of Brunn under a more common title,in this case "procurator" (administrator) rather than "servant".The role of the "procurator" is elaborated in the Greifswald

70 LERNER, Heresy of the Free Spirit cit., pp. 49-51, 108-12. The sources areedited in W. WAITENBACH, Über die Secte der Brüder vom freien Geiste, inSitzungsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zuBerlin (1887), pp. 517-44.

71 For more on the issues surrounding John of Brünn's testimony, see A.PATSCHOVSKY, Gli eretici davanti al tribunale. A proposito dei processi-verbaliinquisitoriali in Germania e in Boemia nel XIV secolo, in La parola all'accusato(1991), pp. 252-67.

RECONSIDERING A FOURTEENTH·CENTURY HERESY TRIAL IN METZ 213

account, and it closely mirrors the "servant" in the Treatise: theperson who runs the house and who receives and distributes almscollected by the brothers.

Both the anonymous description in the Greifswald manuscriptand the account of John of Brünn also share elements of theentry process depicted in the Treatise. All three, for instance, tellof the initiate genuflecting before the brothers of the communityand asking for entry. The three sources also specify that theperson desiring entry spoke certain words, indicating that theysought a pauper's life. Both the Metz report and John of Brünn'sconfession refer explicitly to the entrant giving all hispossessions to the community. And finally, all three describe theentrant receiving a new garment from the leader as a symbol ofadmission.

All in all, the descriptive items in the Treatisegivethe impressionof a hybridized set of practices which do not fit one traditionalheretical category. Whether or not that impression applies to theheretics themselves, suggesting that a new strand of heresy hadappeared in Metz, is difficult to say. The impression may insteadbe the creation of the Treatise's author, who probably relied onother sources when writing these items. One thing that is clear,however, is that the descriptive items do not fit with a traditionalpicture of Beguin behavior. It also appears that previoushistorians have been too quick to classify certain of the describedpractices as beghard. In several cases these practices instead havesubstantial parallels with descriptions of Waldensians. Thedefinition of a beghard is in fact rather vague. If we considerbeghards to be men who pursued lives of evangelical povertyoutside the Church, either living in houses or wandering, then avariety of lay religious practices could be encompassed withinthe term. The contents of this Treatise make clear to us,however, that Waldensianism could also prove tricky to define,since certain groups appear to have lived contrary to thetraditional idea ofWaldensian practice (for example, the De vitaet actibus' description of Waldensians in Germany who livedcommunally rather than in individual houses). The descriptive


portion of the Treatise therefore leaves us with a ratherambiguous sense of the heretics in Metz. It also creates a senseof doubt regarding about the efficacy of traditional hereticalcategories in general.

The remaining items appear more straight forward. They areagain descriptions rather than assertions, this time referringnot to the everyday life of the heretics, but to their behavior attrial. Although the author does not present these items as directtrial record, he implies that they narrate the events whichoccurred in Metz, stating that "these things appeared manifestlyamong the heretics recently burned in Metz" 72. What we aretold creates a dramatic picture of their final moments.

Aß the Treatise has already related, the heretics refused toswear to the truth of their statements, and also refused to testifyto anything which might harm another, believing these to bemortal sins. The Treatise also states that the heretics resorted totricks to avoid taking oaths. Thus, the author claims that whenthey did agree to swear, the heretics either "pretended to swearwith the intention ofdeceivingthe judge who compelled them, orthey decided beforehand to swear to a certain number of oaths,as three or four (even then they lied), beyondwhich number theyrefused to swear at all, except fictitiously or in pretense" 73. Notonly that, but we learn that "even though they seem often toconfess sacramentally", the heretics "do not however confess toall the aforesaid items, because in these matters they do notbelieve that they sin" 74. In fact, according to the Treatise, the

72 « sicut apparuit manifeste in beghardis nuper in Metis combustis, »; MSVienna CVP 4201, 7v.

73 « Item si contingat eos iurare aut ipsi fiete iurant sub aliqua inteneionedeeipiendi iudieem qui ipsos iurare compellit aut si ipsi veraeiter iurantprestituunt sibi certum numerum iuramentorum puta tertium vel quattuor, ettunc ad interrogata respondent cum mendaeijs nee de talibus mendaeijseonseientiam faciunt sed ultra ilIum numerum prestitutum nullo modo iurant,nisi flete vel simulate. ": ibid.

74 «Item lieet ipsi videantur pluries sacramentaliter conflteri tarnen de


heretics did not wish to confess to their errors at all. Even whenimplored and offered numerous opportunities to confess, theydid not confess, although they saw that the moment ofexecutionwas imminent 75. Nor did they pray to the Virgin Mary or anyother saints. Nor did they cry out, entreating bystanders to prayfor them - all omissions which constituted further evidence oftheir "obstinate wickedness" 76. These items again might implythe presence ofWaldensian leanings among someofthe accused.I have already noted that a refusal to swear was ubiquitousamong Waldensians, and such tricks to avoid swearing werereported by more than one inquisitor. It was also common forWaldensians to refuse to pray to the saints and to repudiateconfession 77. Nonetheless, such refusal to swear oaths and totestify against their associates also occurred among Beguins, atleast according to Bernard Gui, as I discussed above. It is usefulto realize that such seemingly different heretical groups asBeguins and Waldensians held to such ideas and practices.

With the heretics' final refusal of confession and prayer, thecondemnatory list ends, stating that the above "articles" werediscovered in the examination of the beghard heretics burned inMetz in the year 1337 78. From this final trial description we see

predictis omnibus non confitentur quoniam in hiis non credunt se peccare ... ":ibid.

75 .. Item licet isti previderint se in articulo mortis, tarnen nunquam confiterivoluerunt dato quod ad hoc hortarentur eciam oblata eis copia confessionis. ":ibid.

76 .. Item in articulo mortis non fuit aliquis inter ipsos qui beatam virginemvel sanctos aliquos precibus invocaret, aut qui circumstantes ut pro ipsis orarentaliqualiter inplorarunt per quod probaverunt manifeste se in sua maliciaobstinatos. ": ibid.

77 On beliefs concerning saints, see CAMERON,Waldenses cit., pp. 3, 104, 133.Concerning confession, see ibid., pp. 34, 103, 105-07, 115-16, 132, 139.

78 .. Isti articuli inventi fuerunt in examinatione beghardorum hereticorumcombustorum in Meti per dominum episcopum Metensem et Fratrem GarinumOrdinis Predicatorum inquisitorem heretice pravitatis anno Domini MO.31.0.37°.»: MS Vienna CVP 4201, 7v. The Beguin martyrology is inaccurate


that the heretics burned were pertinacious, refusing to the lastto confess their errors. Thus, they remained resolutely silent,revealing only the essentials oftheir beliefs.

INDMDUAL HERESIES OR SYNCRETISM

If, as appears to be the case, a group of Beguins fromSouthern France stole their way north in an attempt to escapepersecution and were eventually caught and brought before aninquisitor, what is the meaning of the Waldensian and perhapsbeghard items included in the Treatise? How do we explain thepresenceofdifferentheretical ideas within oneinquisitorial report?In considering this issue, we cannot exclude the possibility thatthe author, presented with the confession of Beguin beliefs,extrapolated on his own, adding beghard and Waldensiandetails derived from other sources, or that the inquisitor placedsuch words in the mouths ofthe accused, although why he wouldhave invented such a strange mixture is unclear.

It is also difficult to explain what the author's motivationwould have been for inserting other heretical practices into areport on Beguins. Surely he would have realized that theheretics under questioning were such. Their confession ofSpiritual Franciscan tenets concerning the nature of apostolicpoverty must have declared itself rather obviously given therecentness of the controversy between the Franciscan Order andthe pope over just this issue. Their speech would have giventhem away as foreigners. And a pertinacious statement ofpurelyBeguin ideologywould have been more than enough to condemnthem to the fire.

Since the possible motivations for a falsified report can onlybe a matter ofconjecture, it is useful to have outside evidence, as

concerning the date of the trial in Metz, which it records as occurring under thereign of Pope John XXII, who died in 1334.

RECONSIDERING A FOURTEENTH·CENTURY HERESY TRIAL IN METZ 217

in the case of the Beguin martyrology, to compare with thecontents of the Treatise. Given the number of items in theTreatise which can be associated with Waldensian beliefs andpractices, one must therefore ask whether any other evidence ofthis heresy in Metz can be found. In fact, earlier traces of aWaldensian presence in the city do exist. One of these derivesfrom a letter written over a hundred years earlier, in 1199, sentby Pope Innocent III to the people of Metz, apparently inresponse to a complaint from the bishop 79. The letter is aboutheretical activities which appear to be Waldensian and havebeen identified as such by Herbert Grundmann and EuanCameron, among others 80. It describes "no small number oflaymen and women, drawn as it were, by a desire for theScriptures", who had had the Gospels and other religious bookstranslated into French. Innocent accuses them ofholding secretmeetings during which they preach to one another and of"making fun of the priests' simplemindedness". We hear from alater chronicler that some of the translated books were burnedby the abbots 81.

Another mention ofWaldensianism comes from Cesarius ofHeisterbach's Dialogue on Miracles written around 1220 82. Inthis account, Waldensians condemned in Montpellier hadtraveled to Metz, where they were recognized by the bishop.Inspired by the Holy Spirit, they began preaching to the peopleof the city. While the bishop and his clergy admonished these

79 Cum ex iniuncto: Letter of Innocent III to the people of Metz, in O.HAGENENDER - W. MALACZEK - A. A. STRNAD, eds., Die Register Innocenz' Ill, vol. 2,Rome and Vienna, 1979, pp. 271-275.

80 See CAMERON, Waldenses cit., p. 97, and GRUNDMANN, Religious Movementscit., pp. 42-4.

81 P. SCHEFFER·BOICHORST, ed., Chronica Albrici monachi Triuni Fontium, inM.G.H. Scriptores, XXIII (1874), p. 878.

82 J. STRANGE, ed., Caesarii Heisterbacensis dialogus miraculorum v.xx, vol. I,Cologne, 1851, pp. 299·300. English translation in WAKEFEILD- EVANs, Heresies inNorthern Europe cit., pp. 257·58.


men, "some important citizens encouraged them". Thus, thewriter concludes, "truly the men were sent by the spirit of error,and through their mouths the Waldensian heresy ... was sown inthis city and has not since been entirely extinguished" 83. Thesetwo pieces of evidence cannot be taken as proof that there werestill Waldensians in Metz a century later 84. However, given thefar reach of this heresy throughout Northern Europe, and theability of its adherents to go undetected for generations, it isvery plausible that Waldensians were still active in and aroundMetz 85.

Based on the items regarding communal life, we must alsoinvestigate the possibility that a community ofbeghards existedin Metz. In this case, no evidence appears for the presence of abeghard house in the city 86. The only evidence of beghards inthe area ofMetz is legislation promulgated in the ecclesiastical

83 Ibidem.84 Scholars continue to find manifestations ofWaldensianism in this general

region. See the recently published evidence for Waldensians burned in Clees in1280, C. THEVENAZMODESTIN- G. MODESTIN,Le supplice des vaudois aux CUes en1280 d'apres le temoignage d'une source comptable savoyarde, in SchweizerischeZeitschrift für Religions- und Kulturgeschichte, 99 (2005), pp. 239·249. It isinteresting to note, too, that beginning in 1247 Dominican friars of Besaneonwere responsible for combating heresy in Lorraine, including the diocese ofMetz.See THEVENAZMODESTIN- MODESTIN,pp. 244-45.

85As occurred, for instance, in Brandenburg, where the heresy survivedthrough several generations. See D. KURZE,Quellen zur KetzergeschichteBrandenburgs und Pommerns, Berlin, 1975, pp. 8, 39·40, 302-06.

86 In fact, historians present the time from the communal revolt in 1326-27 tothe invasion of the Bretons in 1360 as a period of calm, not one in which thecommunity was disturbed by heretical activity. The Dominicans had arrived inthe city quite early, founding a convent there in 1221, and several members ofthe leading families had joined the order. Closely associated with the Dominicanconvent was a small number of beguines (in 1316 there were sixteen), many ofwhom were the younger daughters of the city patriciate. Consonant with theirposition in the community, these beguines seem to have been completelyorthodox and never to have fallen under any suspicion of heresy. There is norecord that they lived communally, and they do not impress one as likely to have

RECONSIDERING A FOURTEENTH-CENTURYHERESY TRIAL IN METZ 219

province of Trier in 1310 which specifically discusses theactivities ofbeghards dressed in semi-religious clothing, beggingand teaching the Gospels 87, It is possible that such a groupmight have had a house, or houses, in Metz, which wentundetected. Since the descriptions regarding communal livingalso had similarities to Waldensian practices portrayed in theDe uita et actibus, and since they appear in the least reliablesection of the Treatise, we must leave open the question ofwhether actual beghards were involvedin this trial, or beghard-like practices were undertaken by other kinds ofheretics, or thebeghard items were simply insertions ofthe author.

TheWaldensian presence in the Treatise must be taken moreseriously. Given the strong likelihood that Waldensians wereactive in Metz, it is possible that a relationship existed betweenBeguins and Waldensians. If so, what sort of relationship?Because our sources are so scanty, we can only speculate. But acoupleofanswers doappear possible.

One is that there was no relationship at all. Possibly,members of a wholly independent group of Waldensians hadbeen discoveredand questioned at the same time as the Beguins,although the two groups had no connection. The martyrologylists six Beguins as having been executed, but the Treatise givesno number, leaving open the possibility that more than sixheretics were questioned, or even burned, though only six wereoriginally Beguins.

This premise seems to be strengthened by one line in theTreatise, which states that "many of the accused opposed thepenalty of death" 88. If many and not all opposed the death

aided or associated with Beguin escapees. See the classic work of J. SCHNEIDER,LaVille de Metz cit., pp. 378, 456-58.

87 LERNER, Heresy of the Free Spirit cit., pp. 67-8, from J. HARTZHEIM, ed.,Concilia Germaniae, IV, Cologne, 1759-90, p. 139 and P. FREDERICQ, Corpusdocumentorum inquisitionis haereticae pmvitatis Neerlandicae, I, Ghent, 1889-1906,pp. 154-55, #163.

88 « Item plures ipsorum dicunt quod non est occidendum in quocumque casu


penalty, then perhaps this is an indication that two separategroups of heretics with different beliefs were involved in theexamination. The idea ofa heterogeneous assemblage ofhereticsseems further strengthened by the second part of the report,concerning a single heretic from Toulouse. First, the appendingof another heresy trial to the Treatise suggests that a variedgroup might have been arrested and examined during the sameperiod of time. Second, the fact that a man from Toulouse wasfound in Metz uttering tenets associated with the radicalmysticism of the "Free Spirits" points to a high degree ofmixingamong heretics from different regions.

However, when the inquisitor recognized a different kind ofheretic, as he didwith the "Free Spirit", he recorded him as such.The fact that no such distinction was made in the first part oftheTreatise suggests that the group may not have been made up ofidentifiably different types of heretics, but may instead haveconsisted of one group whose original differences had becomeblurred. This in turn suggests a different explanation for theheterogeneity ofthe report's contents. Perhaps, after arriving inNorthern Europe, the Beguins had begun to assimilate with agroup ofWaldensians, so that their categorization was no longera simple matter. The most intense period ofBeguin persecutionin Southern France was from 1318to about 1327. If this group ofBeguins escaped during that time, then they had left theirhomes long before they were apprehended in 1337. Certainly,this would have given them enough time to acquire some newbeliefs. We have already had cause to observe some overlapsbetween the beliefs of Beguins and Waldensians regarding theChurch. Both groups felt that the current state of the Churchwent against the dictates of the Gospels. Both were comprisedmainly of lay-people, living in their own houses, working, andleading normal lives except for their religious practices. And

eciam pro iusticia contra latrones, homicidas, hereticos et alios maleficosexequenda. ,.:MS Vienna CVP 4201, 7r-v.


finally, they were both unorthodox religious associationspersecuted by Catholic authorities.

The report's mention of heretical chapter meetings actuallysuggests one possible way that Beguins from Southern France andWaldensians from northern Europe could have become involved.According to the De vita et actibus, a few Waldensian leadersfrom Germany journeyed annually to regions such as Lombardyor Provence in order to participate in these meetings. Possiblythe Beguins became connected with such an international web ofWaldensian travel and communication, and this allowed them toescape their homes and find shelter in Metz. This possibility isintriguing. While in Southern France, Beguins do not seem tohave engaged at all with other heretical groups. However, oncetheir own association had been successfully shattered by theChurch, their vulnerability and ever thinner connections tocoreligionists might have motivated them to adapt. In doing sothey might have adopted new heretical beliefs, which theycombined with their original principles.

Of course, with scanty evidence of the actual experiences ofthe Beguins once they left Southern France, a number ofscenarios, or combinations of scenarios can be imagined. It isimpossible to say with assurance which situation did occur andequally impossible to be certain about the veracity ofmost of theitems in the report. Lacking actual testimony, we cannot discernexactly what occurred at the trial. We do not know whatquestions were asked, and even if we did we would still beobliged to wonder how truthfully they were answered. In the endwe can only say that it appears possible that both Beguins andWaldensians were tried in Metz in 1337, either separately, or asa syncretistic group 89.

89 For a classic account ofWaldensian syncretism in Piedmont see G. MERLO'S

Sopravvivenze ereticali e nuovi fermenti eterodossi del trecento, Torino, 1976, andEretici e inquisitori nella societä piemontese del trecento, Torino, 1977.


CONCLUSION

As is evident from the number of discoveries hidden withinit, the Tractatus de Beghardis is an intriguing document _challenging because of its unusual combination of hereticalassertion and literary description, and valuable for what it addsto our knowledge of heresy in the fourteenth century. In thelatter regard it allows us to discern the presence of SouthernFrench Beguins at a Metz heresy trial, a discovery whichemphasizes not only the ability of these heretics to travel andcommunicate across great distances, but also the continuedexistence, albeit underground, ofa belief in the absolute povertyof Christ and the Apostles. In addition, the Treatise stronglypoints to the enduring presence ofWaldensians in Metz, wherethey may well have survived since the late twelfth century.Finally, the appearance of both Beguin and Waldensian beliefswithin the same trial description allows us to speculate aboutthe possibility ofsyncretism between the twogroups.


APPENDIX

Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, CVP 4201, f. 7r-v.The following edition adheres to the orthography of the manu-

script, but normalizes the punctuation and capitalization 90.

TRACTATUS DE BEGHARDIS

Beghardi qui seipsos nominant fratres de altissima paupertate di-cunt et affirm ant se imitari vestigia Christi et tenere ewangelium.

Item dicunt se nichil habere, nec in proprio nec in communi, et inhoc vitam suam et modum vivendi preferunt statui apostolorum.

Item dicunt quod in vestimentis suis et in rebus aliis quibus utun-tur non habent potestatem proprietatis aut dominii, nee aliquis estdominus suarum rerum nisi solus Deus.

Item ubi habent domos reguntur per unum quem non vocant pre-latum vel magi strum seu doctorem neque rectorem sed serwum. Etille serwus de elemosinis que dantur eis ordinat et distribuit intereos sicut sibi placet.

Item singulis annis pluries et in pluribus locis sub pretextu pere-grinacionis vel sub pallio capitulorum Predicatorum, Minorum, autHeremitarum congregantur. Et in congregationibus suis per aliquospaucos tarnen decem dumtaxat vel circa qui prudenciores inter eosreputantur reguntur quam ad victualia. Et huiusmodi magistri vo-cant serwos et decem vel circiter faciunt ordinaciones secrete ad par-tern quas non revel ant omnibus sed aliquibus quos reputant in sectasua magis confirmatos, sed ut verius dicatur obstinatos.

Item specialiter ibidem ordinantur qualiter procedendo per terrarn

90This edition has benefited greatly from a comparison with the workingedition givento Lerner byPatschovsky.


seipsos gerere debeant et qualiter domos suas seu diverticula relin-quant. Et ad aliorum domos sub specie simulate sanctitatis vadant.Et illis exquisite seducionis verba predicent aut proponant.

Item quis in eorum latibulis aut conventiculis debeat curam do-mesticam gerere aut presidere. Et ut illorum utar verbis quis debeataliorum serwus esse.

Item in predictis congregacionibus est conswetum quod eorum ali-quis qui magis reputatur inter eos dicit eis hec verba vel similia:"quis congregavit nos in loco isto? nam alie congregaciones reIigioso-rum que sunt in mundo fiunt per romanam curiam et papam, sed neepapa nee romana curia aut nunc degens ecclesia nos congregavit, nosenim videmus quod clerus curie romane subiectus nos persequitur,dispergit proposse et non congregat qualiter spiritus Dei nos congre-gat et sumus a spiritu sancto congregati".

Item dicunt contra religiosos quod religiosi non sunt veri imitato-re Iesu Christi et observatores ewangelice paupertatis [MS: pauper-tes] sicut ipsi.

Item notorium est quod ipsi begardi sunt a communi conversatio-ne hominum vita, moribus, sermone ac laboribus discreti seu diffe-rentes.

Item quando primo assumunt habitum wegardicum modus eorumtalis est quod iste qui vult assummere habitum venit ad presenciamaliorum et genu flexo petit admitti ad societatem ipsorum dicensquod desideret esse pauper et tunc de manu illius qui maior reputa-tur inter eos recipit mantellum seu caphardum vel alium habitumqui sibi datur. Et ipse qui habitum recipit si aliquid habet quod suumsit volumptati illius et aliorum exponit talis est communiter moduseorum licet aliqui motu proprio ipsum habitum pro seipsos as sum-mant qui societati eorum postea coniunguntur.

Item dicunt et affirm ant [MS: affirmatJ quod ipsi non tenentur de-bent alicui credere contra conscienciam suam nee creature mortalinec sanctis paradisi.

Item quod ipsi non possunt excommunicari a papa seu a quocum-que alio contra conscienciam suam.

Item quod ipsi non tenentur obedire alicui prelato ecclesiae contrastatum illum quem assumpserunt et secundum quem vivunt dicentesquod contra ewangelium nee pape nec alteri debent obedire.

Item dieunt si excommunicaciones sententia feratur in ipsos nisi(sjtatum suum dimittant talis excommunicacio nee tenenda est neetimenda. In predietis et pluribus aliis eorum verbis de facto apparetquod ipsi beghardi claves ecclesiae et ecclesiae jurisdictionem con-tempnunt.

Item negant [MS: dicuntJ quod iudici ecclesiae clerieali vel secula-


ri est revelandum illud de quo aliquis sacramentaliter est confessuseciam si sit publicum et notorium. Nee est intelligendum quod ipsidicunt quod confessor non debet illud quod audit in confessione reve-lare quantumcumque sit notorium eciam si fuerit in iudicio super hocrequiaitus.

Item dicunt et affirm ant quod nullus iudex secularis vel ecclesia-sticus potest aliquem compellere recognoscendum tale factum quan-tumcumque sit publicum vel notorium. Et quod si ad hoc recogno-scendum compellerent aliquem peccarent mortaliter.

Item plures ipsorum dicunt quod non est occidendum in quocum-que casu eciam pro iusticia contra latrones, homicidas, hereticos etalios maleficos exequenda.

Item cum dicat decretum quod hereticus est qui aliter sacramscripturam exponit quam spiritus sanctus efflagitat [C.24, q. 3, c. 27;Friedberg 1, 997-98], ipsi exponent verba ewangelii de iuramentocontra glosas ordinaries et exposiciones sanctorum doctorum quorumdicta ab ecclesia sunt approbata.

Item quando ipsi examinantur nullo modo volunt compIices reve-lare dicentes quod ipsi crederent se peccare mortaliter si ipsi dicerentaliquid unde alius aliquid mali pateretur.

Item ex ista mala radice affirm ant quod pro quacumque veritateaffirmanda non debent iurare supra sancta dei ewangelia manu tactaallegantes illud ewangelii sit sermo vester est est non non (Matt. 5:37) et illud nolite iurare neque per eelum neque per terram (James5:12).

Item si excommunicacionis sentencia contra eos proferatur inscriptis nisi iurent super ewangelia de veritate dicenda ipsi non repu-tant se excommunicatos nec obediunt sed obedire contempnunt.

Item si contingat eos iurare aut ipsi ficte iurant sub aliqua inten-cione decipiendi iudicem qui ipsos iurare compellit aut si ipsi veraci-ter iurant prestituunt sibi certum numerum iuramentorum puta ter-tium vel quattuor, et tunc ad interrogata respondent cum mendaciisnee de talibus mendaciis conscientiam faciunt sed ultra illum nume-rum prestitutum nullo modo iurant, nisi ficte vel simulate.

Item licet ipsi videantur pluries sacramentaliter confiteri tarnende predictis omnibus non confitentur quoniam in hiis non credunt sepeccare, sicut apparuit manifeste in beghardis nuper in Metis combu-stis.

Item si contingat quod cum aliqua instantia in iudicio requiranturut iurent super ewangelia de veritate dicenda respondent quod noniurabunt nisi sicut Christus iurauit amen amen dico (John 1:51), velvere vere dico (Luke 12:14), vel in veritate dieo (Luke 4:25).

Item licet isti previderint se in articulo mortis, tarnen nunquam


confiteri voluerunt dato quod ad hoc hortarentur eciam oblata eis eo-pia confessionis.

Item in articulo mortis non fuit aliquis inter ipsos qui beatam vir-ginem vel sanctos aliquos precibus invocaret, aut qui circumstantesut pro ipsis orarent aliqualiter inplorarunt per quod probaverunt ma-nifeste se in sua malicia obstinatos.

Isti articuli inventi fuerunt in examinatione beghardorum hereti-corum combustorum in Meti per dominum episcopum Metensem etFratrem Garinum Ordinis Predicatorum inquisitorem heretice pravi-tatis anno Domini milessimo trecentessimo triginta septimo [MSoM03to 37°].

Est aliud genus beghardorum, et isti nominant se de libertate spi-ritus contra quos in concilio Vienensi facta est decretalis sub tytulo"de hereticus" "ad nutum nostrum", et ibidem enumerantur et con-dempnantur viii errores et quantum coligitur ex confessionibus eo-rum qui fuerunt examinati in civitate Metensi fuit quidam nomineGallenius de Tholosa. Hie fuit de secta eorum qui famant se de liber-tate spiritus. Et ille tunc temporis latebat in metis et erat maximusheresyarcha. Iste in angulis et latibulis inter alios errores asserebatque secuntur:

Quod in deo cum sit unus, non pater non filius.Item quando deus creavit hominem non erat deus neque homo.Item quod homo potest pervenire ad talem perfectionem quod

<non> tenetur obedire deo nee cuique creature.Item homo ex quo pervenit ad talem perfectionem non debet orare

vocaliter sed solum mente adducens iIlud ewangelii veri adoratoresadorabunt patrem in spiritu et veritate (John 4:23).

Item quod in purgatorio non est ignis corporeus.Item quod actus camis non est peccatum.Item in confessionibus supradictis habetur quod beghardi de liber-

tate spiritus fundunt plures errores suos ex tali mala radice quia di-cunt quod voluntas humana est a deo et actus voluntatis humane esta Deo, ex consequenti concludunt quod nullus actus ab human a vo-luntate procedens potest esse malus quia a Deo est. Et inde est quodipsi dicunt quod si aliquis habet voluntatem occidendi aut fomicandiaut furandi sive quodcumque aliud facinus perpetrandi, ipse non pec-cat hoc faciendo immo peccaret si talem voluntatem opere non com-pleret quia tali voluntati resistendo resisteret deo a quo ipsa voluntasprocedit.

Et notandum quod beghardi de paupertate et pechardi de Iiberta-te spiritus mutuo se visitant et ad invicem frequenter colloquendum


habent non tarnen invenitur quod unus alium accuset libenter nisicoactus. Explicit tractatus de erroribus [added by later hand: pechar-dorum].

SUMMARY: Reconsidering a Fourteenth-Century Heresy Trial in Metz:Beguins and Others. - For over a century, scholars have known aboutthe Tractatus de Beghardis, a treatise which records information relatedto a heresy trial conducted in Metz in the 1330s. However, because ofthe unusual assortment of items contained in the Treatise, uncertaintyhas persisted concerning the nature of the heretics involved in the trial.Now, a new source, a Beguin martyrology discovered in Wolfenbüttel,reveals that some of the heretics on trial were Spiritual FranciscanBeguins from Southern France. Even with this new evidence, otherquestions still arise concerning the heretics tried in Metz. The Treatiseis a complex document, which both records events ofthe trial and generallydescribes the heretics' behavior and manner of living. Several of theitems within the Treatise do not seem typical of Beguins. In order toshed more light on the case, the Author must dismantle the Treatise,and re-examine its component pieces. From this re-examination, indicationsemerge that Waldensians may also have been present at Metz, and mayhave been part of the trial. Moreover, the items of the Treatise seem toimply that different kinds ofheretics - Beguins, Waldensians, and perhapsothers - may have been interacting and sharing ideas.

COURTNEY KNEUPPERNorthwestern University

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