Mediæval Heresy & the Inquisition

This concise work opens a window onto the tangled world of medieval dissent, guiding listeners through the major doctrinal challenges that shook Christendom from the Carolingian era to the dawn of the Renaissance. Drawing on the latest scholarship, it offers a clear, readable survey of movements such as Averroism, Wyclifism and Hussitism, while keeping the focus on why the Church deemed them dangerous.

The author balances two long‑standing narratives: the ultra‑Protestant view of relentless ecclesiastical oppression and the Catholic apologetic tendency to downplay medieval intolerance. By showing how public opinion and clerical teaching reinforced each other, the book reveals a more nuanced picture of a society where Church and state were seen as a single entity.

Beyond doctrine, the text explores the early mechanisms of the Inquisition, illustrating how legal processes were employed to curb ideas that threatened the prevailing order. Listeners will come away with a richer understanding of how belief, power, and community intertwined in a pivotal era of Western history.