Grand Inquisitor
In the 13th century, Pope Gregory IX (reigned 1227–1241) assigned the duty of carrying out inquisitions to the Dominican Order. They used inquisitorial procedures, a legal practice common at that time. They judged heresy alone, using the local authorities to establish a tribunal and to prosecute heretics. After 1200, a Grand Inquisitor headed each Inquisition. The most notorious at the start of the sixteenth century being the first of the Spanish Inquisition Tomas Torquemada. Grand Inquisitions persisted until the mid 19th century.
Read more about this topic: Inquisition
Famous quotes containing the word grand:
“There aren’t any good, brave causes left. If the big bang does come, and we all get killed off, it won’t be in aid of the old-fashioned grand design. It’ll just be for the Brave New-nothing-very-much-thank-you. About as pointless and inglorious as stepping in front of a bus. No, there’s nothing left for it, me boy, but to let yourself be butchered by the women.”
—John Osborne (1929–1994)