(i) The Pope appoints the Brothers Preacher to take charge of the Inquisition (see n. 53 to ch. XLI)

In April 1233 Pope Gregory wrote two letters to deal with the appointment of the Dominicans to take charge of the Inquisition in the South; the first (20 April) was addressed to the archbishops, bishops and other prelates in the kingdom of France and neighbouring provinces; the second (22 April) to Romeu de Llivia, the Provincial of the Order of Preachers in Provence. The text of the letters is taken from Y. Dossat, Les Crises, pp. 325-9.

After a conventional greeting each letter begins with a long very rhetorical passage (the wording is almost identical in the two letters) on the evils of heresy and the dangers of a resurgence of heresy despite the recently renewed strength of the true faith in the areas concerned (the letter to the prelates refers to ‘in the kingdom of France and neighbouring provinces’, the letter to the Provincial to ‘in Provinciae partibus’, ‘Provincia’ here presumably meaning ‘the South’).

The letter to the prelates then continues:

… we, having in mind that you, troubled as you are by the numerous storms of other tasks, are scarcely able to draw breath amongst the constraints of worldly cares, and believing that for this reason your burdens should be shared with others … have decided to dispatch the said Brothers Preacher to oppose the heretics … and we therefore request … you to receive them kindly and treat them honourably, out of respect for the Apostolic See and ourself, and provide them with advice, help and support so that they may perform the task entrusted to them without hindrance …

The letter to the Provincial continues:

… we therefore ask and urge … you to send some of the Brothers under your rule [men learned in the law of the Lord, whom you consider suitable for the task] to the areas within the limits covered by your authority (’ad partes tibi secundum tuum ordinem limitatas’) who after summoning the clergy and the people should enter on a preaching campaign [’generalem predicationem faciant’] such as they think will be most useful;