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Petrus Zwicker (died 1403) was an East Prussian Inquisitor and cleric of the Roman Catholic Order of the Celestines. Between 1391 and 1403, he led one of the largest inquisitorial operations in the German-speaking world. The victims of this persecution of heretics, in Austria, Pomerania, Brandenburg and Hungary, were almost exclusively Waldensians. The Inquisition records of this period are today only represented by a few fragments.
Petrus Zwicker came from Wormditt in East Prussia and worked in the North Bohemian town of Zittau till 1381 as school principal. In the same year he entered the nearby Celestine monastery at Oybin. By 1395 he was both Prior of the monastery and Provincial superior of the Celestines in Germany. As early as 1390 he was in charge of the persecution of heretics and from 1391 until his death in 1403 in Vienna presided over inquisitorial investigations that often took him on long journeys. [1]
The Celestines were a Roman Catholic monastic order, a branch of the Benedictines, founded in 1244. At the foundation of the new rule, they were called Hermits of St Damiano, or Moronites, and did not assume the appellation of Celestines until after the election of their founder, Peter of Morone, to the Papacy as Celestine V. They used the post-nominal initials O.S.B. Cel. The last house closed in 1785.
The Inquisition was a judicial procedure and a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, apostasy, blasphemy, witchcraft, and customs considered deviant. Violence, torture, or the simple threat of its application, were used by the Inquisition to extract confessions and denunciations from heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, but convictions of unrepentant heresy were handed over to the secular courts, which generally resulted in execution or life imprisonment. The Inquisition had its start in the 12th-century Kingdom of France, with the aim of combating religious deviation, particularly among the Cathars and the Waldensians. The inquisitorial courts from this time until the mid-15th century are together known as the Medieval Inquisition. Other groups investigated during the Medieval Inquisition, which primarily took place in France and Italy, include the Spiritual Franciscans, the Hussites, and the Beguines. Beginning in the 1250s, inquisitors were generally chosen from members of the Dominican Order, replacing the earlier practice of using local clergy as judges.
Nestorius was an early Christian prelate who served as Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to August 431. A Christian theologian from the Catechetical School of Antioch, several of his teachings in the fields of Christology and Mariology were seen as controversial and caused major disputes.
The Fraticelli or Spiritual Franciscans opposed changes to the rule of Saint Francis of Assisi, especially with regard to poverty, and regarded the wealth of the Church as scandalous, and that of individual churchmen as invalidating their status. The Fraticelli were declared heretical in 1296 by Boniface VIII.
Angelo da Clareno, also known as Angelo Clareno, was the founder and leader of one of the groups of Fraticelli in the early 14th century.
The Council of Vienne was the fifteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and met between 1311 and 1312 in Vienne, France. One of its principal acts was to withdraw papal support for the Knights Templar at the instigation of Philip IV of France. The Council, unable to decide on a course of action, tabled the discussion. In March 1312 Philip arrived and pressured the Council and Clement to act. Clement passed papal bulls dissolving the Templar Order, confiscating their lands, and labeling them heretics.
Bernard Gui, also known as Bernardo Gui or Bernardus Guidonis, was a Limousin Dominican friar, Bishop of Lodève, and a papal inquisitor during the later stages of the Medieval Inquisition.
Steyr is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd largest city in Upper Austria.
Joachim of Fiore, also known as Joachim of Flora, was an Italian Christian theologian, Catholic abbot, and the founder of the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore. According to theologian Bernard McGinn, "Joachim of Fiore is the most important apocalyptic thinker of the whole medieval period." The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri is one of the most famous works possibly inspired by his ideas. Later followers, inspired by his works in Christian eschatology and historicist theories, are called Joachimites. On June 27, 2024, Pope Francis, in his message for the World Day of Creation, quoted Joachim of Fiore as saying that he "Joachim was able to propose the ideal of a new spirit" and thus marks a turning point in history, as this had never happened before in more than eight centuries since the death of the Florensis monk.
Orneta is a town in northern Poland, with a total population of 8,951 (2016). It is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and within the historical region of Warmia.
Petrus Alphonsi was a Spanish physician, writer, astronomer and polemicist who was born and raised as a Jew and later in life converted to Christianity in 1106. He is also known just as Alphonsi, and as Peter Alfonsi or Peter Alphonso, and was born Moses Sephardi. Born in Islamic Spain, he mostly lived in England and France after his conversion.
The Huichang Persecution of Buddhism was initiated by Emperor Wuzong of the Tang dynasty during the Huichang era (841–845). Among its purposes was to appropriate war funds and to cleanse Tang China of foreign influences. As such, the persecution was directed not only towards Buddhism but also towards other religions, such as Zoroastrianism, Nestorian Christianity, and Manicheism.
Peter of Capua was an Italian scholastic theologian and prelate. He served as cardinal-deacon of Santa Maria in Via Lata from 1193 until 1201 and cardinal-priest of San Marcello al Corso from 1201 until his death. He often worked as a papal legate. He wrote several theological works and was a patron of his hometown of Amalfi.
Daniel Zwicker was a German physician from Danzig, and a Socinian theologian and controversialist of the Polish Brethren.
The 1191 papal election took place after the death of Pope Clement III. Pope Clement, according to differing and irreconcilable reports, died in March 1191, in the last third of the month, on the 20th, the 25th, the 26th, the 28th, or perhaps 2 April or 4 April, or 10 April. The election was conducted during the march of King Henry VI and his army toward Rome. The 85-year-old Cardinal Giacinto Bobone, a member of the Orsini family, was chosen after some extreme reluctance. He took the name Celestine III. Pressed by the Romans, however, he agreed to negotiate with King Henry about his coronation as emperor and about the possession of the city of Tusculum. Celestine postponed his own consecration in order to buy time to negotiate. He was finally crowned on Easter Sunday, 14 April 1191.
The 1124 papal election took place after the death of Pope Callixtus II on 13 December 1124. The election was characterised by a power struggle between Italian cardinals supported by the Pierleoni family and northern cardinals supported by the Frangipani family. On 16 December the cardinals elected Theobaldo Boccapecci, the cardinal-priest of Sant'Anastasia. He chose the name Celestine II. Before his consecration, however, an armed party of the Frangipani attacked and wounded the newly elected pope. In the following confusion the Bishop of Ostia Lamberto Scannabecchi, the Frangipani's candidate was proclaimed pope under the name Honorius II. After several days of factional fighting Celestine was abandoned by his supporters. However, Honorius would not accept the throne in this manner and resigned as well. He was immediately re-elected and consecrated on 21 December 1124.
Petru (Peter) Mușat (d. 1391) was Voivode (prince) of Moldavia from 1375 to 1391, the maternal grandson of Bogdan I, the first ruler from the dynastic House of Bogdan, succeeding Lațcu, Bogdan's son and successor who converted to Catholicism. According to one significant hypothesis, he may have been the first voivode of Moldavia under this regnal name, and should be referred to as Petru I of Moldavia. After 2000, Romanian historian Constantin Rezachevici proposed a novel timeline of Moldavian rulers, according to which Petru Mușat would be referred as Petru II.
Arnoldstein Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Arnoldstein in Carinthia, Austria. Its church was dedicated to St George and first mentioned in historical records in 1316 - its choir, tower, west door and a few buttresses can still be seen. The monastery buildings from the Gothic and 17th century eras were arranged around the church in an oval.
Petrus Pisanus was a Roman Catholic Cardinal. He began his career in papal service as a scriptor in the chancellery. He was appointed Deacon of San Giorgio in Velabro, and then promoted Cardinal-priest of Santa Susanna. He served briefly as papal legate in Corsica, before becoming a permanent member of the papal court. He participated in the papal elections of 1118, 1124, and 1130. In 1130, he chose to support the Obedience of Anacletus II rather than that of Innocent II. After Anacletus died in 1138, he joined the Obedience of Innocent II, and survived the purge of 1139.
The German Inquisition was established by Pope Gregory IX in 1231, and the first inquisitor was appointed in the territory of Germany. In the second half of the 14th century, permanent structures of the Inquisition were organized in Germany, which, with the exception of one tribunal, survived only until the time of the Reformation in the first half of the 16th century. In combating heretics in Germany, the Inquisition always played a secondary role compared to the ecclesiastical courts.