Orléans 1022: a council condemned thirteen clerics and laymen as heretics, and King Robert had them burned alive
In Orléans canons of the church of the Holy Cross and other distinguished citizens were discovered to be heretics. King Robert the Pious summoned a council of bishops, before which they openly confessed their faith. Thirteen were condemned to the stake and burned alive outside the city walls after refusing to recant. It is regarded as the first execution of heretics by the secular power in the medieval West. According to Lea it happened around 1017, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia and the Britannica in 1022.
Deaths
13(counted, burned alive in Orléans)Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 3 (1908)
Robert II of France (king (Robert the Pious), summoned the council and had the condemned burned) Constance of Arles (queen, according to Lea put out the eye of her former confessor)
What happened to the people
Who was affected? Victims and numbers
At a council in Orléans in the presence of King Robert the Pious, thirteen Cathars were condemned to be burned. Ten of them were canons of the church of the Holy Cross, and another had been confessor to Queen Constance. In its article Inquisition the Catholic Encyclopedia speaks of thirteen distinguished citizens, ecclesiastic and lay.
Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 3 (1908), Artikel Cathari
„At a council held in 1022 at Orléans in presence of King Robert the Pious, thirteen Cathari were condemned to be burned. Ten of these were canons of the church of the Holy Cross and another had been confessor to Queen Constance.“
Cathari, Artikel Cathari.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 8 (1910), Artikel Inquisition
„had thirteen distinguished citizens, ecclesiastic and lay , burnt alive at Orléans“
According to Lea, King Robert hastened to Orléans with Queen Constance and summoned a council of bishops to determine what should be done to meet the novel danger. The accused made no secret of their faith and declared themselves ready to die rather than abandon it. The Catholic Encyclopedia gives as the king's reason that he feared for the safety of the kingdom and the salvation of souls.
Evidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39451), Bd. 1, S. 109
„King Robert the Pious hastened to Orleans with Queen Constance, and summoned a council of bishops to determine what should be done to meet the novel and threatening danger“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 1 (New York 1887/88), Bd. 1, S. 109.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39451), Bd. 1, S. 109
„The heretics, on being questioned, made no secret of their faith, and boldly declared themselves ready to die rather than to abandon it.“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 1 (New York 1887/88), Bd. 1, S. 109.
OriginalEvidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 8 (1910), Artikel Inquisition
„because he feared for the safety of the kingdom and the salvation of souls“
The king stationed the queen at the church door to protect the condemned from the mob as they were led out. According to Lea, however, Constance struck her former confessor with a rod as he passed and put out his eye. Outside the walls, in the presence of the blazing pyre, they were again urged to recant; they preferred death. According to Lea, of fifteen, thirteen remained steadfast although pardon was offered. According to Lea, the converts they had made elsewhere were hunted up and mercilessly despatched.
Evidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39451), Bd. 1, S. 109
„but Constance shared the passions of her subjects, and as they passed her she smote with a rod one who had been her confessor, and put out his eye“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 1 (New York 1887/88), Bd. 1, S. 109.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39451), Bd. 1, S. 109
„They were taken beyond the walls, and again, in the presence of the blazing pyre, were entreated to recant, but they preferred death“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 1 (New York 1887/88), Bd. 1, S. 109.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39451), Bd. 1, S. 104
„out of fifteen, thirteen remained steadfast in the face of the fire kindled for their destruction; they refused to recant though pardon was offered“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 1 (New York 1887/88), Bd. 1, S. 104.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39451), Bd. 1, S. 109
„Such converts as they had made elsewhere were diligently hunted up and mercilessly despatched.“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 1 (New York 1887/88), Bd. 1, S. 109.
Original
Background
Course of events
The sources give different years: Lea dates the discovery in Orléans to 1017, the Catholic Encyclopedia (article Cathari) and the Britannica to 1022. The Catholic Encyclopedia article Inquisition gives the year 1122 for the same burning under King Robert.
Evidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39451), Bd. 1, S. 108
„Even as far north as Orleans it was discovered, in 1017, under circumstances which aroused general attention.“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 1 (New York 1887/88), Bd. 1, S. 108.
OriginalEvidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 8 (1910), Artikel Inquisition
The Britannica writes that the burning has been commonly quoted as the first action of the secular arm against heresy in the medieval West; after 1022 there were numerous executions of heretics by burning or strangling in France, Italy, the Empire and England. For Orléans it names the people, supported by the Crown, as responsible, and only the faintest indications of any direct intervention of the clergy, except perhaps for the examination of doctrine.
Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel Inquisition, The
„a sentence which has been commonly quoted as the first action of the “secular arm” (or lay power) against heresy in the West during the middle ages“
„At Orleans the people, supported by the Crown, were responsible for the death of the heretics; the historians give only the faintest indications of any direct intervention of the clergy, except perhaps for the examination of doctrine.“
Inquisition, The, Artikel Inquisition, The.
Original
Reference work
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 3 (1908): Cathari, 1 January 1908.
Original · Archive copy(retrieved 23 Oct 2026)
Reference work
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 8 (1910): Inquisition, 1 January 1910.
Original · Archive copy(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Reference work
Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): Inquisition, The, 1 January 1911.
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Scholarly literature
Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39451): Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 1 (New York 1887/88).
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Kirchenakte