Arnold of Brescia

The canon regular Arnold of Brescia preached against the wealth of the clergy and the temporal power of bishops and popes. Innocent II sentenced him to silence and exile in 1139, the Council of Sens condemned him together with Abelard in 1140, and Bernard of Clairvaux had him driven out of France. Eugenius III excommunicated him in 1148. At the request of Pope Adrian IV, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa had him seized and handed over; in 1155 he was hanged, his body burned and the ashes thrown into the Tiber. Who passed the death sentence is disputed.

Life dates

1139-1155 (about 16 years old)

Country

France, Italy, Switzerland

Institutions

Holy See
Roman Curia

Category

Heresy trials, Murder, Persecution

Level of evidence

B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?

Background

Course of events

1. At the request of Adrian IV, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa had Arnold seized and handed over to the Curia or to the prefect of Rome. In June 1155 he was hanged, his body burned and the ashes thrown into the Tiber, according to one chronicler so that the people would not venerate them as the relics of a martyr.
   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel

   „At the request of the pope he was seized by order of the emperor Frederick“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 1 (1907), Lebenslauf

   „accordingly Arnold was handed over to the Curia“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel

   „In June 1155 Arnold was hanged, his body burnt, and the ashes were thrown into the Tiber.“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 1 (1907), Lebenslauf

   „lest the people might collect them and honour them as the ashes of a martyr“

Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)

1. Arnold saw the wealth of the clergy and the temporal power of the bishops as the main cause of the abuses. According to Otto of Freising he taught that clerics with estates, bishops with fiefs and monks with property could not be saved. In Rome he called the Curia a house of merchandise and a den of thieves.
   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 1 (1907), Lebenslauf

   „were the wealth of the clergy and the temporal power of the bishop“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel

   „“Clerks who have estates, bishops who hold fiefs, monks who possess property, cannot be saved.”“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel

   „which he stigmatized as a “house of merchandise and den of thieves.”“

Response of the Church

1. The sources contradict each other on the sentence. According to the Britannica the prefect of Rome condemned him to death. The Catholic Encyclopedia considers it very probable that the Curia had a larger share in the condemnation; one chronicler writes that the pope personally ordered the hanging, another that Adrian demanded his degradation so that he could be handed over to the secular power.
   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel

   „delivered to the prefect of Rome, by whom he was condemned to death“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 1 (1907), Lebenslauf

   „It is very probable, however, that the Curia had a larger share in his condemnation.“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 1 (1907), Lebenslauf

   „One analyst goes so far as to say that the pope personally ordered him to be hanged.“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 1 (1907), Lebenslauf

   „Adrian confined himself to demanding Arnold's degradation, so that he might be delivered over to the secular power“

See also

• 1184-1699 · 515 years

  Persecution of the Waldensians

  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Heresy trials
  • Crusade
  • Persecution
• Person 21 Sep 1452-23 May 1498 · 45 years old

  Girolamo Savonarola

  • Italy
  • Torture
  • Heresy trials
  • Murder

Scholarly literature and reference works

1. Reference work
   The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 1 (1907): Arnold of Brescia, 1 January 1907. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
2. Reference work
   Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): Arnold of Brescia, 1 January 1911. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)

Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.