Carcassonne 1317 to 1320: The Franciscan Bernard Délicieux, who had defended the victims of the Inquisition, was tortured and died in chains in prison
Bernard Délicieux, a Franciscan from Languedoc, led the resistance of the citizens of Carcassonne and Albi against the Dominican inquisitors around 1300; the Britannica calls him the heroic defender of the terrified people. After the election of John XXII he was arrested at Avignon in 1317 when he spoke for the Spirituals. After more than two years in prison he was tried at Carcassonne in 1319; he was tortured twice, and according to the notaries his shrieks were heard. On 8 December 1319 he was sentenced to imprisonment for life in chains on bread and water. The judges spared him the chains and starvation diet because of his age; the pope revoked this mitigation in February 1320. A few months later he was dead.
Deaths
1(counted, Bernard Délicieux, died in the prison of the Inquisition in 1320)Evidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458)
„in a few months merciful death released the only man who had dared to carry on a systematic warfare with the Inquisition“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888). Original
Bernard Délicieux (Franciscan, defender of the victims of the Inquisition, tortured, died in prison in 1320) John XXII (pope, had Délicieux arrested and in 1320 revoked the mitigation of his imprisonment) Jean de Beaune (Inquisitor of Carcassonne, represented the Inquisition at the trial, keeper of the condemned man) Guillem Garric (citizen of Carcassonne, twenty-two years in the dungeon of the Inquisition without sentence)
What happened to the people
How were they charged and sentenced?
With the election of John XXII in 1316 the inquisitors, according to Lea, had nothing more to fear and paid off old scores; the first victim was Bernard Délicieux. He had joined the Spirituals and in 1317 led his brethren from Béziers and Narbonne before the pope. When he argued their cause, he was accused of having impeded the Inquisition and promptly arrested. To this were added the charges that he had sought to kill Pope Benedict XI by magic and had committed treason in the affair of Carcassonne. For more than two years he was held in close prison while a papal commission investigated.
Evidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 99
„the inquisitors had nothing to fear from him, and they made haste to pay off the accumulated scores of vengeance. The first victim was Bernard Délicieux.“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 99.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 100
„When he undertook to argue their cause he was accused of having impeded the Inquisition and was promptly arrested.“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 100.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 100
„others of encompassing by magic arts the death of Benedict XI., and of treason in the affair of Carcassonne, were brought against him“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 100.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 100
„A papal commission was formed to investigate these matters, and for more than two years he was held in close prison while the examination went slowly on.“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 100.
OriginalEvidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel John XXII (pope)
„conveyed to Avignon by the monk Bernard Délicieux“
John XXII (pope), Artikel John XXII (pope).
Original
On 8 December 1319 he was acquitted of attempting the life of Benedict XI. On the other charges he was found guilty, according to the sentence aggravated by no fewer than seventy perjuries under examination. He was degraded from holy orders and sentenced to imprisonment for life, in chains and on bread and water, in the inquisitorial prison of Carcassonne. The Catholic Encyclopedia dates the condemnation to perpetual monastic imprisonment (In Pace) to 1318.
Evidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 101
„In the sentence, rendered December 8, he was acquitted of attempting the life of Benedict XI., while on the other charges his guilt was aggravated by no less than seventy perjuries committed under examination.“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 101.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 101
„condemned to degradation from holy orders and imprisonment for life, in chains and on bread and water, in the inquisitorial prison of Carcassonne“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 101.
OriginalEvidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 12 (1911), Artikel Philip IV
„his condemnation later in 1318 to perpetual In Pace, or monastic imprisonment“
In September 1319 the trial was opened at Carcassonne. Former associates already held by the Inquisition were brought forward as witnesses against him and, according to Lea, saved their own lives by swearing his away. The old man, worn by two years of imprisonment, was subjected for two months to the sharpest cross-questioning on events twelve to eighteen years earlier. He was repeatedly told that only absolute submission would save him from the stake. He was tortured twice, on 3 October for treason and on 20 November for necromancy; the torture was ordered to be "moderate", but the notaries present recorded that the shrieks of the victim attested its sufficiency.
Evidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 100
„transferred the court to Carcassonne, September 12“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 100.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 100
„were brought forward to be tried with him and were used as witnesses to save their own lives by swearing his away“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 100.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 100
„The old man, worn with two years of imprisonment and constant examination, was subjected for two months to the sharpest cross-questioning on occurrences dating from twelve to eighteen years previous“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 100.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 101
„nothing could save him from the stake but absolute submission and full confession“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 101.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 101
„Twice he was tortured, the first time, October 3, on the charge of treason, and the second, November 20, on that of necromancy; and though the torture was ordered to be “moderate,” the notaries who assisted at it are careful to report that the shrieks of the victim attested its sufficiency.“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 101.
Original
Because of his age, his debility and especially the weakness of his hands, according to Lea probably crippled in the torture chamber, the judges ordered that the chains and bread and water be omitted. On 26 February 1320 Pope John XXII countermanded this mitigation and required the sentence to be executed in all its rigour. Under these conditions Bernard Délicieux died a few months later.
Evidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 101
„in view of his age and debility, and especially the weakness of his hands (doubtless crippled in the torture-chamber), the penance of chains and bread and water should be omitted“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 101.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 101
„February 26, 1320, the relentless“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 101.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 102
„pope, possibly to gratify the king, countermanded the pitying order of the bishops, and required the sentence to be executed in all its terrible rigor.“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 102.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 102
„Under these hardships the frail body which had been animated by so dauntless a spirit soon gave way, and in a few months merciful death released the only man who had dared to carry on a systematic warfare with the Inquisition.“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 102.
Original
Background
Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)
Around 1300 the inquisitors in Languedoc proceeded harshly against whole towns. At Albi, at the end of 1299, twenty-five of the wealthiest citizens were arrested; according to Lea the sentences leave no doubt that torture was used, and they were imprisoned for life in chains. One citizen of Carcassonne, Guillem Garric, lay in the dungeon of the Inquisition for twenty-two years before he was even sentenced in 1321. Bernard Délicieux discovered that an agreement between the town of Carcassonne and the inquisitor was drawn up so that all citizens counted as abettors of heretics and could be punished as relapsed in case of further trouble. According to the Britannica, the terrified people found a defender in him at the beginning of the fourteenth century.
Evidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 71
„the town was startled by the arrest of twenty-five of the wealthiest and most respected citizens“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 71.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 71
„allusions to it in the final sentence of Guillem Calverie, one of the victims, leave no doubt on the subject“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 71.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 71
„the sentence of perpetual imprisonment in chains was a doubtful mercy for those who were sentenced“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 71.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 70
„he rotted in the horrible dungeon of Carcassonne for twenty-two years before he was brought forward for judgment in 1321“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 70.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 70
„discovered that the consuls had been represented in it as confessing that the whole community had given aid to manifest heretics, that they had abjured in the name of all, and thus that all citizens were incapacitated for office and were exposed to the penalties of relapse in case of further trouble“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 70.
OriginalEvidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel Inquisition, The
„At the beginning of the 14th century the terrified people found a defender in the heroic Franciscan Bernard Délicieux.“
Inquisition, The, Artikel Inquisition, The.
Original
Délicieux brought deputies of Carcassonne and Albi to King Philip IV at Senlis to complain of the inquisitors; the king thereupon placed them under the control of the bishops. In 1303 Délicieux headed the movement in Carcassonne. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, he afterwards conspired with citizens of Carcassonne to deliver the town to the Infante Fernando of Majorca; the king had sixteen inhabitants hanged. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, this conspiracy was one of the reasons for his later condemnation.
Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 12 (1911), Artikel Philip IV
„The latter brought the deputies of Carcassonne and Albi to Philip IV at Senlis, to complain of the Dominican inquisitors of Languedoc; the result of his action was an ordinance of Philip putting the Dominican inquisitors under the control of the bishops.“
Philip IV, Artikel Philip IV.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 12 (1911), Artikel Philip IV
„Bernard Délicieux in 1303 headed the movement in Carcassonne“
Philip IV, Artikel Philip IV.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 12 (1911), Artikel Philip IV
„Then Bernard Délicieux and some of the people of Carcassonne conspired to deliver the town into the hands of Prince Fernand, Infant of Majorca; Philip caused sixteen of the inhabitants to be hanged“
Philip IV, Artikel Philip IV.
Original · Archive copyEvidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 12 (1911), Artikel Philip IV
„this conspiracy of Bernard Délicieux against the king and the Inquisition was one of the reasons of his condemnation“
After the trial the Inquisition moved against the survivors of the disturbances. Prisoners of 1299 and 1300, whom it had held in defiance of repeated orders of Clement V, were sentenced, if they had not perished in its dungeons. On 11 March 1319 the consuls, councillors and many citizens of Albi had to profess repentance with uplifted hands in the most humiliating terms before the bishop and the inquisitor Jean de Beaune in the cathedral cemetery and swear to accept any penance imposed.
Evidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 102
„The unconvicted prisoners of 1299 and 1300, whom it had held in defiance of the reiterated orders of Clement“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 102.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 102
„at least those who had not rotted to death in its dungeons“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 102.
OriginalEvidence: Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458), Bd. 2, S. 102
„March 11, 1319, the consuls and councillors and a great crowd of citizens were assembled in the cathedral cemetery, before Bishop Bernard and the inquisitor Jean de Beaune. There, with uplifted hands, they all professed repentance in the most humiliating terms“
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888), Bd. 2, S. 102.
Original
Scholarly literature
Harper & Brothers; Project Gutenberg (eBook 39458): Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Bd. 2 (New York 1888).
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Reference work
Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): Inquisition, The, 1 January 1911.
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Reference work
Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): John XXII (pope), 1 January 1911.
Original(retrieved 30 Oct 2026)
Reference work
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 12 (1911): Philip IV, 1 January 1911.
Original · Archive copy(retrieved 30 Oct 2026)
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