A History of Medieval Heresy and Inquisition

In lucid and elegant prose Deane maps the contours of medieval belief and dissent as it intersected with the identification and definition of heresy over the course of the high Middle Ages. Deftly deploying vivid examples, she shows how heresy and inquisition lay at the core of medieval Europe’s sense of itself. Attentive throughout to language, sources, labels, and texts, Deane’s book is also a lesson in close reading and historical interpretation and reconstruction. It is impossible to understand medieval society without taking on board the ideas of poverty and preaching, power and resistance, community and exile, brought to bear in this book. -- Anne E. Lester, Johns Hopkins University
Deane’s History of Medieval Heresy and Inquisition is an essential introduction to an enormously fascinating, complex, and controversial topic. Engagingly written, deeply researched, and concisely presented, Deane’s updated survey offers a masterful overview of medieval heresies and inquisitorial practices—contextualized in time and place—while providing useful and engaging discussions of the complex methodological issues the medieval sources present to modern readers. Specialists and students alike will admire and appreciate Deane’s elegant synthesis of recent scholarship, as well as her clear discussions of how to navigate the interpretive challenges posed by the topic. I have assigned Deane’s book in numerous courses on medieval sanctity, heresy, and inquisitional procedure over the years and it never fails to pique students’ interest and inspire engaging class discussions. Maps, images, and direct quotations from sources, as well as the sections at the end of each chapter devoted to suggestions for further reading, make A History of Medieval Heresy and Inquisition an enormously useful guide to a topic of great interest to both specialists and students. -- Tanya Stabler Miller, Loyola University Chicago