Ketzer, Konsuln und Büsser

In 1241, the Inquisitor and Dominican friar Peter Cellani condemned more than 250 inhabitants of the city of Montauban in Southern France because of their contacts with Cathar and Waldensian heretics. Most of them belonged to the consular elite of the city, and this transformed them almost collectively into a group of penitents. However, this group managed to get through the inquisitorial process without major political or social consequences. Jörg Feuchter traces the history of the urban elite of Montauban, beginning with the founding of the city in 1144, and deals with their contact with the two heresies, their collective strategies in grappling with the inquisition and their religious reorganization in the second half of the 13th century. In doing so, he presents a unique portrayal of the victims of a medieval inquisition.