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ChapterI
thebeliefthatGodcouldbeworshippedonlyspiritually;yetlateritbecamedi-
rectedagainstindividuals:theclergymen.TheNightofSt.Bartholomew,during
whichthousandsofHuguenotvictimsweremassacred,wastheculminating
pointofthisconflict.Bodiesofthemassacredvictimsweredisembowelledto
seewhethertheinnardsofaProtestantwereanydifferentthanthoseofaCatho-
lic.AftertheexecutionofAdmiraldeColigny,thepoliticalleaderoftheCalvin-
ists,hisheadlessbodywasdraggedthroughthestreetsbysmallchildrenand
thenunderwentamocktrial.Violence,ritualisedduringthegreatreligiouscon-
frontations,seemssimilartoagreateruptionofbrutalityadmittedlymorecru-
el,butalsomoreopenthantheoneobservedinourowntimes,andperpetrated
onalesserscale(Zaremska2002).
1.7.5TheChurch’sattemptsatexplainingviolence
ThemomentpaganismwasreplacedbyChristianity,theChurchwasobliged
tofinditsplaceinthecomplexstructuresofthelaw,politics,administrationand
economyoftheEmpire.Andasanaturalconsequenceofthenewpowerstruc-
ture,itdidsowithanenthusiasmthatevenwithoutmaliciousintentionswas
veryeasilytransformedintooppression(afterSimon1981,p.227).Athreatto
theunityoftheChurchposedbythehereticsconstitutedatemptationtoresortto
thepowerofthe“seculararm”thisisatemptationtowhich,forinstance,St,
Augustineyielded,askingforitshelpindealingwiththeDonatists(Biały1989,
p.8).Asearlyas387theimperiallawdecreedapenaltyofthedeathbyburning
fortheleadersoftheManicheans.TheCodexTeodosianuscomparedheresyto
amostdirecrime:thatoflèsemajesté.Persecutionsonagranderscalewererare
intheearlyMiddleAges;thereasonforthatarefoundinthechaos,intowhich
fellthesmallGermanicstateswhichsprungontheruinsoftheFrankishem-
pire.
ThepolicytowardsthehereticsmainlytheCatharsandAlbigensiansbe-
gantohardeninthe12thcentury.Thosesectshadconsiderableinfluenceinthe
southernFrance,northernItalyandSwitzerland,somuchsothattheybeganto
threatentheveryexistenceoftheCatholicchurchinthoseregions.Theirconvic-
tionswhichincludedtheviewthatentiresocialorder,includingthechurchof
Romeandallthesecularauthority,theistheworkofSatantogetherwiththe
socialbackgroundofthemovements,andabovealltheirrejectionofallauthor-
ityexceptthedivineone,naturallymadethemenemiesofstateandofthecurrent
socio-politicalorder.
Inkeepingwiththepracticeoftheday,peacefulandconciliatorytacticsof
mediationwereusedagainstthemfirst:missions,disputes,anathemasandex-