Guilt by Association? : A computational analysis of the social
patterns of inquisition punishments in thirteenth-century
Languedoc

k 2021

Guilt by Association? : A computational analysis of the social patterns of inquisition punishments in thirteenth-century Languedoc

SHAW, Robert Laurence John, Tomáš HAMPEJS and David ZBÍRAL

Basic information

Original name

Guilt by Association? : A computational analysis of the social patterns of inquisition punishments in thirteenth-century Languedoc

Authors

SHAW, Robert Laurence John (826 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, guarantor, belonging to the institution), Tomáš HAMPEJS (826 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, belonging to the institution) and David ZBÍRAL (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Medieval Academy of America Annual Meeting, online, 15.-18. April 2021, 2021

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Prezentace na konferencích

Field of Study

60304 Religious studies

Country of publisher

United States of America

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

Programme listing

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14210/21:00119086

Organization unit

Faculty of Arts

Keywords in English

inquisition; punishment; heresy; medieval; Middle Ages; quantitative analysis; semantic text modelling

Abstract

V originále

Despite significant interest in the way that medieval inquisitors approached the task of quelling religious dissidence – above all the way they detected or even “constructed” heresy among their subjects – the factors that influenced the precise weight of the punishments they meted out have thus far received little systematic attention. Computational analysis of inquisition records, however, can potentially transform our understanding of this field. It can be assumed that inquisitors aimed, at least in part, to punish in accordance with the type, duration, and repetition of heretical activity they perceived. But given that inquisitors sought to root out what they saw as a social “disease”, we must also ask to what extent medieval inquisitors were influenced by what they perceived to be the important social connections of their suspects. Were dissidents punished differently for knowing famous heretics, or committing actions in concert with others? Did recognised social ties to other sentenced or suspected individuals warrant graver sentences? Working with the sentences drawn up by the inquisitor Peter Sella in Western Languedoc in 1241-2, this paper employs a bespoke statistical approach that encodes and analyses weights of punishment, descriptions of crimes and types of recorded social connectivity: it is in part inspired by social network analysis but tailored to the limitations of the specific source. Above all, it aims to compare the interpersonal maps that inquisitors plotted as part of the trial process with whom and how they chose to punish, thus providing a new social perspective on inquisitorial strategy.

Links

GX19-26975X, research and development project

Name: Nekonformní náboženské kultury ve středověké Evropě z pohledu analýzy sociálních sítí a geografických informačních systémů (Acronym: DISSINET)

Investor: Czech Science Foundation

Citovat

SHAW, Robert Laurence John, Tomáš HAMPEJS and David ZBÍRAL. Guilt by Association? : A computational analysis of the social patterns of inquisition punishments in thirteenth-century Languedoc. In Medieval Academy of America Annual Meeting, online, 15.-18. April 2021. 2021.

@proceedings{1783380,
   author = {Shaw, Robert Laurence John and Hampejs, Tomáš and Zbíral, David},
   booktitle = {Medieval Academy of America Annual Meeting, online, 15.-18. April 2021},
   keywords = {inquisition; punishment; heresy; medieval; Middle Ages; quantitative analysis; semantic text modelling},
   language = {eng},
   title = {Guilt by Association? : A computational analysis of the social patterns of inquisition punishments in thirteenth-century Languedoc},
   url = {https://maa2021.indiana.edu/program/index.html#Friday},
   year = {2021}
}

TY  - CONF
ID  - 1783380
AU  - Shaw, Robert Laurence John - Hampejs, Tomáš - Zbíral, David
PY  - 2021
TI  - Guilt by Association? : A computational analysis of the social patterns of inquisition punishments in thirteenth-century Languedoc
KW  - inquisition
KW  - punishment
KW  - heresy
KW  - medieval
KW  - Middle Ages
KW  - quantitative analysis
KW  - semantic text modelling
UR  - https://maa2021.indiana.edu/program/index.html#Friday
N2  - Despite significant interest in the way that medieval inquisitors approached the task of quelling religious dissidence – above all the way they detected or even “constructed” heresy among their subjects – the factors that influenced the precise weight of the punishments they meted out have thus far received little systematic attention. Computational analysis of inquisition records, however, can potentially transform our understanding of this field. It can be assumed that inquisitors aimed, at least in part, to punish in accordance with the type, duration, and repetition of heretical activity they perceived. But given that inquisitors sought to root out what they saw as a social “disease”, we must also ask to what extent medieval inquisitors were influenced by what they perceived to be the important social connections of their suspects. Were dissidents punished differently for knowing famous heretics, or committing actions in concert with others? Did recognised social ties to other sentenced or suspected individuals warrant graver sentences? Working with the sentences drawn up by the inquisitor Peter Sella in Western Languedoc in 1241-2, this paper employs a bespoke statistical approach that encodes and analyses weights of punishment, descriptions of crimes and types of recorded social connectivity: it is in part inspired by social network analysis but tailored to the limitations of the specific source. Above all, it aims to compare the interpersonal maps that inquisitors plotted as part of the trial process with whom and how they chose to punish, thus providing a new social perspective on inquisitorial strategy.
ER  -

SHAW, Robert Laurence John, Tomáš HAMPEJS and David ZBÍRAL. Guilt by Association? : A computational analysis of the social patterns of inquisition punishments in thirteenth-century Languedoc. In \textit{Medieval Academy of America Annual Meeting, online, 15.-18. April 2021}. 2021.

Detailed Information on Publication Record