The Manner in which These Trials were Commenced in the Netherlands

Before people were brought to the trial by red hot iron, by hot or boiling water, or in cold rivers, which was called the severest or most extreme examination, milder means were used, especially in the Netherlands; yet with such intricacies, and with so many snares, that an honest soul who meant to deal openly and without pretense could not escape, but was in danger of losing his life.

The Boxhorn mentioned above, describing the manner of examination used at that time against the Vaudois, who also belonged to the Poor Men of Lyons, and who were then one people with the Albigenses and Waldenses, though afterwards they differed from them in various articles, relates: That the Dominicans, a certain order of monks, were at that time sent by the pope here into the Netherlands as inquisitors; and that these men, in order to execute their office well, as it were, had put in writing a certain mode of examination, which read word for word as follows

Examination. "When anyone in the Netherlands is brought before the judge, suspected and accused of heresy, he shall first be asked: Why have you been arrested? Does anyone know of your imprisonment? Have you not learned from anyone the reason for your arrest? If he says

I do not know; answer him: They say that you, led astray by certain teachers who keep themselves hidden, have departed to a considerable extent from the Christian faith, as it is publicly taught in this country and elsewhere, throughout all Christendom. Let him answer as well or as much as he will, and then let an oath at once be demanded and put to him, unless he is too young to be allowed to swear. Before he takes the oath, these words shall be spoken to him: See, you are to swear here that you will tell in all sincerity the truth as you know it, concerning yourself as well as others about whom you will be questioned. If he refuses to swear,* he shall be suspected all the more. But someone may say: This has reference to adjuring their belief. To this it may be answered that the oath demanded here aimed at nothing further than the telling of the truth, as the preceding words declare. [n439-1]

"See well to it also that he has no reason to say that he was compelled by threats or in any other way to swear; but if he is willing and ready to take the oath, set these words before him

The oath administered by the inquisitors, near the chapter house of Utrecht, to those who at that time were called heretics. "I, N. N. N., swear to God Almighty, to my Lord of Utrecht (or otherwise) and to the lords present in his place, that I will tell the pure truth, without fear, about all matters known to me concerning which I shall be questioned here; not only regarding myself, but also regarding others. So help me God and His holy mother, in my last hour." Boxhorn, Nederl. Hist., page 15. [n439-4]

In this manner the inquisitors proceeded, and then followed the mode of examination given below, which it seems they had to use as their fundamental rule against those who were called heretics

"If he is not known to you (says this rule) question him in this way: What is your name? Where were you born? Who was your father? Again: How often have you confessed to the teachers of the heretics, who secretly spread it abroad that they have come into the world in place of the apostles, to go from place to place preaching the Gospel?* [n439-2]

Again: "How long have you lived here? How old were you when you began to give a hearing to these heretics? When did you last confess to them? Who did you take them to be? Do they also wear crowns [the tonsure] and the priestly garb? What penance did they impose on you? Did they not charge you to say an Ave Maria? Did you believe that it was in their power to forgive your sins? Who first directed you to these heretics? To how many heretics have you confessed? What was the name of the first? The second? The third? And so on.

"Did your parents also hold this heretical belief? How often have you received the body of Christ? Have you also confessed to our priests? Have you also confessed to them that you hold this heretical belief? Why did you not confess it? How often have you heard them teach? Where first? In what houses, or places? In what room or chamber? By day or at night? In the morning or in the evening? Who were there besides you? What did your teachers preach concerning purgatory? Is there a purgatory? How many times a day do you pray for the souls of your parents, friends, and benefactors? What alms have you given for them? How many days have you fasted for them? How many masses have you had read for them?

"Can you say the Ave Maria? Say it. Can you say any prayers to the saints? Do you believe that the holy Mary, and the other saints, know our distresses, and that they are filled with compassion on this account, and pray for us? Who is the patron of your parish? When is his day celebrated? Have you properly celebrated him?

What kind of a saint is it? Is it an angel? Or a martyr? Or a confessor? Or an apostle? Or a virgin? Or a widow? What did you bring as an offering on their feast day? Have you chosen a certain apostle for yourself? Who is your apostle?

"What do you hold with regard to the worship of the holy cross? The nails? The crown of thorns? The spear? And the images of the saints?

"Have you ever journeyed to Rome, to obtain forgiveness of your sins? Have you sprinkled yourself with holy water? Have you tasted the consecrated salt? Have you consecrated twigs and tapers in your house? Have you done this with a pure and upright heart, as other Christians do, who by your people are called Strangers? Or have you done it merely for appearance' sake, so as not to be detected in your heresy? Tell the simple truth.

"Do you not believe that Saint Martin has become a saint, and that his holy soul is now in the kingdom of heaven? Will you drink in the name and to the remembrance of Saint Martin? Do you know any hymns to the honor of God, or of His holy mother? And so on.

"Say, finally: Will you turn away with all your heart from your errors, and separate yourself from the heretics, and from now on have no fellowship with them? If so, then swear in this way:

The second oath administered by the inquisitors to those who were at that time called heretics; which none of the true martyrs ever swore. "I, N. N. N., swear an oath to God Almighty, to my lord, bishop N. N., and to the lords present in his place, without any pretense, that from now on I will go no more to the people who call themselves, and so on, and will have fellowship neither with them nor with their leaders, teachers, and so on, as long as they remain heretics. Moreover, I renounce on oath (see what papist tricks these are) every kind of unbelief that is contrary to the open faith taught and maintained everywhere in the holy Roman church and in Christendom. And I will also submit to penance for my transgressions, whenever and however it may, though in mercy, be imposed upon me. So truly help me God and His mother, in my last hour." Boxhorn, page 18. Concerning the examination, see pages 15 to 17.

NOTE. Who does not see, beloved reader, that these were snares from which the pious could not free themselves without losing their lives? For it was certain that the Poor Men of Lyons, in those times, whether called Vaudois,* Waldenses, or Albigenses, did not swear at all; which, especially as regards the Waldenses and Albigenses, has been clearly proved in our previous explanation. [n439-3] This, then, was the first snare which they could not escape.

In the second place, by the form of that oath it was put to them that they should forsake their entire religion, faith, and worship, and join themselves to the Roman church, which they held to be worse than Babylon. How could they do this with a good conscience? In no way at all. This snare, therefore, they likewise could not escape. What, then, did they have to expect? Nothing less than certain death; indeed, a cruel, shameful, and accursed death, though blessed for those who, remaining steadfast, suffered it.

I will say nothing now of the cruel and horrible manner of inquisition, by red hot iron, by hot water, and also in open rivers,* which generally followed upon the examination just stated. [n439-6]

What heathen or barbarians have ever acted in this way? It is true, they put the pious witnesses of Jesus to death in a very painful manner; but that was the end of it; and besides, there sometimes remained means by which it was possible to escape death, and yet keep the faith. And nowhere do we read that they ever had such a mode of inquisition over matters of faith; but the Romanists, who call themselves Christians, were not afraid or ashamed of it.

Certainly, here one or the other, either the body or the soul, had to be sacrificed by the martyrs. For if they would save the body by forsaking the faith, which in their conscience they recognized as the genuine, indeed the only and eternal truth, they were in danger, indeed fully assured, of losing their souls; on the other hand, if they sought to preserve their souls by their good confession, and by forsaking the superstitions of popery, they had to lose their bodies, and this by the most cruel, horrible, and miserable death, which, according to the custom of that time, was to be placed alive in the flames until death followed.

In this manner very many, indeed almost a countless number, of pious Christians, called Albigenses and Waldenses, perished in those times; who, constrained by the love of Christ to hold fast the confession of their faith, willingly exchanged this earthly for the heavenly, letting the tabernacle of their body be dissolved here, in order to have a building with God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Second Corinthians 5, verse 1.

We will now see what persons perished for the faith in that cruel inquisition, particularly under the test of red hot iron, not in the Netherlands, but in Germany, where it first originated.