Inquisitor

This article is about the religious office in historic Christianity. For other uses, see Inquisitor (disambiguation).

An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an Inquisition; an organisation or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literally, an inquisitor is one who "searches out" or "inquires" (Latin inquirere < quaerere, "to seek").

Inquisitors were agents of the Medieval Inquisition established by the Roman Catholic Church, and of the subsequent Spanish Inquisition, Portuguese Inquisition and Roman Inquisition.

The chief inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition was the Grand Inquisitor, though the Roman Inquisition had a Secretary-General who was sometimes styled with the same title.

Prominent inquisitors

Torquemada

Some of the more well-known inquisitors throughout history include:

• Pedro de Arbués
• Nicolau Aymerich author of Directorium Inquisitorum
• Stephen of Bourbon
• Arnaut Catalan
• Fabio Chigi (later Pope Alexander VII)
• Diego Deza
• Bernard Gui
• Hentenius
• Heinrich Institoris, author of Malleus Maleficarum
• Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros
• Konrad von Marburg
• Sebastien Michaelis
• Giovanni Pietro Carafa
• James Sprenger, possible co-author of Malleus Maleficarum
• Tomás de Torquemada

See also

• Medieval Inquisition
• Spanish Inquisition
• Portuguese Inquisition
• Roman Inquisition