Quote:
Originally Posted by David Johnston2
Persecuting heretics isn't really a monk thing even in stereotype. But a Papal inquisitor who scrupulously investigates reports of assault and murder by witchcraft and only lays charges if he establishes beyond reasonable doubt that the accused really was trying to curse (or poison!) someone
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That might actually be a good one. How about a Papal Inquisitor who solves mysteries?
In practice it was somewhere between that. All courts back then were faulty beyond belief, though they were not as absurd as might be thought and had some rational ideas that would be useful when investigating technique caught up with legal principle. In any case they were not fools. I remember in The Last Duel when trial-by-combat was proposed, the attitude was not,"That's a good idea" but "Got a better idea anyone?"