Az inkvizítor Kapisztrán János és a ferences ellenzék

In the past few decades a new approach based on historical criteria and devoid of preconceptions has gained ground in the study of the Inquisition, one that examines its subject within the relations of the given era. It assumes the study of orthodoxy as well as that of the inquisitors' education and values. With these considerations in mind it is worth rereading the activity as an inquisitor of John Capistrano, a notable figure of Franciscan observance, against the heresy of the Italian Fraticelli. The sources reveal that in the first half of the 15th century Franciscan preachers were often found in the forefront of the battle against heresy. Acting in the interests of papal policy, they were stern yet fair-minded in many cases. After the prosecution and the trial had ended, they settled in the territories affected and played an important role in the everyday reconversion process. It must be emphasized that the Inquisition is not a static legal construction but, beside its constant elements, it varies across place and the time. The second part of the paper discusses the conflict between John Capistrano and the unfrocked Filippo Berbegal, stressing that the latter cannot be regarded as a Fraticello. Their dispute and Berbegal's condemnation by the Pope highlights the conflict between the ideal of poverty and the obedience to the Pope, which Capistrano and other Observants meant to bridge.