The first quarter of the fourteenth century saw an explosion of spectacular trials. The Knights Templar were not the only ones to find themselves suddenly and alarmingly in the dock: bishops were arrested, lay leaders were summoned, pious women were cross-examined, and even poor shepherds were required to give depositions before ecclesiastical tribunals. Many of these church processes have a strong ideological and political character to them: Were they simply “show trials” and “kangaroo courts”? This one-day conference presents a series of case studies with the aim of untangling the peculiar intersection of law, theology, and politics from the time of the Roman Pope Boniface VIII to Benedict XII in Avignon.

Papers will be given in Italian and English.