As part of DISSINET’s corpus and LLM work, Daniela Wallnerová has procured a transcription of the hitherto unpublished register of John Galand and William of Saint-Seine, 1283–1302 (Bibliothèque nationale de France, fonds Doat, vol. 26, fol. 79r–316v). We place the transcription at the disposal of scholars in the Zenodo repository.
Our transcription of the inquisition register contained in vol. 26 (fol. 79r–316v) of the Doat collection in Bibliothèque nationale de France opens up an important source for exploring the history of dissidence and inquisitorial activity in Languedoc in the last quarter of the thirteenth century. This document preserves the inquisitorial proceedings conducted between 1283–1302 in Carcassonne largely by John (Jean) Galand and William (Guillaume) of Saint-Seine and is particularly valuable because the records of the same inquisitors’ other proceedings from Carcassonne have not survived.
John Galand stands out as a notable inquisitor. Although our knowledge of his life and background remains limited, the available evidence suggests a long and complex career, mostly carried out in Carcassonne and Albi. His activities are reflected in different archival sources: the records in Doat 26 focus on Carcassonne, whereas the records in the manuscript Latin 12856 in the Bibliothèque nationale de France document his presence in Albi. Galand occupies a prominent place in the historiography on the conflicts surrounding the inquisition in late medieval Languedoc, largely because of the complaints filed against his inquisitorial work. He gained notoriety for his punitive methods and the severe imprisonments he oversaw, which provoked sustained opposition from local elites and townspeople. This tension persisted for decades and culminated in 1330, when a papal commission was appointed to investigate the grievances brought against him.
A small part of this register (fol. 248r–250r) has already attracted scholarly attention (published online by Jean Duvernoy) thanks to the remarkably detailed consolament description in the deposition of Bernard of Lagarrigue, a former Cathar perfect from Albi who converted and started to collaborate with the inquisitors.
Awaiting a fully-fledged, critical edition of the text, we hope that even this working transcription, published under a non-restrictive licence, will help historians make use of this register, which is valuable for understanding both dissidence and its repression in the crucial first century of inquisition’s existence.
Large Language Models (LLMs) hold significant promise for extracting information from historical texts. If used appropriately, they can speed up the research process, compensating for resource limitations and helping researchers achieve ambitious objectives in quantitative cultural history.
This summer, DISSINET team members attended five international conferences and two summer schools, showcasing the diversity of our research efforts and motivation to learn and apply new methodologies.
