CEDRR talk. Webs of Dissent: Inquisitorial Registers and Social Network Analysis for a Socio-Cultural History of Medieval Heresy

The activity of medieval Inquisition was a complex social task whose effects extended far beyond the mere repression of religious dissent. The inquisitors not only drew boundaries between orthodox and unorthodox beliefs and practices, but also between social and political groups, whose internal structure and dynamics they exposed - or at least attempted to expose. Applying social network analysis tools to inquisitorial registers can therefore allow for a better understanding of how investigations worked, which social groups were inquired upon, and how ideas circulated within them. Based on an ongoing PhD research, this lecture will discuss some potential uses of SNA to construct a socio-cultural history of medieval religious dissent.

Roberto Mussinatto is a doctoral student in Medieval History at the Università di Padova, Ca’ Foscari Venezia, and at the Université Côte d’Azur