John XXII's bull Extravagantes on heresy trials

1317

The Avignon pope streamlined inquisitorial procedure across Languedoc, empowering Dominicans to prosecute Cathar remnants and Waldensian cells with greater efficiency and fewer procedural obstacles. Jacques Fournier, the future Benedict XII, used the new procedures to produce the famously detailed Montaillou register, an extraordinary record of Cathar village life in the Pyrenean foothills that has captivated modern historians.