Mobility and Danger on the Borders of the Papal States (Sixteenth- Seventeenth Centuries)

Abstract

This chapter examines the Inquisition’s attempts to control the movement of students and merchants within the Papal States. The Roman Inquisition attempted to monitor the movements of ‘heretical’ foreign students, merchants, artisans, artists, and diplomats. Yet such figures moved frequently and as such were not easy to control, convert, or expel. In many cases, local authorities tried to apply the rigorous guidelines defined by pontifical law, although these were difficult to apply in practice. Inquisitors and their agents in the Papal States were frequently unable to act decisively or coherently. The rich documentation allows us to observe the daily activities of people directly involved in controlling movement.