Philip the Chancellor and the Heresy Inquisition in Northern France, 1235–1236

Abstract

That Philip the Chancellor wrote Dogmatum falsas species is clear from its juxtaposition, in two manuscripts, with other poems known to be by him. Its condemnation of French bishops for not taking action against heretics aligns Philip with the tenor of Gregory IX’s bull Dudum ad aliquorum murmur (21 August 1235). Philip is known to have assisted Robert le Bougre in the trial and execution of heretics at Châlons-sur-Marne early in 1236. Whether Philip accompanied Robert in the following months in his campaign against heretics in Flanders is not clear from our sources, but an analysis of the text of the poem suggests that this is likely. Henry of Braine, archbishop of Reims, had reasons for allowing Robert to pursue heretics in his province while keeping him out of his diocese.