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What happened during a period of grace declared by a medieval inquisitor?
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inquisition
St. Dominic Presiding at an Auto-da-Fé, panel by Pedro Berruguete, c. 1503; in the Prado, Madrid.
When a medieval inquisitor arrived in a district to begin an inquiry, they would typically declare a period of grace. During this time, individuals who voluntarily confessed to their own involvement in heresy, as well as the involvement of others, were granted only light penances.1
Inquisitors utilized these voluntary confessions to compile lists of suspects, whom they would subsequently summon to appear before their tribunal. It was expected that those identified would comply with the summons; failure to appear was viewed as evidence of guilt.1