ABSTRACT
Although Borromeo offers specific ex:unples from Milanese records to support his arguments about episcopal and inquisitorial co-operation, he concedes that there are many gaps in the evidence, and that he especiaUy lacks the acts of processes conducted by episcopal tribunals in matters of the faith. I I That these existed, he is able to surmise from the indirect evidence of the decrees of the Provincial Councils of Milan and of letters from the Roman Congregation of the Inquisition to bishops which make reference to cases being dealt with by the ordinary. Positive proof for Borromeo's contention is, fortunately, found in the diocesan archives of Novara, the western neighbor of the Archdiocese of Milan, which possesses records of a substantial number of processes in matters of faith conducted by the episcopal authorities of the post-Tridentine period. The records are incomplete, consisting of interrogations of dozens of witnesses and suspects and several sentences, 12 but lacking the defenses prepared by the accused. However, they substantiate Borromeo's claims that the episcopal courts took the initiative in prosecuting in matters of faith. Supplemented by other records from the diocese, most notably the voluminous correspondence of Carlo Bascape, 13 bishop from 1593 to 1615, they also make it
ROLE OF THE EPISCOPAL TRIBUNAL OF NOVARA 407
1bis paper is designed to throw light on the nature of episcopal activity in matters of the faith in the Diocese of Novara and on the relationship between episcopal authorities and the Inquisition. It will demonstrate that for the most part bishop and inquisitor worked in hannony along the lines established by Multorum querela. However, their relationship was not always tranquil, for squabbles often occurred over such matters as the enforcement of the Index of Prohibited Books and the surveillance of travel to heretical areas. This paper will also test some of the recent theories about the extent of heresy and witchcraft in nonhern Italy in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and the treatment of these problems by the ecclesiastical tribunals.
