ABSTRACT
The Church displayed a lively fear of heresy. Some, like the Humiliati and the Franciscans, were incorporated into the Church by Innocent III. Others, such as the Waldensians and the Cathars, were judged heretical and the papacy and local ecclesiastical authorities did their best to suppress them. Heresy provided opportunities for preaching and ministry at a time when even abbesses were finding that their preaching to their fellow nuns was being increasingly restricted. The Hussites took their inspiration from the academic and popular preacher, John Hus, who was put to death at the Council of Constance in 1415. There was a close relationship between the Hussites and John Wycliffe and the Lollards in England. Certain Lollards specifically attributed priestly powers to women. Cases of witchcraft were also heard by local ecclesiastical and secular courts. Women on their own who had a bad reputation within their communities were especially vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft.
