facing the Roman Inquisition.]]Inquisition (capitalised I) is broadly used in reference to the judgment of heresy by the Roman Catholic Church. It can mean an ecclesiastical tribunal or institution of the Roman Catholic Church for combating or suppressing heresy, a number of historical expurgation movements against heresy (orchestrated by the Roman Catholic Church) or the trial of an individual accused of heresy.[LINK: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/inquisition1.html] Medieval Sourcebook: Inquisition - Introduction Inquisition tribunals and institutions Before the twelfth century, the Catholic Church gradually suppressed heresy usually through a system of ecclesiastical, proscription and imprisonment. Although many states allowed the Church to use the death penalty, initially it was not frequently imposed, as this form of punishment had many ecclesiastical opponentshttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08