The Inquisition was a judicial procedure and a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, apostasy, blasphemy, witchcraft, and customs considered deviant. Violence, torture, or the simple threat of its application, were used by the Inquisition to extract confessions and denunciations from heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, but convictions of unrepentant heresy were handed over to the secular courts, which generally resulted in execution or life imprisonment. The Inquisition had its start in the 12th-century Kingdom of France, with the aim of combating religious deviation, particularly among the Cathars and the Waldensians. The inquisitorial courts from this time until the mid-15th century are together known as the Medieval Inquisition. Other groups investigated during the Medieval Inquisition, which primarily took place in France and Italy, include the Spiritual Franciscans, the Hussites, and the Beguines. Beginning in the 1250s, inquisitors were generally chosen from members of the Dominican Order, replacing the earlier practice of using local clergy as judges.

काथलिक गिरजे के इतिहास में इनक्विज़िशन (Inquisition) का पर्याप्त महत्वपूर्ण स्थान है। 'एनक्विज़िशन' का अर्थ है जाँच पड़ताल। इस न्यायाधिकरण (ट्राइब्यूनल) की स्थापना इस उद्देश्य से हुई थी कि काथलिक धर्म के सिद्धान्तों से भटकनेवालों का पता लग जाए और उनको दंड दिलाने के लिए सरकार के सुपुर्द किया जाए।