For my campaign I often produce handouts (because I enjoy it). These are often letters, journals, dropped pieces of lore, magic theory etc. These are all written in Swedish, but occasionally I translate some to English and share with others (let me know if you want to see more of that).
Recently, my players had a fairly benign visit from a papal legate (and a lot of crazy things happened then and after, including a review of their library (for heretical books, they hastily hid the worst) and battling demons in the city of Hamm - in view of the legate, not necessarily wise)
Anyway, as part of that I’ve written letters, and in particular an introduction letter this “proto-Inquisition” can carry and show forward (to put dread in the players hearts). I thought more people might enjoy it.
Note: The letter is AI-translated from Swedish (with just minor fixes):
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.
To All Christian Princes, Lords Temporal, Bishops, Abbots, Deans, and Officers of the Church resident in the Rhineland, Westphalia, and Saxony: Greeting, and the Apostolic benediction in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
From His Eminence Cardinal Otto di Tonengo, Apostolic Legate in Germany and Denmark, acting in the name and with the full authority of our most holy lord Gregory IX, by Divine Providence Bishop of Rome and Universal Pope, Servant of the Servants of God.
De Potestate Legati – On the Authority of the Legate
Know that the bearer of these letters, Angelo Savelli, travels among you not as a visitor, not as an inspector of customs, and not as a man whose authority it falls within your gift to acknowledge or to decline. He carries our seal and the Pope's own mandate, derived from the supreme authority of the Apostolic See and grounded in the provisions of the Fourth Lateran Council of the year of Our Lord 1215 — in particular those articles which place all academic, monastic, and ecclesiastical establishments under Apostolic inspection and correction, without exception, without appeal, and without the interposition of diocesan privilege.
He has, furthermore, been entrusted with the company of Brother Konrad von Marburg, whom His Holiness Gregory IX has formally named Inquisitor in partibus Germaniae by Apostolic bull, with full dispensation from ordinary canonical process. Brother Konrad is empowered to hear, to judge, to detain, and to execute sentence in all matters pertaining to heresy, diabolical practice, and the corruption of the faithful. His authority in these matters is not subject to diocesan oversight, secular jurisdiction, or any local custom, charter, or privilege whatsoever. No bishop, no lord temporal, and no chartered institution may lawfully interpose itself between Brother Konrad's mandate and its execution. We commend this to your attention with particular care, as misunderstanding on this point has, in other provinces, produced consequences we trust you will prefer to avoid.
De Causa – On the Matter at Hand
It has reached His Holiness's ears — through confirmed report, not idle rumour, the weight of which has caused this letter to be prepared with deliberation at the highest level — that the corruptions of the ancient Enemy have found footing in these territories. The diabolical error of the Adversary, clothed in the vanity of hidden scholarship and secret learning, has taken root behind the doors of establishments which present a surface of respectability to the faithful whilst pursuing darker arts in the shadows. Where the shepherds of Christ's flock have been inattentive — whether through negligence, through ignorance, or through a sympathy that cannot yet be named but will in time be examined — the poison has spread. These are the matters with which the Apostolic party concerns itself.
We do not suggest that you, the recipients of this letter, bear personal guilt for this condition. We suggest only that you are now informed of it, and that what you choose to do with that information will itself become a matter of record.
De Mandatis – On What Is Required of You
We command, and this word is selected with the deliberation its weight deserves, the following of all those into whose hands these letters come:
I. That you provide to Legatus Savelli, to Brother Konrad von Marburg, and to the Dominican brothers travelling under their authority, safe passage through your territories, suitable lodging at every halt, and all material assistance required for the execution of their mandate — without cost to the Apostolic party, without preconditions, and without delay.
II. That you surrender for questioning, without requiring prior written charges and without forewarning, any person whose name the Legatus or Brother Konrad shall present to you for that purpose, and that you make no effort to establish the reason for the request before complying with it.
III. That you open to inspection, on request and without delay, all records, registers, archives, and documents within your custody or jurisdiction, whether held directly by your hand or by any person, institution, or body that stands under your authority.
IV. That you refrain, upon pain of immediate ecclesiastical censure, from communicating to any person, institution, or establishment the contents of this letter or the movements and intentions of the Apostolic party in advance of their arrival.
V. That you place at the Legatus's disposal, on demand, an adequate armed escort for passage through your territory, without enquiry into the destination or purpose.
These are not requests.
De Consequentiis – On What Follows from Obedience and from Failure
The Christian lord or church officer who renders faithful service in this matter shall have the Apostolic gratitude, the Church's active protection against those temporal and spiritual adversaries who might otherwise find in his position an opportunity, and the knowledge that his cooperation has been entered into the Apostolic Register, whose memory is long.
The Christian lord or church officer who fails, obstructs, delays, or forewarns — whether through negligence, misplaced loyalty, or deliberate opposition — shall know that the Apostolic interdict does not distinguish between his hearth and his diocese. It does not exempt his heirs. Excommunication does not await a subsequent letter; it is the standing consequence of obstruction of a Papal mandate and takes effect upon the act, not upon the notification. We do not raise this as a threat. We raise it as a point of ecclesiastical law, which we presume you would wish to be informed of before making your decisions.
Brother Konrad von Marburg has, moreover, been specifically empowered to extend the scope of his examination to any person whose conduct during the visitation suggests complicity, concealment, or material sympathy with those under inquiry. This extension requires no further authorisation and is not subject to appeal.
We commend your souls and your territories to the mercy of Christ, and your conduct to your own best judgment.
Datum Romae, sub sigillo nostro et manu propria.
In Christi nomine et sub Apostolica Auctoritate. Obedite.Otto de Tonengo, dictus Candidus
Cardinalis Diaconus Sancti Nicolai in Carcere
Apostolicae Sedis Legatus in partibus GermaniaeAnno Domini MCCXXXI
[Seal and Signature]
Note: Otto was the historical apostolic legate to Germany, Denmark 1229-1231 so very likely a cardinal who’d sign this off. Konrad of Marburg was at the time THE inquisitor (very scary guy, look him up). Konrad wasn’t with the legate Savelli (who was a reasonably nice old man - took my players by surprise) for the first visit, but he’ll be for the next… They can easily be substituted as needed.