The Medieval inquisition: scale-free networks and the suppression of heresy

Paul Ormerod () and Andrew P Roach

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2004, vol. 339, issue 3, 645-652

Abstract: Qualitative evidence suggests that heresy within the medieval Church had many of the characteristics of a scale-free network. From the perspective of the Church, heresy can be seen as an infectious disease. The disease persisted for long periods of time, breaking out again even when the Church believed it to have been eradicated. A principal mechanism of heresy was through a small number of individuals with very large numbers of social contacts.

Keywords: Networks; Scale-free; Heresy; Inquisition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:339:y:2004:i:3:p:645-652

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2004.03.020

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