The first documented executions of heretics in medieval Europe occurred on this date in 1022 in Orleans, when 13 or so were burned at Orleans. The French king at this time was Robert II, known to history as “Robert the Pious” because he was so violent with the sub-orthodox.* In addition to this date’s burnings, he’s noted for inciting anti-Jewish persecutions that in some places drove local Jewry to drown themselves fleeing pogroms. For those within Christianity, starting now, Robert’s Piety meant much tighter scrutiny of potentially deviant doctrines. Now, these were not the first-ever Christian-on-Christian heresy executions in the...