Henry the monk

Henry the Monk (1st half 12th Century) -- Henry was an early heretic in medieval Europe between 1100 and 1150.

Henry the Monk was a wandering heretical preacher who wandered from town to town in central and southern France and occasionally northern Italy. At one time in his life he had been a monk and indeed a Gregorian reformer. He become disillusioned with the Gregorian reform failure and crossed the line into heresy. He began in 1116 and continued through the 1140s, preaching on the run. His fate is unknown.

His teachings included denial of original sin. He taught a denial that prayers for the dead could have any effect that once a person is dead it is too late to pray. He was against baptising infants. He disagreed that relics had any spiritual meaning.

Henry was part of an early heretical movement in Europe that arose from a disatisfaction of the Church for many reasons. Later heretical movements in the 12th and 13th Century would be larger and more institutionalized than these early wandering preachers.

See also Peter of Bruis