Bernardo Gui

Bernardo Gui was an inquisitor of the Roman Catholic Church.

A zealot, Gui clashed with Brother William of Baskerville. William believed that the goal of the Inquisition was not to indulge in psychotic urges, but to guide the faithful. William defended a man whose only crime was translating a book from Greek, Gui overruled William and had the man burned at the stake. Gui also had William imprisoned for several years before William was released.

During the early 14th century, Gui was sent to a Benedictine Abbey in northern Italy to attend a conference there. The abbey had been the site of several murders, and Gui was chomping at the bit to take care of the problem. Gui had a peasant girl, a hunchback named Salvatore, and a monk named Remigio da Varagine - who had an interesting past - arrested and brought before a tribunal. Gui intimidated the Abbot into agreeing with his verdict, and when William would not do the same Gui detained William, intending to take him to Avignon and answer to the Pope.

Meanwhile the three people Gui had arrested were tied to stakes, and had started them on fire. Salvatore and Remigio were burned to death, while the peasant girl was later freed by area villagers when a fire broke out in the abbey library. Gui tried to escape in his fancy wagon, however a group of angry villagers pushed the wagon over. Gui fell to his death.