Pope Gregory IX appoints Konrad von Marburg…

Pope Gregory IX appoints Konrad von Marburg as special inquisitor in Germany in 1239.

Konrad’s early life is not well known, but he is described by contemporary church sources as well educated and highly knowledgeable.

It is possible that he received a university education; he is also noted for his strong asceticism and his zeal in defending the church.

Konrad long was considered to have been a member of the Dominican Order, but modern scholarly consensus holds that he was not.

Much of his early work within the church is related to the suppression of heresy, and he has taken an active part in the Albigensian Crusade in southern France.

Pope Innocent III had been one of Konrad's early supporters.

Eventually, however, Konrad had returned to Germany, the land of his birth, and gradually acquired a position of considerable influence at the court of Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia.