Many people involved in the academic study of literature have said that fantasy literature is not a legitimate field of study. This statement is simply not true. Fantasy literature uses many of the same techniques that make "real" literature important to read. Some may say that no other genre employs themes such as loyalty, friendship, love, and the use of actual history better than fantasy. R.A. Salvatore is known primarily for his ability to develop characters, in addition to using the afore mentioned themes. In Salvatore's Demon Wars cycle, there is apparent commentary on medieval age church corruption. If one were to major in English Literature, he or she might not find a better literary commentary on church corruption in his or her academic career.
The Demon Spirit, written by R.A. Salvatore, has many parallels to human history. In the second installment of the first Demon Wars trilogy, The Demon Spirit, Salvatore utilizes church corruption in medieval times. The execution of "supposed" heretics, the torture of "supposed" heretics, and the corrupt behavior of some church leaders are apparent throughout out the entire trilogy, especially in The Demon Spirit. To understand the root of the story of the first Demon Wars trilogy, one must summarize the first installment, The Demon Awakens.
The Demon Awakens begins with the awakening of the Demon Dactyl who is said to lead all the evil of Corona against the human world. The story then introduces the three main characters: Jilseponie, Elbryan, and Avelyn. Though the three protagonist lead separate paths, their fates ultimately come together and their fight to destroy the Demon Dactyl commences. By the end of The Demon Awakens, the Demon Dactyl is destroyed, at least its corporeal form. The price of this victory was life of the Abellican monk Avelyn Desbris, who is now considered a heretic by the Abellican church. Avelyn had left the church because he did not agree with certain behaviors in the churches leadership. Upon the Demon Dactyl's destruction Avelyn's arm was preserved on the top of Mount Aida, a holy place for his followers and a place of heresy for the corrupt monks of the Abellican order. After The Demon Awakens ends, the plot thickens in several ways including the possession of Father Abbot Markwart, the head of the abellican order and the continuation of the war, despite the destruction of the Demon Dactyl.
In The Demon Spirit, the story primarily follows Elbryan and Jilseponie. However, Avelyn's former mentor, Jojonah, takes up the reins in fighting the corruption of the Abellican church. Jilseponie and Elbryan are now considered heretics by Father Abbot Markwart, which leads to the torture and death of Jilseponie's foster parents and the capture of one of Elbryan's best friends the centaur Bradwarden. Eventually Jojonah is beaten and burned for preaching of Avelyn as a hero and saint. These issues of religious corruption and opposition to religious change play large roles in Salvatore's The Demon Spirit.
Since Aveyln's departure from the Abellican church Jojonah had noticed significant changes in his beloved order. Most of these changes can be attributed to the leader of the church, Father Abbot Markwart, being possessed by the demon dactyl's spirit. However the possessed Markwart has many loyal followers. Jojonah started teaching some of his students about the ways of Avelyn in secret meetings at night. Jojonah even helps to free Elbryan's friend Bradwarden after he is captured; he helps Elbryan and Jilsponie because of their relationship with Avelyn before his heroic death. In the last pages of The Demon Spirit Jojonah speaks openly at the college of abbots of his hand in releasing prisoners and of his preaching the ways of Avelyn. On his way out of St. Mere-Abelle to be beaten and burned as a heretic he even tells Brother Francis, one of Markwart's closest followers, "I forgive you…as does Avelyn, as does God." (Salvatore, 464) After this Jojonah was taken out to the streets, stripped naked, beaten by various means, and finally burned at the stake. As the pyre is lit Markwart exclaims, "You are damned by your actions… May God show you mercy" (Salvatore, 464) Of course Jojonah is truly the one favored by God and as he dies he sees his former student and hero welcoming him with "outstretched arms" (Salvatore, 464) to heaven.
The case of Jojonah in The Demon Spirit is very similar to the medieval age case of Arnold of Brescia. Arnold of Brescia became disgusted with the corruption of the Catholic church during his clerical studies at the University of Paris. Arnold believed in an apostolic poverty, "the idea that clergy should emulate Jesus and the apostles and own nothing." (Clifton, 15-16) In 1146 CE Arnold actually had a large enough following to drive out the Pope for a short period of time. However, in 1150 CE, Eugenius recaptured Rome and Pope Hadrian IV was seated at the head of the Catholic Church. Arnold and his followers tried to preach their apostolic views, but this only resulted in Arnold's arrest, imprisonment, and garroting.
Arnold of Brescia was declared a heretic simply because he preached views different from those of the Pope and his followers. Jojonah was declared a heretic primarily for preaching the ways of Avelyn, which went against Markwart and his followers. Of course, in Jojonah's case there is a much clearer picture of right and wrong. By the time Markwart falls and the truth is brought to light, the remaining Brothers of the Abellican order try to begin the canonization process of Avelyn's name. As for Arnold of Brescia, he influenced later groups such as the followers of Francis of Assisi and the Waldensians. Both Jojonah and Arnold of Brescia preached different ideologies that deviated from the normal preaching of their churches. Both tried to follow in the example of a great religious figure; Avelyn and Christ respectively, and both were executed as heretics for their preaching's.
The use of torture by the Abellican church in The Demon Spirit, is very similar to real torture methods used by the Catholic Church in the 14th century CE against the Knights Templar. In The Demon Spirit, the corrupt Abellican church kidnaps Jilsponie's foster Family, the Chilichunks. Upon the capture of the Chilichunks, the son Grady is beaten to death on the road to the abbey St. Mere-Abelle. Petwibba and Graevis are tortured in the abbeys bowels, which leads to their deaths. Eventually demonic possession is forced upon their dead bodies. In the bowels, the first method of torture is the cutting off of Graevis's nose to persuade the Chilichunks to tell Father Abbot Markwart where their foster daughter is. "A wicked smile crossed the Father Abbot's face, though he had been looking forward to cutting of the stupid Graevis' nose." (Salvatore, 307). Another character, the centaur Bradwarden, is brutally beaten as a prisoner in the dungeons of St. Mere-Abelle. The father Abbot uses a healing armband on the centaur and beats him on a regular basis. This of course means the centaur can never die from the beatings. "Did you bring the armband?…Let us go do our duty, the father abbot said, seeming quite amused." (Salvatore, 385) The torture of supposed heretics in the dungeons of St. Mere-Abelle occurred because of the relationship of these characters to the "Heretics" Avelyn, Jilsponie, and Elbryan, the heroes of the saga. This unjust evil act is very similar to the treatment of the Knights Templar by Catholic Church.
The Knights Templar once a great Knightly order of the Christian church were eventually considered heretics by Pope Clement V, which lead to their torture and executions. In the 14th century CE there were many inquisitions into the Knights Templar because of their wealth and their defeat in Acre in 1291 CE. "Pope Clement V gave orders that Templars in all nations were to be examined and tortured, if necessary, to determine whether they were Heretics… Proceedings dragged over months and years… and in 1310 some 54 members of the order were burned at the stake." (Clifton, 78). While the details of the Knights Templar's torture are not mentioned in this source, it is certain that they were extremely inhuman. The torture of The Chilichunks and Bradwarden in The Demon Spirit is very similar to the treatment of supposed heretics in the 14th Century CE Catholic Church, especially in the case of the Knights Templar.
The possessed and evil mind of Father Abbot Markwart is a commentary of the corrupt and evil minds of some popes throughout the medieval ages, chiefly in the Medieval Inquisition. In The Demon Spirit, Markwart is actually possessed by the spirit of the Demon Dactyl, while the popes during the inquisition were not, as far as we know, actually possessed by demons. These Popes where just arrogant and evil men who were possessed with their own power. Throughout The Demon Spirit, Father Abbot Markwart orders his followers to hunt and capture, torture, and execute supposed heretics. The possessed Markwart eventually tells his close follower Brother Francis that the war is no longer about the real enemies, the giants, the powries and the demon dactyl, but that " This is a war for the heart of the Abellican Church...This is a war between traditions which have stood for millennia, and usurpous, petty contemporary beliefs concerning the nature of good and evil." (Salvatore, 239). This statement links directly to the reason for the Popes evil doings in the medieval inquisition. They were afraid of new belief systems, so they declared certain groups heretics and then committed many atrocities against them.
During the Medieval inquisitions Pope Gregory IX and Pope Innocent IV were particularly evil individuals. Pope Gregory IX is attributed with the medieval inquisition's beginning. "the inquisition's formal beginning is often dated to a decree of Pope Gregory IX, who in 1231 ordered that repentant heretics be imprisoned for life and those who refused to recant their heresy be turned over to secular authorities for execution." (Clifton, 65). Obviously Pope Gregory IX was afraid of some of these new ideas for the direction of the Catholic Church, much as Markwart was afraid of Avelyn's followers. They both knew if these new teachings were adopted, their reign of power would surely be at an end. Pope Innocent IV was a particularly evil man. Pope Innocent IV strengthened the inquisition by allowing new atrocious methods for the treatment of heretics. "A subsequent pope, Innocent IV, further strengthened the Inquisition. His bull Ad Extirpanda (To extirpate) permitted the use of torture to gain confessions, reinforced the use of burning at the stake as the chief method of execution, and heightened the persecution of heretics in Italy in particular." (Clifton, 66) Father Abbot Markwart certainly furthered the use of torture and executions in the persecution of heretics in The Demon Spirit. The Abellican order before the time of Markwart did not use these horrific methods. Salvatore's use of the corrupt mind of Father Abbot Markwart is a fantastic commentary on the evil minds of popes during the medieval ages.
The Demon Spirit has proven to be filled with actual history shaped to fit a fantasy world. The use of the executions of heretics, the torture of heretics, and demonic possession of the church leader all have historic parallels with the study of the corrupt Catholic church and its leaders in medieval times. Anyone studying the use of historical context in literature will be hard pressed to find a better example than The Demon Spirit. Of course this assumes that the student would be able to overcome the stereotype that fantasy literature is not "real" literature.

Bibliography
Salvatore, R.A., The Demon Spirit, New York, Ballantine Books 1998
Clifton, Chas S., Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics, New York, Barnes and Noble, Inc. 1998