This chapter begins to examine in more detail how the inquisition in Italy actually functioned, by looking at a number of the practical considerations which shaped an inquisitor's life. In order to give shape to disparate subjects, the chapter is organised broadly to follow the experiences of an inquisitor newly taking up post in the decades after the promulgation of Ad extirpanda in 1252, and the immediate issues he would have faced. How did he demonstrate his bona fides and acquire the practical support – staff and accommodation – needed to do his work? What were the social and physical circumstances in which he exercised his role? How did he finance his work? Where did he turn if he needed support and advice? Answers to these questions illuminate from several angles the constraints on the inquisitor's practical and legal independence, and the growth of the inquisition as a bureaucratic entity.

Chapter 1 noted that the structure mandated by Ad extirpanda was not only built on uneven local foundations but also took root at different times in different places, as inquisitors were appointed, the communes agreed to accept them, and more distant towns were eventually reached. It is simplistic to think of the inquisition in Italy as something which after 1252 (and the disruption of the 1254 split of responsibilities) progressed steadily and evenly along a common path of development. There are many signs of convergence of practice, and correspondingly of a growing organisational identity, but not complete uniformity either within or between orders. One reason for inconsistent development was that an inquisitor's existence could be somewhat precarious well into the fourteenth century. This was not so much a question of money and other resources, but of his real freedom to do his work uninterrupted. Even the process of appointment by provincials under delegated authority was frequently disrupted by papal demands and interventions. Other calls on inquisitors’ attention came from the mendicant orders themselves. Both inquisitors and their support arrangements had thus to be flexible. In response to such pressures, however, we see inquisitors acting in concert, supporting each other and helping each other out. These are characteristics of an emerging institutional personality, not of individuals acting separately under purely personal remits.