gale_mist

just a paper typed... our teacher in Christian History gave us a really nice reading. it's entitled, "The Truth about the Spanish Inquisition" by Thomas Madden. Real interesting, since I've read a couple of articles about the atrocities of this Inquisition. Hehe, things are never what they seem, I guess. Not that I'm justifying the torture and the death penalties... just trying to be a historian here. >.>; It's not all about compassion, you also have to use your head and try to understand why they would have done such a thing.

The Spanish Inquisition: Based on fact or what?

(A summary of Thomas Madden’s The Truth About The Spanish Inquisition)

The Spanish Inquisition’s notoriety remains even to the present. With the brutality and the number of people who have suffered it, how could it not? Perhaps, it is also because this notion is commonly rooted for two erring bases; first, the methodology of justice then is contrasted to the contemporary procedures of effecting justice; and second, focusing solely on the Spanish Inquisition instead of considering the situation in the whole of Europe within the same period.

First and foremost, one must be acquianted with the European medieval society to have an overview of how it facilitated the development of the Inquisition. Both political and religious realm had claims over the process. Afterall, religion was the essence of a society. The Inquisition during the 12th century had Bishops supervising its execution. Later on, during the 13th century, the responsibility was handed over to inquisitorial tribunals who were answerable to Rome; certain guidelines contained in manuals secured uniformity. Still later on to the later Middle Ages, secular rulers intervened, convinced that they were more capable of seeing what was best for their kingdom compared to a Pope who was miles away. It is in that later middle century that the Spanish inquisition takes place.

A number of events led to the Spanish Inquisition. Spain had been a melting pot for Christians, Moslems and Jews alike. A certain amount of religious tolerance was granted since the Christian/ Muslim borders were frequently shifting. However, as the wave of anti-Semitism spread throughout Europe, Spain had begun to experience the conflict. In 1391, mobs in Barcelona rounded up the Jews and forced them to choose between death or baptism. Majority chose baptism, and although the King of Aragon had later decreed that Jews who were forced into conversion may return to their faith, many had decided to remain Christian for various reasons. This led to “conversos”, who had carried their Jewish culture and yet outwardly identified themselves as Catholic. This “Christianizing of Spanish Judaism” drew more conversos. However things started to turn for the worse as claiming that they were more Catholic, being blood-related to Jesus himself, had come into conversos society. As conversos had grew more successful within the community, and as the distinction between culture and religion more vague, a conspiracy theory came into being—
that the conversos were secretly practicing their former faith and pretending to be Catholic for the main purpose of overtaking the Spanish nobility and the Church itself.

As the claims and theories had led to disorder, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella decided that the truth regarding the Jews must be investigated. Pope Sixtus IX authorized an inquisitorial tribunal through issuing a bull, where the monarchy would have complete authority over the Inquisition. The problem as the Inquisition began was that the accusations’ grounds were usually for score-settling and opportunism. And as the inquisition progressed, the nature of the accusations became more apparent to Pope Sixtus IX. After he issues a letter to tell bishops to take over future tribunals, King Ferdinand becomes enraged and claims that the Pope was bribed. From that point, the Pope loses control over the Inquisition and the monarchy gains total control.

The Inquisition under Tomas de Tourqemanda as inquisitor general led to more deaths. Opposition between Church and State grew stronger as standards sway from the essence of Catholicism. It was during Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros’ succession as inquisitor-general that reform took place. After all the reforms, the Inquisition became effective—less death penalties compared to other areas in Europe. In fact, the Spanish inquisition was more “enlightened” in the eyes of society, since it was more compassionate in its procedures. Although that view changed in the 1530’s with the advent of Protestant Reformation.
The Inquisition now focused on stopping the penetration of Protestantism within Spain. However, with the printing press, the Black Legend had put the Spain into infamy. The Protestants had launched a propaganda war, and their claims to having been driven underground during the medieval inquisition put the Church in even more difficult circumstances. This propaganda against the Spanish inquisition had very damaging effects, which until today we experience. Yet even later on in the 17th century, the inquisition suffered more criticism through of the ideas of religious tolerance; Enlightenment thinkers labeled the inquisition as a brutal weapon of intolerance and ignorance. At present, the Spanish Inquisition remains infamous because of its efficiency and order. It had kept very good records, which have greatly supplied historians with more than enough details of the Inquisition. With such good records, it beomes easy to realize all the atrocities of that period. The injustice of the Spanish Inquisition is obvious when taken into the current setting. But if contrasted to other areas in Europe at the same period, one can only imagine the amount of bloodshed for the cause of maintaining order and sometimes even for fighting for ideas and beliefs.

--Victoria Cayton January 23 2006