The Spanish Inquisition

(1) Introduction

In this paper I will show the events and the purpose of the Spanish Inquisition. I will also show the history before the Spanish Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition involved many religious and powerful people. Their influence brought forth a quest to expel all who were not Christian.

(2) Before the Spanish Inquisition there was the Papal Inquisition.

To fully understand the Spanish Inquisition, one must learn about its predecessor the Medieval Inquisition. Religion was more than just going to church. It was a person's science, their identity, their philosophy, their politics, and their hope for salvation. The Inquisitions was used to bring order, justice, and compassion to combat rampant secular and popular persecutions of heretics. Heresy is the selection of religious or political doctrines, adhesion to parties in church or state.

In 1184 Pope Lucuis III sent a list of heretics to Europe's bishops and commanded them to take an active role in determining whether those accused of heresy were, in fact, guilty. The churched believed that people sometimes lost their way and in order to find their way back, the church wanted to lead them back to save their souls. The Inquisition provided a means for heretics to escape death and return to the community. It was crueler because it was administered by the secular government.

Most people accused of heresy were either acquitted or their sentence suspended. Those found guilty were allowed to confess their sin, do penance, and be restored to the Body of Christ. An Inquisition determined that certain medieval people intentionally departed from the Church or community and could persuade others to do so. The Inquisitor felt that the heretic was a threat and could not be undone. The secular authorities held that the heretics be dealt with by imposing a capital offense.

In the early Middle Ages investigations of heresy was a duty of the bishops. Finally, in 1233, Pope Gregory IX established the papal Inquisition, dispatching Dominican friars to S France to conduct inquests. In the early 13th century the introduction of the Franciscans and Dominicans that provided the papacy with a corps of dedicated to devote their lives to the salvation of the world. Dominicans were created to preach the Catholic faith and debate with heretics. Their work embraced devoted service in the abodes of sickness and poverty, earnest preaching by both priests and lay brothers, and missions in an ever widening circle, which finally included heretics and Muslims. They came together every year at Pentecost in the little church of the Portiuncula at Assisi, to report on their experiences and strengthen themselves for fresh efforts.The Inquisitors answered only to the pope and not to the local bishop, nor even the heads of their Order. When an inquisitor arrived, a month of grace was allowed to all who wished to confess to heresy and to recant; these were given a light penance, which was intended to confirm their faith. After the period of grace, persons accused of heresy that had not abjured were brought to trial. The defendants were not given the names of their accusers, but they could name their enemies and thus nullify any testimony by these persons. After 1254 the accused had no right to counsel, but those found guilty could appeal to the pope. The trials were conducted secretly in the presence of a representative of the bishop and of a stipulated number of local laymen. Torture of the accused and his witnesses soon became customary and notorious, despite the long-standing papal condemnation of torture (e.g., by Nicholas I); Innocent IV ultimately permitted torture in cases of heresy.

Most trials resulted in a guilty verdict, and the church handed the condemned over to the secular authorities for punishment. Burning at the stake was thought to be the fitting punishment for unrecanted heresy, probably through analogy with the Roman law on treason. However, the burning of heretics was not common in the Middle Ages; the usual punishments were penance, fine, and imprisonment. A verdict of guilty also meant the confiscation of property by the civil ruler, who might turn over part of it to the church. This practice led to graft, blackmail, and simony and also created suspicion of some of the inquests. Generally the inquisitors were eager to receive abjurations of heresy and to avoid trials. Secular rulers came to use the persecution of heresy as a weapon of state, as in the case of the suppression of the Knights Templars.

The Inquisition was an emergency device and was employed mainly in S France, Italy, and Germany. In 1542, Paul III assigned the medieval Inquisition to the Congregation of the Inquisition, or Holy Office. This institution, which became known as the Roman Inquisition, was intended to combat Protestantism, but it