Many of the Hussites now withdrew to a high mountain, which they fortified; and there they held their religious meetings, administering the Lord’s supper, not only in bread, but with wine, which had been forbidden by the Catholics. Their fortification they called Tabor, and the people were hence called Taborites. They chose leaders, and defeated the troops of the emperor in eleven engagements; so that they gained the use of the cup in the Lord’s supper, by the consent of the council of Basil, A.D. 1431.
Part of the Hussites sought more than the cup; they insisted on having a reformation according to the Scriptures. They were still persecuted by the Catholics, and obliged to conceal themselves in thickets and caves, kindling fire only at night, when they read the Scriptures and united in the social worship of God. Stephen, their last bishop, having been burnt alive for his profession of Christ, the Bohemian brethren united with the Waldenses, A.D. 1480.
CHAPTER VI.
THE INQUISITION IN SPAIN.
Spain under Ferdinand and Isabella—Holy Office—Torquemada, inquisitor—His victims and policy—Persecution of Jews—Diego Deza—Cisneros—Charles V.—Philip II.—Acts of faith—Victims under Philip II.—Murder of his son, Don Carlos.
Spain, above every other country, has been afflicted and degraded by the court of inquisition. We have seen that it was introduced into its provinces at an early period, and several persons were publicly burnt, A.D. 1302, in Arragon, by Father Bernard; and one of the spectacles of burning heretics, A.D. 1325, was sanctioned by the presence of King James and his two sons. About A.D. 1356, Nicholas Eymerick, inquisitor-general of Arragon, wrote a book of rules, as “The Guide of Inquisitors;” and this was the chief directory, though the Inquisition greatly declined, until the union of the crowns of Arragon, Castile and Leon, Asturias and Granada, by the marriage of Ferdinand V. of Arragon, with Isabella, queen of Castile, A.D. 1474.
Spain being thus united under one government, the “Modern Inquisition” was established, in a new form, for the discovery of Moors and heretics, but especially Jews. This people, by diligence in trade, had acquired great wealth; they were celebrated for their learning, and some of them had risen to the highest offices in the state. Yet, even from the first, they were subjected to insult, on account of their religion, by the professors of Christianity. Many of the Jews, however, professed to be converted to the faith of Christ, and intermarried with the Spanish nobility; but no sooner had Ferdinand and Isabella ascended the throne, than the Romish prelates appealed to them, as Catholic princes, to give their sanction to an increased activity and power of the Inquisition.
Isabella was unwilling to become thus guilty of the blood of her subjects; but Ferdinand was led by the priests, and the queen at length yielded to their bigoted counsels. Pope Sixtus IV., therefore, A.D. 1471, at her request, granted a bull, enjoining the arrest and punishment of heretics and apostates. Gentle means were employed for two years, as was desired by Isabella; but it was then reported by the priests, that these were insufficient; and, A.D. 1480, Michael Morillo and John de San Martin, both Dominicans, were constituted inquisitors, with various subordinate officers.
Seville was the seat of their first operations. In their progress, they were furnished by the governors of provinces, according to royal orders, with whatever they required; and the citizens, though opposed to the institution, yielded to the royal commission. They issued their first edict, January 2nd, 1481; and many, dreading the vengeance of the Inquisition, fled from the city. The Spanish nobles were commanded by the inquisitors to seize the emigrants as heretics; their property was confiscated, and such numbers were arrested that they were obliged to provide a larger prison. On a tablet of this building was engraved the following, in barbarous Latin:—
“The Holy Office of the Inquisition, established against the wickedness of heretics, commenced at Seville in the year 1481, under the pontificate of Sixtus IV., who granted, and in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, who had asked for it. The first inquisitor-general was friar Thomas de Torquemada, prior of the convent of Santa Cruz, of Segovia, of the order of the Preaching Brotherhood. God grant that, for the propagation and maintenance of the faith, it may last until the end of the ages. ‘Arise, O Lord, be judge in thy cause—catch the foxes.’”
Terror might reasonably seize the minds of the people; for, January 6th, only four days after the first edict, six persons were publicly burnt to death by the inquisitors; and, about a month after, a much larger number. On account of the numerous victims, the prefect of Seville erected a stone scaffold. Upon this were placed four large hollow statues of plaster, called “the four prophets,” and within, or chained to these, the condemned wretches were burnt. Innocence was by no means a guarantee against imprisonment, confiscation of property, or even death; for the inquisitors invited accusations, and the accusers were secure, as their depositions were kept secret, and the parties accused knew nothing of their being suspected until they had been arrested and chained in the dungeons of the Inquisition.