History of the Inquisition from Its Establishment Till the Present Time

by William Sime

The jurisdiction of the Inquisition was not, however, confined to the Jews and Moors, but extended to all those who in their opinions or practice differed from the Church of Rome. The insolent Torquemada even subjected bishops to trial, and actually procured the condemnation of Don Pedro, bishop of Calahorra, under the usual pretence of being a heretic. This fanatic, who was the first Inquisitor-general of Spain, died in 1498.—"The miseries which were the consequences of the system which he adopted," says Llorente, "and recommended to his successors, justify the general hatred which followed him to the tomb, and compelled him to take precautions for his personal safety. It is not surprising that many should have conspired against his life, when his cruel administration is considered; the Pope himself was alarmed at his barbarity, and the complaints which were made against him; and Torquemada was obliged to send his colleague, Antonio Badoja, three times to Rome, to defend him against the accusations of his enemies."

Don Diego Deza, a Dominican, succeeded Torquemada as Inquisitor-general in December 1498. No less cruel than his predecessor, Deza, during the period of eight years, punished thirty-eight thousand four hundred and forty individuals; two thousand five hundred and ninety-two of whom were burnt in person, eight hundred and ninety-six in effigy, and thirty-four thousand nine hundred and fifty-two were condemned to different penances. The audacity of this tyrant rose at length to such a height, that Philip I. who then filled the throne, ordered Deza, in 1506, to retire to his archbishopric of Seville, and to invest another in his room. But unhappily for Spain, the death of the king that same year, restored Deza to his office, which so terrified the inhabitants of Cordova, that they rose in a tumult, broke open the prisons of the Inquisition, and liberated an immense number of prisoners. These events alarmed the Inquisitor-general to such a degree, that he resigned his office, which immediately restored tranquility in Cordova.

Two new Inquisitors were now appointed, namely, Ximenes de Cisneros for Castile, and Don Juan Enguera for Arragon. The former of these prelates, considering it unnecessary to have as many Inquisitorial tribunals as there were bishoprics, "established the Inquisition at Seville, Cordova, Jaen, Toledo, in Estremadura, at Murcia, Valladolid, and Calahorra, and appointed the extent of territory for the jurisdiction of each tribunal; he also sent Inquisitors to the Canary isles. In 1513, the Inquisition was introduced at Cuença; in 1524, at Grenada; under Philip II. at Santiago de Galicia; and under Philip IV. at Madrid. Cisneros also judged it necessary, in 1516, to have a tribunal at Oran, and soon after in America. The Inquisitor-general of Arragon adopted the same system, and sent Inquisitors to Saragossa, Barcelona, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia, and Sicily." Ximenes was eleven years at the head of the Inquisition, during which period, fifty-two thousand eight hundred and fifty-five persons were condemned; three thousand five hundred and sixty-four of whom were burnt in person, one thousand two hundred and thirty-two in effigy, and forty-eight thousand and fifty-nine suffered various other kinds of punishment.

Numerous attempts were made both by the Cortes and the people, during the reign of the Emperor Charles V. to obtain a reform of the "holy office:" but all their efforts were of no avail. Adrian, the successor of Ximenes, who was Inquisitor-general only for five years, condemned no fewer than two hundred and forty thousand and twenty-five individuals; and the yoke of that monstrous institution, instead of being made lighter, was daily rendered more galling.

At the commencement of the Reformation, the most strenuous efforts were made by the Inquisitors to check its progress, and various methods were taken to prevent the circulation of the Reformer's works, and especially the Bible, among the people. In 1522 the Pope enjoined the governors of Castile to prevent the works of Luther from being introduced into the kingdom; and orders were given to the Inquisitors to seize and burn all such obnoxious publications! The Emperor Charles V. commissioned the University of Louvain to form a list of dangerous books, a measure which was cordially approved of by the Pope, in a bull which he issued on this subject, in 1539. "The Index was published in 1546," says Llorente, "by the University in all the states of Flanders, six years after a decree had been issued to prohibit the writings of Luther from being read or bought, on pain of death. In 1549, the Inquisitor-general, with the approbation of the Supreme Council, added some new works to the list of those which had been prohibited, and addressed two ordinances to the Inquisitors, enjoining them in the first, not to allow any person to possess them, and in the second, commanding the consultors of the holy office neither to read nor keep them, though the execution of the decrees might throw them into their hands. In 1546, the Emperor commanded the University of Louvain to publish the Index, with additions. This work appeared in 1550, and the prince remitted it to the Inquisitor-general, and it was printed by the order of the Supreme Council, with a supplement composed of books prohibited in Spain, some time after the Council framed another Index, which was certified by the secretary. All the Inquisitions received copies, and a bull from Julius III. which renewed the prohibitions and revoked the permissions contrary to the new bulls: he charged the Inquisitors to seize as many books as they could; to publish prohibiting edicts, accompanied by censures; to prosecute those who did not obey them, as suspected of heresy; and to give an account of the books which they had read and preserved. The Pope added, that he was informed that a great number were in the possession of librarians and private persons, particularly Spanish Bibles mentioned in the catalogue."

Nor were the Inquisitors dilatory in obeying the injunctions of his Holiness, and of their superstitious monarch. In 1558, the Inquisitor-general published a very severe edict against all who should retain a single volume of any of the works proscribed. Every Bible was ordered to be strictly examined; nay, the professors in the University were compelled, on pain of excommunication, to give up their Hebrew and Greek Bibles to the commissaries of the Inquisition; and even works on medicine were seized, although they were not mentioned in the Index.

In 1558, Philip II. issued a most sanguinary law against all "who should sell, buy, keep, or read, any of the books prohibited by the Holy Office"—a law which not only affected the property, but the lives of those who dared to infringe it. From that period till the present, the utmost vigilance has been exercised by the Spanish Inquisition to prevent the people from seeing any work, which, in the plenitude of its usurped authority, it has declared to be heretical. The Index was from time to time either revised or renewed, and the utmost care was taken to prevent the circulation of the word of God, unless that word was disfigured and corrupted by the votaries of Rome.

But it was not the works of the Protestants only, which were obnoxious to the Inquisition. Their persons were equally hateful, and not long after the commencement of the Reformation, many of the followers of Zuinglius and Luther were committed to the flames by the lords of the "Holy Inquisition." The Emperor Charles V. so decidedly seconded all their endeavours to extirpate heresy, that, having with great difficulty introduced the Inquisition into the Netherlands, he bequeathed in his will the care of that infamous tribunal to his son Philip II., in the words following: "Out of regard to my duty to Almighty God, and from my great affection to the most serene prince, Philip II., my dearest son, and from the strong and earnest desire I have, that he may be safe under the protection of virtue, rather than the greatness of his riches, I charge him, with the greatest affection of soul, that he take especial care of all things relating to the honour and glory of God, as becomes the most Catholic king, and a prince zealous for the divine commands; and that he be always obedient to the commands of our Holy Mother, the Church. And, amongst other things, this I principally and most ardently recommend to him, highly to honour and constantly to support the office of the holy Inquisition, as constituted by God against heretical pravity, with its ministers and officials, because by this single remedy the most grievous offences against God can be remedied. Also, I command him, that he would be careful to preserve to all churches, and ecclesiastical persons, their immunities." And again, "I ardently desire, and with the greatest possible earnestness beseech him, and command him by his regards to me, his most affectionate father, that in this matter, in which the welfare of all Spain is concerned, he be most zealously careful to punish all infected with heresy, with the severity due to their crimes, and that, to this intent, he confer the greatest honours on the office of the holy Inquisition, by the care of which the Catholic faith will be increased in his kingdoms, and the Christian religion preserved."

Philip was possessed of a temper haughty and cruel, and gave full proof of his zeal to obey his father's commands. He conferred new powers on the Inquisitors throughout the Netherlands, and published the most sanguinary edicts against all who maintained or even seemed to favour the Protestant doctrines. In vain did the states of the Low Countries remonstrate against the Inquisition being established among them. Having taken an oath to devote the whole of his reign to the defence of Popery, that cruel and superstitious monarch haughtily replied, "that he would be rather no king at all, than have heretics for his subjects." Notwithstanding his obstinacy, however, he ultimately failed in his attempts to force the Low Countries to receive the Inquisition. The Flemings persisted in opposing every thing resembling that cruel tribunal, and their resistance was the cause of long and bloody wars, which exhausted the treasures and armies of Spain during half a century, and eventually ended in favour of the people.

But it was not in the Low Countries only that Philip showed himself the patron of the Inquisition. In Spain he not only supported, but urged on its "ministers and officials" to the commission of the most appalling deeds of cruelty. On the 18th of October, 1559, an auto-da-fé [10] was celebrated at Valladolid, at which Philip himself was present, and gave most unequivocal proofs of his zeal in defence of the prerogatives of that tribunal. The Inquisitor-general having demanded of the king to continue to them his support, in these words, "Lord, continue to help us;" Philip grasped his sword, and unsheathed part of it, to intimate his readiness at all times to obey the mandates of these ghostly fathers,—a pledge, which, alas! he more than faithfully fulfilled. [11] The horrid ceremony of putting to death twenty-eight faithful followers of the Redeemer, was conducted with great apparent solemnity, Philip, his son, and courtiers, sitting within sight of the prisoners. Among the Protestants condemned, there was a nobleman of the name of Don Carlos Sessa, who, when the executioners were conducting him to the stake, called to the king for mercy, saying, "And canst thou, O king! witness the torments of thy subjects? Save us from this cruel death; we do not deserve it." "No," replied Philip, sternly, "I would myself carry wood to burn my own son, were he such a wretch as thou!" [12] After which he beheld the bloody spectacle that followed, with a composure which showed that he possessed a heart destitute, not only of Christian feeling, but of the least spark of humanity.