Spanish Inquisition: History, Procedures, and Abolition
**Section 2: Tribunal of the Inquisition**
*Sources in the Middle Ages and Evolution in the Modern Age*
The Medieval Inquisition tribunal was established to combat heresy in Europe, especially that of the Albigensian heresy that extended well into the Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages, this court was never independent but was bound by the ordinary courts. It would be in the modern age when this court developed. When the Catholic Monarchs decided to act against the Jews, they were forced to reorganize the court. The Spanish Inquisition was established in all the kingdoms of the monarchy, separated from the ordinary courts, and subject to the crown as a department of state. The Catholic Monarchs requested from Pope Sixtus IV the authority to name the inquisitors. The pope gave in and allowed the Catholic Monarchs to appoint two or three inquisitors to deal with cases of heresy and punish heretics according to the penalties provided for such cases in both canon law and civil law. In the year 1483, the Catholic Monarchs, with the permission of the pope, appointed an Inquisitor General who would have jurisdiction over all courts. This position was given to Torquemada. At this point, the Supreme Council and General Inquisition were constituted. Torquemada wrote a code in which procedural rules were contained to standardize the procedure.
The Spanish Inquisition Tribunal, also called the Holy Office, had three main areas of focus:
- False Jewish converts
- Christians suspected of Lutheranism
- False Moorish converts
*Features*
- It was subject to the crown, depending on the Council of Inquisition.
- It was organized into a full court network covering all territories of the monarchy. These courts were composed of two inquisitors, a counselor, a sheriff, and a prosecutor.
- The funding of this court depended on the money obtained from fines and confiscation of assets of the condemned.
Crimes under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition included heresy, polygamy, concubinage of the clergy, blasphemy, witchcraft, usury, adultery, theft of sacred objects, and solicitation.
Penalties imposed by this court:
- Death
- Disqualification from public office
- Deprivation of securities
- Asset forfeiture
- Loss of inheritance rights
- Fines
- Excommunication
- Exile
*Procedure*
The procedure began with the so-called grace period. When the inquisitors arrived in a town, they established this period, which lasted 30 or 40 days. During this period, any suspects could present themselves, and they would be sentenced to a lesser punishment. After 1500, this period was deleted and replaced by edicts by which the inquisitors required people to report all suspects under penalty of excommunication. Before arresting the suspect, the case was taken to a board of theologians who were in charge of determining whether there was a crime. These theologians were called qualifiers. If these theologians believed that there were crimes, the prosecutor issued an arrest warrant. The arrest was accompanied by the confiscation of property that served to keep the guilty and to pay court costs. The prisons of the Inquisition were different from those of the time, and torture was not exceptional. In the procedure of the Inquisition, however, the complaint was secret, and this really originated more abuse compared to the ordinary process. The arrested person was informed of the cause of his arrest, but the prosecutor and the Inquisitor polled their consciousness three times. The third time was accompanied by a warning that the prosecutor presented an indictment, so it was better to confess freely. When the prosecutor presented the indictment, the detainee had to respond immediately.
Means of defense:
- Call favorable witnesses
- Show their enmity with the accuser
- Plead extenuating circumstances such as drunkenness, madness, or extreme youth
The process was structured in several hearings in which both sides defended their positions. After the case was seen, a sentence was issued. The ruling could be appealed to the council and to the pope. Once the sentence was handed down, a ceremony called an auto de fe took place. The auto de fe was a solemn confession of the condemned in a public place, accompanied by religious orders and representatives of the nobility and the municipal corporation. If the condemned had not been sentenced to death, they wore a yellow *San Benito* with two crosses. If the sentence was death, the *San Benito* had demons and flames on it. The execution took place at the stake, but first, the condemned was put to death with a club. From the standpoint of the Inquisition, this punishment was considered a penance.
Decline and Extinction of the Spanish Inquisition
In the 18th century, the decline of the Spanish Inquisition began. It practically devoted itself only to the censorship of books and had little effect because influential intellectuals obtained permits to have banned books, and there was active smuggling. In 1813, the Cortes of Cadiz abolished the Holy Office. Ferdinand VII restored it in 1814, and it was definitively abolished by a decree on July 15, 1834.