Historical Overview of the Inquisition
In the early Middle Ages, the Roman Church had consolidated its power. The so called heretics became their foremost enemy. Heresy was taken as a crime since it deliberately denied the truth of the Catholic faith (“Historical Overview of the Inquisition,” p. 1). There was a Christian unity pervading at that time and the Church leaders and the ordinary people alike united against the heretics, whom they considered as a threat to society (p. 1). With the popularity and spread of heresy during the 11th and 12th centuries, Pope Gregory IX instituted the papal inquisition in 1231. During this inquisition, the heretics were tried and apprehended. “Inquisition” got its name from the Latin verb inquiro (which literally mean to inquire into). The “inquisitors” went after the heretics or those being accused as one. While it was originally intended to combat the heretical Cathari and Waldenses, the Inquisition later extended to persecute witches, diviners, blasphemers, and other sacrilegious persons (p. 1).
Pope Gregory IX also instituted the inquisition to bring order and legality to the process of persecuting the heresy. This was because the public had a tendency to burn alleged heretics without giving them a fair trial. Pope Gregory initially wanted to inquire about the beliefs of the heretics and instruct them in the Christian orthodox doctrine. The Pope had an initial intention of correcting the heretics’ false beliefs, leading them back to the Catholic faith.
They will only be handed to civil authorities if they insisted on their false faith. This was because heresy was then considered not just a violation of the Church laws but also of the civil laws. The civil authorities had a corresponding punishment for civil disobedience. This was the historic burning of the heretics.
There was also a historic rivalry between the church’s inquiries and the local ecclesiastical and secular jurisdictions. Thus, no pope had ever completely controlled an inquisition. Medieval kings, princes, bishops, and civil authorities went between instituting and refusing the inquisition process. Abuse became rampant during the second half of the 13th century when the tribunals were monopolizing the inquisition processes (p. 1).
The second wave of the inquisition occurred in 1478. It was popularized by the Spanish Inquisition under Pope Sixtus IV (Roth, p. 55). This institution reached the start of the 19th century. It was formally ceased through a decree on July 15, 1834. The third wave of the inquisition was the Roman Inquisition. The Roman Catholic Church was beset by the spread of Protestantism and they prevented its spread in Europe.
Hence, in 1542, Pope Paul III established the Congregation of the Inquisition in Rome. This was intended to prevent the spread of the Protestant faith in Italy. This institution was also famously called the Roman Inquisition and the Holy Office (p. 56). The Holy Office was actually a new institution which was sparsely related to the Medieval Inquisition described above.
However, unlike the medieval inquisition which tried to quell public disorder, the Holy Office intended to safeguard the Catholic orthodoxy (p. 57). The activities concentrated exclusively to Italy during its first twelve years. The succeeding popes had loosened up the inquisition procedures but it remained one of the most historic evidence of the abuse of papal authority in its regulation of Church order. Many inquisitions extended through the better part of the millennia and they were collectively called "the Inquisition."
The Beginning of Inquisition in Europe
The Inquisition was a tribunal where the Catholic Church investigated and punished heresy. It was characterized by the serious questioning, punishment and absence of rights given to the accused (Parker, p. 1). It was started by Pope Innocent III in Rome, Italy in 1198-1216. Later, in 1233, Pope Gregory IX formalized the inquisition to fight the Abilgenses. The latter was a popular religious group in France (p. 2). After twenty two years, the Inquisition was extensively carried out all over Western and Central Europe. Yet, this was not formalized in Scandinavia and Great Britain.
Heretics were classified as follows: 1. those who openly accuse the Catholic faith or errors; 2. those who denied their acts and lied about it; 3. those who held and followed their false beliefs; 4. those who held unorthodox views but were inconsistent with how they lived their faith (p. 3).
Those who were suspected as heretics were denominated as follows: 1.) lightly suspect or those who acknowledged or listened to a heretic even for just one time; 2. Vehemently suspected or those who listened many times to a heretic; 3.) violently suspected or those who openly proclaimed themselves as heretics. The Inquisition dealt only with Christian wanderers in the beginning. It did not initially coincided with the Jewish affairs. However, the historic 1288 mass burning of the Jews which took place in France provided a justification for the harassment of the Jews through the Inquisition. In 1481, the procedures of inquisition began in Spain. This was more extensive than the Inquisition of the Medieval Period. The underground Jews and the New Christians were the subject of these inquisitions since they were closely linked with the Jews.
The fear of the Jews prompted King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to petition the Pope for a Spanish inquisition (p. 3). Tomas de Torquemada was appointed as inquisitor-general for most of Spain in 1483. The Spanish tribunal was also led by two Dominican monks, Juan de San Martin and Miguel de Morillo. They first investigated Conversos and the popular figures in Seville. More than 700 Conversos were burned at the Seville inquisitions (p. 4). About 5,000 were led back to the Catholic fold. Inquisition tribunals were also opened in Valencia, Aragon and Catalonia. In Ciudad Tribunal, another tribunal was established and 100 Conversos were condemned. From the period of 1486 up to 1492, Toledo had burned 467 people while others were put in prison (p. 4). The Inquisition ended up in Barcelona. During the first 12 years of the Spanish Inquisition, all in all, there were more than 13,000 Conversos who were imprisoned. They also expelled the Jews from Spain in 1492 (p. 4).
The second wave of the Inquisition in Europe started around 1531. This was when Pope Leo X hunted the Jews up to Portugal. When the Jews were expelled from Spain, they sought refuge in Portugal. They initiated Spanish like tribunals in Lisbon. They also set up offices in other cities. Important figures who were persecuted by the inquisition included Antonio Serrao de Castro, Isaac de Castro Tartas and Antonio Jose da Silva (Adler, p. 392). The Inquisition reached the end of the 18th century.
It abated in the second part of the 18th century because of the extension of the Enlightenment and also due to the lack of funds. The last inquisitional proceedings took place in 1765 in Portugal (p. 393). The Spanish Inquisition was formally abolished during the brief rule of Joseph Bonaparte in 1808. Around 31,912 wanderers were burned at the stake while about 17,659 were punsished by effigies and 291,450 went back to the Catholic faith. The Portuguese Inquisition also tried about 40,000 criminals while it burned 1,800 wanderers as the rest made penance (p. 394).
The Inquisition did not only concentrate in Europe but it extended into the Americas and Asia (p. 394). Those persecuted in Spain and Portugal went to the new world for better economic options and security. Hence, the Inquisition tribunals were also set in Brazil and Goa. Spanish tribunals were also established in the Canary Islands Guatemala, Mexico, Philippines, Peru, and the New Granada. These offices were later resolved by the end of the 18th century.
Scriptural Justifications in the Inquisitions
Those who advanced the Inquisition justified their inquests by both references from the Bible and from the Christian teachings. The often quoted biblical passages by the former Inquisitors stemmed from the Old Scripture’s Mosaic Law (Parker, p. 2). While to others, it seemed to be a “dubious theology,” during the 13th century, it was an ideal and reasonable rationale for burning thousands of people alleged as heretics (p. 4).
According to Jones (p. 2), various elements found in the Mosaic Law extracts would later be closely followed by the Inquisition. These were interpreted into the following acts:
- "Purging" of "the heretics and dreamers"
- Family members in the Inquisition were admonished to testify against each other
- Heretics were put to death as a lesson to others
- The reference of "inquiring, probing and investigating" towns which have gone astray was used by inquisitors in the later years
- Destruction of the local towns in order to wipe out heresy.
The proponents also cited the Old Testament’s Deuteronomy 13:
"If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and he says, 'Let us follow other gods' That prophet or dreamer must be put to death You must purge the evil from among you.”
The church leaders taught the townspeople that if their own brothers or sons or daughters or even their wives or closest friends secretly entice them by saying, “Let us go and worship other gods,” they must not yield or listen to them. They must not show them pity not spare or shield them.
“You must certainly put him to death” Your hand must be the first in putting him to death and then the hands of all the people. Stone him to death Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again (Jones, p. 1).
Hence, the people were taught that they must “inquire, probe and investigate” talks on certain heretics. Once proven true, they must consider it detestable and it must be destroyed completely. From Exodus 22:18 NIV, they taught the people, “Do not allow a sorceress to live" (p. 1).
The townspeople were admonished to:
“Gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt (p. 2).”
Another cited verse from the New Testament to justify their acts is from John 15:
“If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned (p. 2).”
The most renowned Catholic theologians gave blessings to the methods of the Inquisition. This was reflected by the startling passages from Saint Thomas Aquinas’s (1225 –1274 A.D.) massive theological work Summa Theologica. Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican monk, was considered to be the greatest Catholic theologian in the 4th and 5th centuries since Saint Augustine. He talked about the extermination of heretics in Summa Theologica as: “
“Wherefore if forgers of money and other evil-doers are forthwith condemned to death by the secular authority, much more reason is there for heretics, as soon as they are convicted of heresy, to be not only excommunicated but even put to death (p. 2).”
People followed these justifications because the Church saw to it that the Inquisition was appreciated as God’s mercy. They interpreted it in a way that the process intended to convert the heretics. Hence, the condemnation came after the first and the second admonition of the heretics. The justification to the burning of the stubborn was that the Church bore the faithful and their salvation when the stubborn heretics insisted on his false faith.
As such, the Catholic Church was seen as defending the whole community of believers through the excommunication of the heretics. They also considered burning as an exit to the punishments which the secular authorities will further expose them to. Hence, these writings have shown that the Inquisition proceeded with a strong belief in the rightness of their cause, even when it was considered as an abhorrent exercise by the late 20th century Christians (Roth, p. 63).
Pope Gregory IX and the Inquisition
The Inquisition was legally instituted by Pope Gregory IX in 1231. Pope Gregory ordered sentenced heretics to be seized by the secular authorities and scourged by fire. He also mandated that heretics be sought out and tried before a church court. Gregory initially appointed special inquisitors and later entrusted the Dominican and Franciscan orders to administer the inquisitions.
Pope Gregory IX magnified the mendicant orders of the Christian Church during the first half of the thirteenth century. He counter acted the luxury and splendor of the ecclesiastics by suppressing within the (Ott, p. 1). He was close to the people and he represented the good things of the Church. He talked about holy things. He was loved by Saint Francis and St. Dominic was also his devoted friend (p. 2). Pope Gregory also protected . With the help of the friars, Pope Gregory planned the conversion of Asia and Africa and sent missionaries to Tunis, Morocco and other places. In 1232, he . In 1233, he canonized St. Virgil, of and Apostle of Carinthia. In 1234, he canonized St. Dominic and in the next year, he canonized St. Elizabeth of Thuringia (p. 2). He also did much to save the Christians in the Holy Land.
Pope Gregory IX showed his strong hands towards the heretics since during those times, these ehretics were considered as traitors. They were punished accordingly. By the request of France’s King Louis IX, Pope Gregory sent Cardinal Romanus as a legate to support the French King against the enemies, the Albigenses. He published into law the decree that all heretics and their accomplices must be delivered to the magistrate for punishment – death by fire. This was the common punishment for the said wanderers during those times. In short, Pope Gregory instigated the fight against those who turned from the Catholic faith.
The process of inquisition was quite lengthy. At first, there was a period called the grace period. This was where the inquisitor would siege a local town to search for heretics and then declare publicly a grace period when the persons (or suspects) could confess any heretical beliefs (Adler, p. 401). There was mercy shown to those who confessed outright. However, those who refused to confess were to be denounced by the Inquisitor and the townspeople. When the grace period expires, the inquisitor would start to locate the heretic/s and search.
The alleged heretics would be brought to the Inquisitor or his vicar and would be subjected to intense questioning. If they deny the indictment, the burden of proof would be on his shoulders. The process provided that before an alleged heretic was sentenced, there must be at least two witnesses against him. The testimony of a condemned heretic, murderer or other criminals was not taken. However, the witnesses and the alleged heretics were not brought face to face just like in a regular courtroom. The inquisition process remained confidential and it was prohibited to have an open trial.
The notary needed to keep an accurate, detailed record of all the proceedings. These docuemnts were also sued as references in other tribunals all over the offices set by the Church. The councillors acted as a "consultant jury" and they advise with regards to the guilt or innocence of the alleged heretic/s. Different methods were used to force a confession. Among which were the following: 1. Arousing the alleged’s fear of death; 2. Arousing the fear of imprisonment; 3. Urging the alleged with the visitof tried men through friendly persuasion so that he will confess; 4. Torturing the accused to extract a confession (p. 401).
Torture was considered as the remedy of the last resort. Initially, the civil authority must attend to the matter of torture. However, this produced many inconveniences to the inquisitor and his court. It was also ruled out that a person was to be tortured only once. However, abuses set in and some of the alledged heretics were tortured each time any new evidence was presented against him. It also became an excuse to explain that they were just continuing the torture which was started in the days ahead. Hence, they still generalized it as being tortured only "once." Usually, alleged heretics were Beaten and strapped int he rack (p. 402). The person in a rack was drawn and twisted until he writhed in pain and thus confess. The forced confession would later be reduced to a formal statement and will be put into the heretic's record. After the confession was deduced, a penalty was to be generalized. If convicted of heresy, the alleged will be turned over to the secular government for civil punishment. Most of these sentences would translate being put into fire.
Work Cited:
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“Historical Overview of the Inquisition.” Accessed on 16 December 2012 < >. N.d. Web.
Jones, Robert. A Brief History of the Inquisition. The Iron Miden Commentary. Accessed on 16 December 2012 < http://www.ironmaidencommentary.com/?url=album10_xfactor/inquisition&lang=eng&link=albums#otherinquisitors>.
Parker, Geoffrey. "Some Recent Work on the Inquisition in Spain and Italy." Journal of Modern History. 54 (3). 1982.
Ott, Michael. "Pope Gregory IX." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 16 Dec. 2012 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06796a.htm>.
Roth, Cecil. The Spanish Inquisition. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 1964. Print.
The Jewish Virtual Library. “The Inquisition.” The American-Israeli Cooeprative Enterprise. Accessed on 16 December 2012 <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html>.
