Note: While neither Cervantes nor his hero Don Quixote were ever involved with the Spanish Inquisition, this article is included here, because The Inquisition is featured in Man of La Mancha.

THE EPISCOPAL INQUISITION
From the earliest days of the Catholic Church, bishops had the right of inquisition on faith and morals within their own dioceses. They could excommunicate and, if deemed necessary, use capital punishment. Faith and morals included not only heresy, but such sins as blasphemy, bigamy, and witchcraft. Procedings were based on Roman law. The charges were explained, the defendant had the right to answer them, and advocates were provided free to those who could not afford them. Before the twelfth century, heretics were seldom burned to death, and torture was forbidden. Instead suspects were put to Trial by Ordeal. For example, a suspect would be bound and thrown into the water. If he drowned, he was guilty; if by some miracle he lived, he was deemed innocent.

In the twelfth century, Pope Innocent III commanded all bishops to prosecute suspected heretics. He sent three monks to Toulouse, in southern France, to take action against the heretics there, giving them the title 'Inquisitors of the Faith'. Abuses became frequent. When one town was captured during the thirteenth century religious wars, the Abbot of Citeaux was asked how one could tell the good Catholics from the heretics. He said: "Slay them all, for God will certainly know His own".

THE PAPAL INQUISITION
The Papal Inquisition was institutionalized in 1231 by Pope Gregory IX. He appointed special judges, or inquisitors, who exercised their functions in his name. He appointed Dominicans and Franciscans to the posts since, having renounced the world and its riches, they were, in theory, immune to bribery. The inquisitors were responsible directly to the Pope. It was a position of tremendous power. Inquisitors were not liable to excommunication and did not have to give obedience to the superiors of their Orders. Even bishops had to obey them as they would the Pope.

Manuals were prepared for the use of inquisitors. The accused were given a grace period during which they could confess and then be given lighter penalties. Those who did not confess were arrested. The sancrosanct right of asylum in churches did not apply to heretics.

SOME CRIMES
Heresy: Heresy denies or doubts faith once professed. Conversos (those who converted to Christianity from other religions) who continued to practice their previous faiths were considered to be heretics; once a Catholic, always a Catholic. (Jews and Moors who remained true to their own religion were infidels, not heretics. They could still be prosecuted for lesser crimes such as blasphemy or owning proscribed books.) Schismatics, such as Greek and Russian Orthodox Catholics, were not regarded as heretics; they denied the supremacy of the Pope, but subscribed to everything else. Protestants, on the other hand, denied some of the fundamental tenets of the Church and were persecuted as heretics.
Bigamy: Since marriage was a sacrament, bigamy was a sin.
Perjury: Perjury was an enormous offense. A false witness, if detected, was treated harshly. He had to wear pieces of red cloth in the shapes of tongues on his breast and back for the rest of his life, be exhibited on a scaffold in church during Sunday service, and was often imprisoned.
Witchcraft: Witchcraft was pagan and therefore not a heresy. However, once the devil became involved it was heresy and thousands were burned, most in countries such as England, where the Papal Inquisition was not active.
Judaizing refers to continuing to live as Jews while outwardly conforming to the Christian religion.
Lutheranism was the generic term used by the Inquisition for members of all Protestant sects, including Anglicans, or member of the Church of England.

Like the civil courts of the time, the courts of the Inquisition operated in secrecy. Witnesses were examined in private, and it was assumed that suspects would not have been accused without reason. Theoretically guilt still had to be proven but, in effect, suspects were guilty until proven innocent. They usually did not have the ability to challenge their accusers, but were examined, urged to confess and often tortured before even knowing the charges against them.

The only defense was a list of known enemies for, if an accuser's name was found on that list, malice could be suspected. Anyone, even a family member, could be a secret witness for the prosecution, but family members could not witness for the defense. Since friends would be guilty by association, it was difficult to find defence witnesses, and in practice, the accused would not have a lawyer. Any assistant would be deemed an accomplice.

Under the Papal Inquisition, It was not unusual for the accused to remain free during the inquiry after swearing an oath to come when summoned. A notary recorded everything that was said, and copies were made and kept in a safe place. Many of these records still exist. Once the trial was over, experts in canon and civil law were brought in to decide on the sentence, but sentencing was delayed until a number of cases had been decided. When it was time, the people were assembled in the cathedral, a sermon was given, and the sentences announced.

TORTURE
Roman law allowed torture as a means of eliciting confessions, but until the mid-thirteenth century it had been used solely by civil authorities. In 1252, Pope Innocent IV authorized it by the Church provided judges were convinced of the guilt of the accused. Torture was supposed to be used as a last resort, applied only once, and not result in the loss of life or limb. However, there were numerous 'accidents' and many people were seriously injured. 'Only once' was loosely interpreted as once for each crime, not one separate session. 'Intermissions' in the torture were allowed, sometimes of several days or longer. Care had to be taken that no blood was shed! For that reason, the torture used by the Inqusition differed from that used by the civil authorities. Torture was administered by lay officials and, at first, clerics were forbidden to be present. Means of torture included: flogging; roasting feet over burning coals; the rack; solitary imprisonment in a dungeon; debilitating diet or starvation; and psychological torture such as alternating promises of mercy with threats of death. As decribed below, the Spanish Inquisition introduced other methods. Confession made under torture were not valid until confirmed three hours after torture was completed. If not confirmed, torture could be resumed.

SENTENCES AND PENALTIES
In advance of sentencing, the defendant had to pledge to perform the penance imposed. Sentences were supposed to be reviewed by bishops and consultants. This was usually omitted for minor penalties. Penalties, even death, were assumed to be for the good of the accused, not as punishment. In fact, in theory, the Inquisition had no power to punish, only to save souls. Minor penalties included scourging, the pillory, visits to churches, pilgrimages, and fines. Wearing the cross was considered severe. Crosses were of yellow cloth and were sewn on the front and back of clothing. They had to be worn continually and exposed the wearers to humiliation. Although imprisonment was for life, commutation was frequent. Again, it was not deemed as punishment but as a chance for the sinner to repent. Food was usually bread and water, but some were allowed other nourishment. The opportunity to pay for special privileges was rare; confiscation had usually made the prisoner and his family paupers. Prison meant anything from house arrest to solitary confinement in dark, dank dungeons. Bribery could often effect escape. Members of religious orders were imprisoned in their own convents but forbidden to speak to their brethren.

The Church could not inflict the death penalty! If it became 'necessary', prisoners were relaxed, that is abandoned to the secular authorities with pious pleas against mutilation and death. As convicted heretics, they then came under the jurisdiction of the secular arm, and these officials knew their duty! Almost inevitably, death at the stake followed. Unlike the practice under the Spanish Inquisition, victims were not choked to death first, but were burned alive. Even the dead were not spared; their remains were exhumed and burned. Descriptions of those who managed to escape were distributed throughout Europe, and those not caught were burned in effigy.

Like burning, confiscation of possessions was supposedly not allowed by the Inquisition, only by the secular authorities. However, this did not prevent the proceeds of confiscation from filling the coffers of the Church. (Although, not surprisingly, rich men were more apt to be accused and sentenced to confiscation, the poor did not ecape.) Heirs of rich men were left in abject poverty and were regarded with suspicion for the rest of their lives. In many ways, their punishment was as severe as that of their convicted forebears.

Contrary to popular belief, burning was not the most common sentence under the Papal Inquisition. For example, according to one French record of sentences from 1306 to 1322, only forty out of six hundred thirty-six paid this final price, three hundred were imprisoned, one hundred thirty-eight had to wear crosses, and others were given lesser sentences. Of those condemned after death, sixty-seven had their bones exhumed and burned. In contrast, the civil courts were much harsher and their tortures far more severe. In 1249, Count Raymond VII of Toulouse had eighty heretics burned in his presence. The Inquisition had not been consulted

AFTER 1500
In 1541, Pope Paul III established the Congregation of the Holy Office, to review the judgements of the Inquisition courts and to examine charges of heresy. It was composed of six cardinals called Inquisitors General and directed from Rome. It was not related to the Spanish Inquisition. In the twentieth century, the Vatican Council of 1962-1965 replaced this by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This is a group of theologians who meet to review the theology of the Church. They no longer condemn heretics or impose excommunication. Italy finally abolished the Inquisition in 1782, but the Spanish Inquisition was still active.

THE SPANISH INQUISITION
In the popular imagination, The Spanish Inquisition, which was separate from the Papal Inquisition, was the most horrible of all. However, bad as it was, it was almost benign in comparison to those described above and to the methods of the civil authorities.

THE FOUNDING
As in the rest of Europe, there had been inquisitions in Spain in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but they had little impact there. Ferdinand and Isabella felt that a strong religion was necessary for a strong state but, while Isabella was against an Inquisition, a number of incidents so shocked her that she yielded to the advice of her confessor, Tomás de Torquemada, and agreed to ask for one. On November 1, 1478, Pope Sixtus IV empowered her to establish an Inquisition in the Kingdom of Castile. This introduction of a new Inquisition in Spain was from political as well as religious motives, and it differed from the Episcopal and Papal Inquisitions. In particular, revenues from confiscation supposedly went to the Crown rather than the Church and inquisitors were paid by the Crown, not the Inquisition. On September 17, 1480, two Dominican inquisitors went to work. Others were soon appointed and, by November 1481, 298 victims had been burned. (After most conversos had left Spain because of the 1492 Expulsion of the Jews, revenues from the Inquisition went way down, and the Crown had trouble paying the Inquisitors.)

After Ferdinand and Isabella, changes were made because of abuses. An Inquisitor General, later called the Grand Inquisitor, was to be nominated by the crown and confirmed by the pope. He would then create the tribunals and, after consultation with the rulers, name their staffs. He would be aided by the Consejo de la suprema y general Inquisición, also known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Spain. It was usually referred to as the Suprema or Holy Office (Casa Santa). All Spaniards and resident foreigners who were baptized Christians were subject to it. This included conversos and Protestants but not, in theory, openly practicing Jews and Muslims.

When Charles V arrived in Spain, he was given a petition asking the Holy Inquisition to proceed so the wicked could be punished and the innocent not suffer. Reforms proposed that prisoners be placed where they could receive visitors, be assigned counsel, be presented with an accusation on arrest, be given the names of witnesses, and their goods not sold before a verdict. These reforms were not approved, but they indicate what kind of abuses there had been.

In answer to the increasing 'threat' of the Reformation, 1558 saw the prohibition of the import of all foreign books. This was followed, a year later, by an edict forbidding Spanish students to go abroad for study. As with all such edicts, these could not be completely enforced. Books and students did cross borders, but intellectually Spain became isolated from the rest of Europe. Inspectors were appointed to find instances of nudity, immodesty, paganism or heresy in art, and to specify the manner in which sacred subjects could be depicted in paintings and sculpture. Blasphemy, gambling and prostitution were special targets. Swearing which included the words 'God' or 'Christ' and the use of any profanity were grounds for arrest. During the middle of the sixteenth century, the concept of limpieza de sangre (purity of blood i.e. without Jewish or Moorish ancesters) developed and proof of this was soon required of emigrants and of those aspiring to major office.

METHODS
When enough evidence had been collected, an arrest warrant was issued. Suspects were usually arrested at night by the familiars. Under the Papal Inquisition, the accused had not usually been kept in prison, but under the Spanish, they were ofter in solitary confinement, sometimes for years, before their cases were heard. The most comfortable cells were reserved for bigamists and the next for servants of the Inquisition who had failed to carry out their duties. The most unpleasant cells were for the heretics.

The room in which the typical trial was held was hung with black with no light from windows. On a table covered with a black cloth were placed an image of Christ, six lighted candles, and a copy of the Bible. The inquisitors wore white robes and black hoods. Trials were secret, and the defendants had to swear never to reveal the details of their cases. No witnesses were named, and no charges read. Essentially, the inquisitors went on a 'fishing expedition'. The accused were invited to confess their own sins and betray the sins of others. Satisfactory responses meant a prisoner would escape death. If the majority of the tribunal voted for it, failure to confess could result in torture. Just the threat of torture would often bring confession.

Popular literature has described many horrendous tortures. The reality was bad enough but not as grisly as often depicted. It was forbidden for nursing women, for those with weak hearts, and for minor offenses such as fornication. However, neither youth nor old age exempted one. There was always supposed to be a physician present to see that no lasting bodily harm resulted. Above all, no blood could be shed. Of course there were abuses, but scholars of the subject uniformly agree that torture by the Inquisition paled before that of the civil authorities of the time. The main torture was the prolonged imprisonment.

AUTOS-DA-FÉ
After a number of accused had been found guilty, an auto-da-fé was held. This could be anything from a simple private service in a church (auto particular) to a grand spectacle in the Plaza Major of a city (auto general). The latter could last several days, involve a cast of thousands, and be witnessed by the thousands more who supposedly received spiritual benefit from attending. From small to grand, all had certain features in common. The autos general were supposed to depict the Last Judgement and were designed to strike terror into the hearts of all. They were held on a Sunday or a Holy Day so that all could attend. Everything was very formal. There was a procession of the condemned wearing sanbenitos and carrying a green candle. It often included the bones of those condemned after death and effigies of those who had escaped. A sermon, or sermo generalis, was preached and the sentences were read.

Those who were not to be burned were called reconciliados. They were brought up, one by one, to abjure, or renounce their sins. This could be done de levi, in which they swore to accept Catholicism and pledged allegiance to the pope, denounced all who opposed Catholicism, and fulfilled whatever penance was given. An oath de vehementi was stronger; it had to be in writing and, if ever broken, the stake awaited. The accused then learned their fate. Penitents knelt and received absolution. Some were given simple penances such as saying certain prayers. Others were sentenced to public flogging, prison, confiscation of property or the galleys, or they and their heirs were barred from office. The sentence to the galleys was for at least three years without pay; since few survived to the end of their term, this was tantamount to a death sentence. The vergüenza, or shame, involved parading through the streets, stripped to the waist and carrying an unlit green candle. This applied to both men and women and could be repeated many times. Flogging was common, often several times, at the church door or while in procession.

These large spectacles were a short-lived phenomenon, mostly between 1559 and 1570. They practically erased native Protestantism in Spain; most Spaniards attracted to the Reformation emigrated. Probably only about one hundred were condemned to death during this period. In England at about the same time there were three times, and in France twice, as many, all burned alive! The vast majority of autos during the 350 years of the Spanish Inquisition were small affairs, held in private in churches and designed as a religious act of penitence and justice. Only later did they become public spectacles and were once-in-a-lifetime experiences for most who attended.

The first auto-da fé was held in Seville on February 6, 1481. Soon there would be about one a month. While Philip II attended a number of autos, and his presence gave the ceremony added prestige, there is no evidence that he and his court ever attended the burnings. His hatred of violence was well-known. Under Philip, many of the prisoners were kept in decent houses, homes of nobles which were donated to the Inquisition, not in fetid dungeons. In general, their treatment was less harsh than that in the episcopal or royal jails.

THE SANBENITO
The sanbenito (or sambenito) was a garment of shame. St. Dominic said it should be of sackcloth and dismal in color. Under Torquemada it became a loose-fitting garment with a hole for the head which hung like a tabard and reached the knees. Usually yellow in color, it often had red crosses on the front and back. Additional symbols were used to indicate the nature of the offense. Relapsed heretics had red flames and devils with pitchforks. For those who were to be garrotted (choked to death) before burning, the flames were upside-down. Those who repented also wore a tall cap or coroza (like a miter). Except for those to be relaxed, sentences were not revealed until the auto.

While the requirement to wear a sanbenito whenever appearing in public, might seem mild, it was often for life. It brought not only shame but loss of all privileges, not only to the victim, but to all descendants. Those whose ancestors had worn sanbenitos were forbidden to emigrate to the New World. When finally discarded, the garments were hung in the cathedral with the name of the wearer attached so that all would know. To avoid this association, descendants often changed their name. Some church walls soon became so crowded with sanbenitos that small strips, called tabillas, were hung up instead of the entire robe. Many of these were not destroyed until the nineteenth century.

While women were often forced to wear a sanbenito, and could be flogged and made to perform other public penances, imprisonment for them was usually in a hospital or convent where they were given menial tasks to perform.

THE STAKE
Those who were relaxed to the secular arm were taken to another place for burning. This was a separate occasion and not part of the auto. To give the accused time to repent, it often took place several days later The stakes were erected in the quemadero, or place of burning, which was usually on the outskirts of the city, almost never near the site of the auto. Those who had repented were garrotted first, rather than being burned alive.

Note: In Don Quixote, the priest and the barber refer to their examination of Don Quixote's library of chivalric romances as an auto-da-fé. Each book is examined and then sentenced. Those that are condemned are turned over to the civil authority (the housekeeper) who burns them outside, not in the house.

SUMMARY
Horrible as it was, the Spanish Inquisition spared Spain from the religious wars of other countries. It was not unpopular in Spain, and some felt it was better for a few innocents to die than for the power of Inquisition to lessen. Jews and conversos were the principal targets throughout the history of the Spanish Inquisition, but other religious groups also felt its heavy hand. Englishmen were special targets in any port in the Old or New World controlled by Spain. An English sailor found in possession of an English Bible or Prayer Book was arrested. If he denied his own religion, he was sent to the galleys, if he did not to the stake. Only one witness was necessary to indict a Moor, and they were usually sent to the galleys. Moors who did not confess could not be burned but were punished with whipping or fines. The only ones who went to the stake were those who had been reconciled formerly but relapsed, those who would not confess, and those who gave incomplete confessions or refused to reveal the names of others.

Statistics can be misleading, especially when they are based on the remaining records of the time, but the data from various locations and various times are fairly consistent. Between 1550 and 1700 about 150,000 cases were heard, about 40,000 or 1,000 per year during Philip's reign. Only a few were burned and fewer still burned alive. Most were deprived of property and many were sent to the galleys. (The Inquisition was a great source of revenue and of slaves.) In Toledo from 1575-1727, there were 8,364 punishments meted out. Of these, only one hundred were burned at the stake either alive or dead, a little over one percent, and most of these had been garrotted first. From 1544-1661 in Cuenca, the percentages of the charges were as follows: Blasphemy 25%, Fornication 25%, Lutheranism 18%, Islam 12%, Judaizing 7%, Bigamy 4%, Superstition 3%, Others 7%.

By the beginning of the seventeenth century i.e. the time of Don Quixote, the Inquisition was executing fewer than three people per year. Autos continued, although no longer in public. Napoleon outlawed the Spanish Inquisition but, after his defeat in Spain, an attempt was made to bring it back. The people revolted, stormed the prisons, and set the inmates free. Orders abolishing the Inquisition were issued periodically, but it resurfaced occasionally. From 1780-1820 about 5,000 were tried. The Spanish Inquisition was finally abolished forever in 1835. A schoolmaster, a Christian who had advocated a simple faith, was the last victim.

From the above, it can be seen that, even if he was in trouble with the Inquisition, Cevantes, can be confident when he says, at the end of Man of La Mancha, "I've no intention of burning".

THE INQUISITION IN THE NEW WORLD
The First Decade, The Monastic Inquisition
The Spanish Inquisition did not arrive in Mexico until 1571. In 1522, soon after the conquest of Mexico by Cortés, and over ten years before the conquest of Peru, the Pope granted special permission to priests of the monastic orders in the New World, in the absence of bishops, to perform all the function of bishops except ordination. This included inquisition. Similar powers had been granted earlier in Hispaniola.

The first trial occurred in 1522, that of an Indian for concubinage. In 1528 an auto took place in front of the Cathedral of Tlatelolco, the site of the surrender of the Aztecs. The nine accused included two blasphemers, one heretic, and three Judaizers. Two of the latter were burned at the stake; one of them was Hernando Alonso, a conquistador and one of those accompanying Cortés in the subjugation of Tenochtitán.

The Episcopal Inquisition (1536-1571)
During this period, the friars retained inquisitorial function in areas where there were no bishops. They staged their own autos da fé and handed out punishments, often harsh, to the backsliders among the natives. In spite of injunctions against it, the Monastic Inquisition lasted in places, until the eighteenth century.

The Spanish Inquisition in Mexico
In 1569, Philip II created the Spanish Inquisition in New Spain. This action had many causes. Vast quantities of prohibited printed matter was reaching New Spain, and little was being done to root out suspected heretics. Above all, conflicts between the regular (or monastic) and the secular clergies had been aggravated as each camp denounced the other to inquisitorial investigators. Protestants were to be the chief target of the Inquisition in Mexico.

Books continued to be a major concern. One Chief Inquisitor in Mexico City wrote;

One of the most important reasons for inspecting the ships is books, especially the boxes which come as cargo. ... The royal officials ... shall send the said boxes to the Commissioner of the Inquisition without opening or taking out any books from them. ... After seizing such as he finds are prohibited, [the Commissioner] will give the rest to the owners. ... This applies even when the said boxes of books have previously been examined by another inquisitor.

Nevertheless, many forbidden books got through.

Inquisitional procedures followed those of Spain, with minor differences. The Inquisitor, or his delegate, visited each town in his jurisdiction in order to gather evidence. Suspects were permitted to take a change of clothing, a bed, a mattress, and two changes of bed linen with them to prison. Charges were made there for barbers, laundry, tobacco, medicines and fees for torturers! Property could be sold at auction to pay for this. At the trial, defendants were told to search their consciences to see why they were on trial. The charges were then read to the accused, who were given a chance to reply.

Defendants could choose between three attorneys nominated by the court. Although their names were withheld, the testimony of witnesses was read. Cautelas or tricksters were often placed in cells with the accused to gain their confidence and get confessions. Rules allowed for witnesses for the defense, but none have been recorded as appearing. Torture was used only for major heresy and was like that used in Spain. In theory, death sentences had to be referred to the Suprema in Spain for review, but this was seldom done. Many died before their appeals reached there. Over one hundred were sentenced to serve prison terms in Spain, but records show of only two ever arriving, and these two never went to jail. In Mexico those with noble blood were never sent to the galleys. They were usually made to serve as soldiers in distant lands.

We have a description of an auto 1574. The night before, the accused were made to practice in the courtyard of the Inquisition. At daybreak they were given wine and slices of bread fried in honey. There were seventy-four in all, thirty-six were convicted of Lutheranism (two were burned), twenty-seven of bigamy, two for blasphemy, three for saying fornication was not a sin, and one for wearing prohibited articles. Since no quemadero had been set aside, burning was performed on the plaza.

Altogether the Mexican Inquisition held one hundred twenty-nine autos and private readings. A surprisingly persistent problem was the solicitation of women by priests in the confessional booth. Unless they were to be defrocked, the trials of these priests were held in strict secrecy and their sentences read behind closed doors. The Inquisition lingered in Mexico until the nineteenth century with five hundred forty-nine trials between 1650 and 1800. In 1772 a priest was accused of officiating at the wedding of two dogs. Padre Hidalgo, the Mexican George Washington, was accused of atheism, Lutheranism and Judaism, defrocked, turned over to civil authorities and executed by a firing squad. In 1821, the Mexican House of Inquisition became the Royal School of Medicine. It still stands today.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adler, E.N. Auto da fé and Jew. Oxford, 1908.
Christie-Murray, David. A History of Heresy. New English Library, 1976.
Greenleaf, Richard E. The Mexican Inquisition of the Sixteenth Century. Albuquerque, 1969.
    Zumárraga and the Mexican Inquisition, 1536-1543. Academy of American Franciscan History.
    Washington D.C., 1961.
Lea Charles Henry. The Inquisition of the Middles Ages. Barnes & Noble, 1993.
    The Inquisition in the Spanish Dependencies. Macmillan, 1908.
Liebman, Seymour, B. The Inquisitors and the Jews in the New World. Univ. of Miami, 1974.
    Jews and the Inquisition of Mexico: The Great Auto-da-Fé of 1649. Coronado Press, 1974.
Nalle, Sara T. God in La Mancha. John Hopkins University Press, 1992.
*Netanyahu, B. The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain. Random House, 1995.
Peters, Edward. Inquisition. Free-Press-Macmillan, 1988.
Plaidy, Jean. The Spanish Inquisition. Citadel Press, 1978.
Roth, Cecil. The Spanish Inquisition. W.W. Norton, 1937.
Rule, William Harris. History of the Inquisition, 2 vols. London, 1868. (A classic but dated)

* B. Netanyahu is a noted Jewish Scholar, a professor at Brandeis University and the father of the former Prime Minister of Israel. This scholarly book is the definite work on the Spanish Inquisiton.

Note: This article is an abridgement of one originally written for the San Diego Opera Operapaedia in connection Verdi's Don Carlo.

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Revised September 2007
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