INQUISITION. 



93 



exposed them to great envy and hatred, which was 

 nourished by the ignorant priests. The sermons of 

 a fanatical monk, Fernando Martinez Nunez, who 

 preached the persecution of the Jews as a good work, 

 was the principal cause of the popular tumults in 

 many cities, in 1391 and 1392, in which this unhappy 

 people was plundered, robbed, and murdered. Many 

 Jews submitted to baptism to save their lives, and the 

 descendants of these unfortunate men were, for about 

 100 years, the first victims of inquisitorial zeal. 



In 1477, when several turbulent nobles had been 

 reduced in the southern part of Spain, queen Isabella 

 went to Seville with the cardinal Pedro Gonzalez de 

 Mendoza : there this prelate, as archbishop of Se- 

 ville, made the first attempt to introduce the inquisi- 

 tion. At his command, punishments were publicly 

 and privately inflicted, and it was discovered, among 

 other things, that many citizens of Seville, of Jewish 

 origin, followed, in private, the manners and customs 

 of their fathers. The cardinal charged some of the 

 clergy privately to enlighten the faith of these peo- 

 ple, and to make the hypocrites true sons of the 

 church. These teachers brought back many to the 

 fiiith ; but many, who persevered in their opposition 

 to the doctrines of the church, were condemned and 

 punished. 



After this prelude, the design was disclosed of 

 extending the inquisition over the whole country; 

 and Mendoza laid the project before the sovereigns 

 Ferdinand and Isabella. They approved of an insti- 

 tution, which, at the same time, suited the persecut- 

 ing spirit of the age, and could be used as a powerful 

 engine of state. The design was, by means of this 

 institution, which was to be entirely dependent on 

 the court, to oppress those who were, either secretly 

 or openly, Jews or Mohammedans (and many Chris- 

 tian nobles belonged to the party of the Mohamme- 

 dans, the standing allies of malcontents), to enrich 

 the royal treasury, to which the property of the con- 

 demned was confiscated, and to limit the power of 

 the nobles, and even of the clergy. In the assembly 

 of the states, held at Toledo, 1 480, the erection of 

 the new tribunal was urged by the cardinal. After 

 the superior branches of administration the supreme 

 council of Castile, the council of state, the board of 

 finance, and the council of Arragon had been con- 

 firmed by the estates, the cardinal declared that it 

 was necessary to establish a permanent tribunal, to 

 take cognizance of matters of faith, and administer 

 the ecclesiastical police. In spite of all opposition, 

 it was determined to establish a tribunal, under the 

 name of the general inquisition (general inquisition 

 supremo), and the new court was soon opened in 

 Seville (1481). Thomas de Torquemada, prior of 

 the Dominican convent at Segovia, and father-con- 

 fessor to the cardinal Mendoza, had already been 

 appointed by Ferdinand and Isabella, the first grand 

 inquisitor, in 1 478. He had 200 familiars and a guard 

 of fifty horsemen, but he lived in continual fear of 

 poison. The Dominican monastery at Seville soon 

 became insufficient to contain the numerous prisoners, 

 and the king removed the court to the castle in the 

 suburb of Triana. At the first auto da f'e (act of 

 faith), seven apostate Christians were burnt, and the 

 number of penitents was much greater. Spanish 

 writers relate, that above 17,000 gave themselves up 

 to the inquisition, more than 2000 were condemned 

 to the flames the first year, and great numbers fled 

 to the neighbouring countries. Many Jews escaped 

 into Portugal, Africa, and other places. 



The pope, however, had opposed the establishment 

 of the Spanish inquisition, as the conversion of an 

 ecclesiastical into a secular tribunal. Soon after the 

 appointment of the new inquisitor, he had directed 

 the archbishop of Toledo, a warm enemy of Mendoza, 



to hold a solemn court over a teacher in Salamanca, 

 who was charged with heretical opinions, and the 

 inquisitor-general was repeatedly summoned to Rome 

 Torquemada, however, did not obey the summons, but 

 sent a friend to defend his cause. The contest be- 

 tween the pope and the Spanish court, was carried 

 on with heat, until 1483, when Sixtus IV. was obliged 

 to yield, and acknowledge Torquemada as inquisi- 

 tor-general of Castile and Leon. He was also 

 authorized, by the papal bull, to establish inferior 

 courts at pleasure, to remove those judges who had 

 been appointed by the pope, and to regulate the 

 manner of proceeding in inquiries respecting matters 

 of faith according to the new plan. A later bull 

 subjected Arragon, Valencia, and Sicily, the heredi- 

 tary dominions of Ferdinand, to the inquisitor-general 

 of Castile; and thus the inquisition was the first tribu- 

 nal whose jurisdiction extended over the two Spanish 

 kingdoms of Castile and Arragon; the Arragonese 

 estates, at their session at Tarragona, in 148!, being 

 obliged to swear to protect the inquisition. 



The introduction of the new tribunal was attended 

 with risings and opposition in many places, excited 

 by the cruelty of the inquisitors, and encouraged, 

 perhaps, by the jealousy of the bishops; several 

 places, particularly Saragossa, refused admission to 

 the inquisitors, many of whom lost their lives; but 

 the people were obliged to yield in the contest, and 

 the kings became the absolute judges in matters 

 of faith; the honour, the property, and the life of 

 every subject was in their hands. They named the 

 grand inquisitor; and by them, or under their imme- 

 diate influence, were his assessors appointed, even 

 the secular ones, two of whom were of the supreme 

 council of Castile, laymen being permitted to hold 

 the office. This tribunal was thus wholly dependent 

 on the court, and became a powerful instrument for 

 establishing the arbitrary power of the king on the 

 ruins of the national freedom ; for putting down the 

 clergy, who had previously acknowledged only the 

 jurisdiction of the Roman see; for oppressing the 

 bold nobles, and taking away the privileges of the 

 estates. The property of those who were condemned, 

 fell to the king; and, although it had been granted 

 to the inquisition, it was still at his disposal. Fer- 

 dinand and Isabella, indeed, devoted a part of this 

 property to found convents and hospitals; but the 

 church, notwithstanding, lost many possessions by 

 means of the inquisition; and an ordinance, drawn 

 by Torquemada (1487), proves that it was a source 

 of revenue to the king, supplying the treasury, which 

 was exhausted by the war : the inquisitorial chest 

 was, indeed, at that time, drained by so many royal 

 draughts, that the officers could not ootain their 

 salaries. 



The first ordinance, by Torquemada, dedicating 

 the tribunal to the service of God and their majesties, 

 bears date 1484. Among other articles are the fol- 

 lowing, showing the political importance of the insti- 

 tution. In every community, the grand inquisitor 

 shall fix a period, from thirty to forty days, within 

 which time, heretics, and those who have relapsed 

 from the faith, shall deliver themselves up to the 

 inquisition. Penitent heretics and apostates, although 

 pardoned, could hold no public office; they could not 

 become lessees, lawyers, physicians, apothecaries, or 

 grocers; they could not wear gold, silver, or precious 

 stones, or ride, or carry arms, during their whole 

 life, under penalty of being declared guilty of a 

 relapse into heresy; and they were obliged to give 

 up a part of their property for the support of the 

 war against the Moors. Those who did not surrender 

 themselves within the time fixed, were deprived of 

 their property irrevocably. The absent also, and 

 those who had been long dead, could be condemned, 



