Inquisition: Difference between revisions

{{About|the Inquisition within the Catholic Church}}

The '''Inquisition''' was a Catholic [[Inquisitorial system#History|judicial procedure]] where the [[Ecclesiastical court|ecclesiastical judges]] could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various [[medieval]] and [[reformation]]-era state-organized tribunals whose aim was to combat [[Christian heresy|heresy]], [[apostasy]], [[blasphemy]], [[witchcraft]], and customs considered to be [[Deviance (sociology)|deviant]], using this procedure. [[Violence]], isolation, [[torture]] or the threat of its application, have been used by the Inquisition to extract confessions and denunciations. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of [[penance]]s, but convictions of unrepentant heresy were handed over to the secular courts for the application of local law, which generally resulted in execution or [[life imprisonment]].<ref name="Burr">{{cite web|url=http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/source/inquisition1.asp|title=Internet History Sourcebooks Project|website=legacy.fordham.edu|access-date=13 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320121109/http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/source/inquisition1.asp|archive-date=20 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Peters, Edwards. "Inquisition", p. 67.</ref>{{sfnp|Lea|1887a|loc=[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39451/39451-h/39451-h.htm#CHAPTER_VII Chapter VII. The Inquisition Founded]}}

Inquisitions with the aim of combatting religious [[sedition]] (e.g. [[apostasy]] or [[heresy]]) had their start in the [[Christianity in the 12th century|12th-century]] [[Kingdom of France]], particularly among the [[Cathars]] and the [[Waldensians]]. The inquisitorial courts from this time until the mid-15th century are together known as the [[Medieval Inquisition]]. Other banned groups investigated by medieval inquisitions, which primarily took place in [[france in the middle ages|France]] and [[Roman Inquisition|Italy]], include the [[Fraticelli|Spiritual Franciscans]], the [[Hussites]], and the [[Beguines]]. Beginning in the 1250s, inquisitors were generally chosen from members of the [[Dominican Order]], replacing the earlier practice of using local clergy as judges.<ref>Peters, Edward. "Inquisition", p. 54.</ref>

Inquisitions also expanded to other European countries,{{sfnp|Lea|1887a|loc=[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39451/39451-h/39451-h.htm#CHAPTER_VII Chapter VII. The Inquisition Founded]}} resulting in the [[Spanish Inquisition]] and the [[Portuguese Inquisition]]. The Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions often focused on the [[New Christians]] or [[Converso|''Conversos'']] (the former Jews who converted to Christianity to avoid antisemitic regulations and persecution), the ''[[Marranos]]'' (people who were forced to abandon [[Judaism]] against their will by violence and threats of expulsion), and on the [[Morisco|''Moriscos'']] ([[Muslim]]s who had been [[Forced conversions of Muslims in Spain|forced to convert to Catholicism]]), as a result of suspicions that they had secretly maintained or reverted to their previous religions, as well as the fear of possible rebellions, as had occurred in previous times (such as the [[Rebellion of the Alpujarras (1499–1501)|First]] and [[Rebellion of the Alpujarras (1568–1571)|Second Morisco Rebellions]]). [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] and [[Portuguese Empire|Portugal]] also operated inquisitorial courts not only in [[Europe]], but also throughout their empires: the [[Goa Inquisition]], the [[Peruvian Inquisition]], and the [[Mexican Inquisition]], among others.<ref name="Murphy">{{cite book|title=God's Jury|publisher=Mariner Books – Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt|author=Murphy, Cullen|year=2012|location=New York|page=150}}</ref> Inquisitions conducted in the [[Papal States]] were known as the [[Roman Inquisition]].

The scope of the inquisitions grew significantly in response to the [[Protestant Reformation]] and the Catholic [[Counter-Reformation]]. In 1542, a putative governing institution, the [[Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith|Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition]] was created. With the exception of the Papal States, ecclessiastical inquisition courts were abolished in the early 19th century, after the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in Europe and the [[Spanish American wars of independence]] in the Americas. The papal institution survived as part of the [[Roman Curia]], although it underwent a series of name and focus changes, now part of the ''Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith''. The opening of Spanish and Roman archives has caused some historians to [[Historical revision of the Inquisition|substantially revise their understanding]] of the Inquisition, some to the extent of characterizing previous views as "a body of legends and myths".<ref>{{cite book |last=Iarocci |first=Michael P. |title=Properties of Modernity |publisher=Vanderbilt University Press |date=1 March 2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CuliwYNyvSUC&pg=PA218 |isbn=0-8265-1522-3 |page=218}}</ref> {{Anchor|Historic Inquisition movements}} Many famous instruments of torture are now considered fakes and propaganda.

{{Further |Medieval Inquisition}}

{{Further |Inquisitorial system#History}}

Today, the English term "Inquisition" is popularly applied to any one of the regional tribunals or later national institutions that worked against [[Christian heresy|heretics]] or other offenders against the [[canon law of the Catholic Church]]. Although the term "Inquisition" is usually applied to ecclesiastical courts of the Catholic Church, in the Middle Ages it properly referred to a judicial process, not any organization.

The term "Inquisition" comes from the [[Medieval Latin]] word {{Lang|la-x-medieval|inquisitio}}, which described a court process based on [[Roman law]], which came back into use during the [[Late Middle Ages]].{{sfnp|Peters|1989|pp=12–13}} It was a new, less arbitrary form of trial that replaced the {{Lang|la-x-medieval|denunciatio}} and {{Lang|la-x-medieval|accussatio}} process<ref name=hakelly>{{cite journal |last1=Kelly |first1=Henry Ansgar |title=Inquisition and the Prosecution of Heresy: Misconceptions and Abuses |journal=Church History |date=1989 |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=439–451 |doi=10.2307/3168207 |jstor=3168207 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3168207 |issn=0009-6407|url-access=subscription }}</ref> which required a denouncer or used an adversarial process, the most unjust being [[trial by ordeal]] and the secular Germanic [[trial by combat]]. [[Henry A. Kelly]] concludes that inquisition was "a brilliant and much-needed innovation in trial procedure, instituted by the greatest lawyer-pope of the Middle Ages" and that later "abusive practices" should be identified as a perversion of the original inquisitorial process.<ref name="hakelly"/>

Theoretically, the Inquisition, as a church court, had no jurisdiction over Muslims and Jews as such. Despite several exceptions, like the infamous example of the [[Holy Child of La Guardia]]{{sfnp|Sabatini|1930|pp=296–383}}the Inquisition was concerned mainly with the heretical behaviour of Catholic adherents or converts (including forced converts).<ref name="Salomon, H. P 2001 pp. XXX">Salomon, H. P. and Sassoon, I. S. D., and Saraiva, Antonio José. ''The Marrano Factory. The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians, 1536–1765'' (Brill, 2001), Introduction pp. XXX.</ref>

Inquisitors 'were called such because they applied a judicial technique known as ''inquisitio'', which could be translated as "inquiry" or "inquest". "In this process, which was already widely used by secular rulers ([[Henry II of England|Henry II]] used it extensively in England in the 12th century), an official inquirer called for information on a specific subject from anyone who felt he or she had something to offer."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/inquisition1.asp|title=Internet History Sourcebooks Project|website=Fordham.edu|access-date=13 October 2017|archive-date=14 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814165846/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/inquisition1.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> "The Inquisition" usually refers to specific regional tribunals authorized to concern themselves with the heretical behaviour of Catholic adherents or converts (including forced converts).<ref name="Salomon, H. P 2001 pp. XXX"/> As with sedition inquisitions, heresy inquisitions were supposed to use the standard inquisition procedures: these included that the defendant must be informed of the charges, has a right to a lawyer, and a right of appeal (to the Pope.) The inquisitor could only start a heresy proceeding if there was some broad public opinion of the "infamy" of the defendant (rather than a formal denunciation or accusation) to prevent fishing, or charging for private opinions. However, such inquisitions could proceed with minimal distraction by lawyers, the identity of witnesses was protected, tainted witness were allowed, and once found guilty of heresy there was no right to a lawyer.<ref name="hakelly" /> However, many inquisitors did not follow these rules scrupulously, notably from the late 1300s: many inquisitors had theological not legal training.<ref name="hakelly" />{{rp|448}}

The opening of Spanish and Roman archives over the last 50 years has caused some historians to [[Historical revision of the Inquisition|revise their understanding]] of the Inquisition, some to the extent of viewing previous views as "a body of legends and myths".<ref>{{cite book | last = Iarocci | first = Michael P. | title = Properties of Modernity | publisher = Vanderbilt University Press | date = 1 March 2006 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CuliwYNyvSUC&pg=PA218 | isbn = 0-8265-1522-3 | page = 218 }}</ref> This may mean that some older historical commentary, and sources relying on them, are not reliable sources to that extent.

The overwhelming majority of guilty sentences with repentance seem to have consisted of penances like wearing a cross sewn on one's clothes or going on [[pilgrimage]].<ref name="Burr"/> When a suspect was convicted of major, wilful, unrepentant heresy, canon law required the inquisitorial tribunal to hand the person over to secular authorities for final sentencing. A secular magistrate, the "secular arm", would then determine the penalty based on local law.<ref>Peters writes: "When faced with a convicted heretic who refused to recant, or who relapsed into heresy, the inquisitors were to turn him over to the temporal authorities – the "secular arm" – for ''animadversio debita'', the punishment decreed by local law, usually burning to death." (Peters, Edwards. "Inquisition", p. 67.)</ref><ref>{{harvp|Lea|1887a|loc=[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39451/39451-h/39451-h.htm#CHAPTER_VII Chapter VII. The Inquisition Founded]}}: "Obstinate heretics, refusing to abjure and return to the Church with due penance, and those who after abjuration relapsed, were to be abandoned to the secular arm for fitting punishment."</ref> Those local laws included proscriptions against certain religious crimes, and the punishments included [[death by burning]] in regions where the secular law equated persistent heresy with sedition, although the penalty was more usually banishment or imprisonment for life, which was generally commuted after a few years. Thus the inquisitors generally knew the expected fate of anyone so remanded.{{sfnp|Kirsch|2008|p=85}} The "secular arm" didn't have access to the trial record of the defendants, only declared and executed the sentences and was obliged to do so on pain of heresy and excommunication.{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=109}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Haliczer|first=Stephen|title=Inquisition and Society in the Kingdom of Valencia, 1478–1834|publisher=University of California Press|year=1990|pages=83–85}}</ref>

While the notational purpose of the trial itself was for the salvation of the individual soul, allegedly by persuasion, according to the 1578 edition of the [[Directorium Inquisitorum]] (a standard manual for inquisitions) the penalties themselves were preventative not retributive, thought to spread an example by terror: " ''... quoniam punitio non refertur primo & per se in correctionem & bonum eius qui punitur, sed in bonum publicum ut alij terreantur, & a malis committendis avocentur'' (translation: "... for punishment does not take place primarily and ''per se'' for the correction and good of the person punished, but for the public good in order that others may become terrified and weaned away from the evils they would commit").<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eymerich Directorium inquisitorum |first=Nicholas |title=Directorium inquisitorum |url=https://reader.library.cornell.edu/docviewer/digital?id=witchcraft045#mode/1up |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=Cornell University Library Digital Collections Bookreader}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Eymeric- |first=Nicholas |title=Manual de Inquisidores, para uso de las Inquisiciones de España y Portugal - Translated from French into Spanish language, by J. Marchena (abridged version) |publisher=Imprenta de Feliz Avinon. |year=1821 |language=es}}</ref>

Beginning in the 19th century, historians have gradually compiled statistics drawn from the surviving court records, from which estimates have been calculated by adjusting the recorded number of convictions by the average rate of document loss for each time period. [[Gustav Henningsen]] and [[Jaime Contreras]] studied the records of the Spanish Inquisition, which list 44,674 cases of which 826 resulted in executions in person and 778 in effigy (i.e. a straw dummy was burned in place of the person).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Mohnhaupt|first1=Heinz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A_Sdchs7yAkC|title=Vorträge zur Justizforschung: Geschichte und Theorie|last2=Simon|first2=Dieter|date=1992|publisher=V. Klostermann|isbn=978-3-465-02627-3|language=de}}</ref> William Monter estimated there were 1000 executions in Spain between 1530–1630 and 250 between 1630 and 1730.<ref>W. Monter, ''Frontiers of Heresy: The Spanish Inquisition from the Basque Lands to Sicily'', Cambridge 2003, p. 53.</ref> [[Jean-Pierre Dedieu]] studied the records of Toledo's tribunal, which put 12,000 people on trial.<ref>Jean-Pierre Dedieu, ''Los Cuatro Tiempos'', in Bartolomé Benassar, ''Inquisición Española: poder político y control social'', pp. 15–39.</ref> For the period prior to 1530, Henry Kamen estimated there were about 2,000 executions in all of Spain's tribunals.<ref>[[Henry Kamen|H. Kamen]], ''Inkwizycja Hiszpańska'', Warszawa 2005, p. 62; and H. Rawlings, ''The Spanish Inquisition'', Blackwell Publishing 2004, p. 15.</ref>

 

Italian Renaissance history professor and Inquisition expert [[Carlo Ginzburg]] had his doubts about using statistics to reach a judgment about the period. "In many cases, we don't have the evidence, the evidence has been lost," said Ginzburg.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5218373|title=Vatican downgrades Inquisition toll|date=15 June 2004|website=Nbcnews.com|access-date=13 October 2017|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402142946/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5218373/ns/world_news/t/vatican-downgrades-inquisition-toll/#.VP8gMPnF-Sp|url-status=live}}</ref>

Before the 12th century, the Catholic Church suppressed what they believed to be [[Heresy in Christianity|heresy]], usually through a system of ecclesiastical proscription or imprisonment, but without using torture,<ref>{{harvp|Lea|1887a|loc=[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39451/39451-h/39451-h.htm#CHAPTER_VII Chapter VII. The Inquisition Founded]}}: "The judicial use of torture was as yet happily unknown..."</ref> and seldom resorting to executions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Foxe|first=John|author-link=John Foxe|title=[[Foxe's Book of Martyrs]]|chapter=Chapter monkey|chapter-url=http://www.jesus.org.uk/vault/library/foxes_book_of_martyrs.pdf|access-date=2010-08-31|archive-date=2012-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121126164105/http://www.jesus.org.uk/vault/library/foxes_book_of_martyrs.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Blötzer|first=J.|encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia|title=Inquisition|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08026a.htm|access-date=2012-08-26|year=1910|publisher=Ava Rojas Company|quote=... in this period the more influential ecclesiastical authorities declared that the [[death penalty]] was contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, and they themselves opposed its execution. For centuries this was the ecclesiastical attitude both in theory and in practice. Thus, in keeping with the civil law, some Manichæans were executed at Ravenna in 556. On the other hand, Elipandus of Toledo and Felix of Urgel, the chiefs of Adoptionism and Predestinationism, were condemned by councils, but were otherwise left unmolested. We may note, however, that the monk Gothescalch, after the condemnation of his false doctrine that Christ had not died for all mankind, was by the Synods of Mainz in 848 and Quiercy in 849 sentenced to flogging and imprisonment, punishments then common in monasteries for various infractions of the rule.|archive-date=2007-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026132112/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08026a.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Such punishments were opposed by a number of clergymen and theologians, although some countries punished heresy with the [[death penalty]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Blötzer|first=J.|encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia|title=Inquisition|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08026a.htm|access-date=2012-08-26|year=1910|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|quote=[...] the occasional executions of heretics during this period must be ascribed partly to the arbitrary action of individual rulers, partly to the fanatic outbreaks of the overzealous populace, and in no wise to ecclesiastical law or the ecclesiastical authorities.|archive-date=2007-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026132112/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08026a.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfnp|Lea|1887a|loc=[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39451/39451-h/39451-h.htm#CHAPTER_VII Chapter VII. The Inquisition Founded]}} [[Pope Siricius]], [[Ambrose of Milan]], and [[Martin of Tours]] protested against the execution of [[Priscillian]], largely as an undue interference in ecclesiastical discipline by a civil tribunal. Though widely viewed as a heretic, Priscillian was executed as a sorcerer. Ambrose refused to give any recognition to Ithacius of Ossonuba, "not wishing to have anything to do with bishops who had sent heretics to their death".<ref>Hughes, Philip (1979). History of the Church Volume 2: ''The Church In The World The Church Created: Augustine To Aquinas''. A&C Black. pp.27–28, {{ISBN| 978-0-7220-7982-9}}</ref>

In the 12th century, to counter the spread of [[Catharism]], and other heresies, prosecution of heretics became more frequent. The Church charged councils composed of bishops and archbishops with establishing inquisitions (the [[Medieval Inquisition|Episcopal Inquisition]]). Pope [[Pope Lucius III|Lucius III]] issued the bull ''[[Ad abolendam|Ad Abolendam]]'' (1184), which condemned heresy as [[contumacy]] toward ecclesiastical authority.{{Sfnp|Peters|1980|p=170-173}} The bull ''[[Vergentis in Senium]]'' in 1199 stipulated that heresy would be considered, in terms of punishment, equal to treason (''[[Lèse-majesté]])'', and the punishment would be imposed also on the descendants of the condemned.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Théry|first1=Julien|last2=Gilli|first2=Patrick|date=2010|title=" Expérience italienne et norme inquisitoriale ", chap.11(in Le gouvernement pontifical et l'Italie des villes au temps de la théocratie (fin XIIe-mi-XIVe siècle)|url=https://www.academia.edu/32534765|access-date=2024-05-06|website=Academia|publisher=Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée|pages=547–592|language=fr}}</ref>

The first Inquisition was temporarily established in [[Languedoc]] (south of France) in 1184. The murder of Pope Innocent III's papal legate [[Pierre de Castelnau]] by Cathars in 1208 sparked the [[Albigensian Crusade]] (1209–1229). The Inquisition was permanently established in 1229 ([[Council of Toulouse]]), run largely by the Dominicans<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08026a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Inquisition|website=Newadvent.org|access-date=13 October 2017|archive-date=26 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026132112/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08026a.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> in Rome and later at [[Carcassonne]] in Languedoc.

 

In 1252, the Papal Bull ''[[Ad extirpanda]]'', following another assassination by Cathars, charged the head of state with funding and selecting inquisitors from monastic orders; this caused friction by establishing a competitive court to the Bishop's courts.

Historians use the term "Medieval Inquisition" to describe the various inquisitions that started around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisitions (1184–1230s) and later the Papal Inquisitions (1230s). These inquisitions responded to large popular movements throughout Europe considered [[apostasy|apostate]] or heretical to [[Christianity]], in particular the [[Cathars]] in southern France and the [[Waldensians]] in both southern France and northern Italy. Other inquisitions followed after these first inquisition movements. The legal basis for some inquisitorial activity came from [[Pope Innocent IV]]'s [[papal bull]] ''[[Ad extirpanda]]'' of 1252, which authorized the use of [[tortures]] in certain circumstances by inquisitors for eliciting confessions and denunciations from heretics.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.0028-4289.2006.00142.x|title=Aquinas on Torture|journal=New Blackfriars|volume=87|issue=1009|pages=229–237|year=2006|last1=Bishop|first1=Jordan|doi-access=free}}</ref> By 1256 Alexander IV's ''[[Ut negotium]]'' allowed the inquisitors to [[Absolution|absolve]] each other if they used instruments of torture.<ref>Larissa Tracy, ''Torture and Brutality in Medieval Literature: Negotiations of National Identity'', (Boydell and Brewer Ltd, 2012), 22; "''In 1252 Innocent IV licensed the use of torture to obtain evidence from suspects, and by 1256 inquisitors were allowed to absolve each other if they used instruments of torture themselves, rather than relying on lay agents for the purpose...''".</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Pegg|first=Mark G.|title=The Corruption of Angels – The great Inquisition of 1245–1246|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2001|page=32}}</ref>

The [[Albigensian Crusade]] (1209–1229) a crusade proclaimed by the Catholic Church against heresy, mainly [[Catharism]], with many thousands of victims (men, women and children, some of them Catholics), had already paved the way for the later Inquisition.{{sfnp|Sumption|1978|pp=230–232}}{{sfnp|Costen|1997|p=173}}

 

France's first Dominican inquisitor, {{ill|Robert le Bougre|fr|Robert le Bougre}}, working in the years 1233–1244, earned a particularly grim reputation. In 1236, Robert burned about 50 people in the area of Champagne and Flanders, and on 13 May 1239, in Montwimer, he burned 183 Cathars.<ref>Robert's activities are described by {{harvp|Lea|1887b|pp=114–116}}; P. Kras, ''Ad abolendam''..., pp. 163–165; and M. Lambert, ''The Cathars'', pp. 122–125.</ref> Following Robert's removal from office, Inquisition activity in northern France remained very low. One of the largest trials in the area took place in 1459–1460 at [[Arras]]; 34 people were then accused of witchcraft and Satanism, 12 of them were burned at the stake.<ref>Richard Kieckhefer: ''Magia w średniowieczu,'' Cracovia 2001, págs. 278–279.</ref>

In addition, [[Bernard Gui]] issued 274 more sentences involving the mitigation of sentences already served to convicted heretics; in 139 cases he exchanged prison for carrying crosses, and in 135 cases, carrying crosses for pilgrimage. To the full statistics, there are 22 orders to demolish houses used by heretics as meeting places and one condemnation and burning of Jewish writings (including commentaries on the Torah).<ref>List of judgments from: James Given: ''Inquisition and Medieval Society'', Cornell University Press, 2001, s. 69–70.</ref>

 

The episcopal inquisition was also active in Languedoc. In the years 1232–1234, the Bishop of Toulouse, Raymond, sentenced several dozen Cathars to death. In turn, Bishop [[Jacques Fournier]] of [[Pamiers]] (he was  later Pope Benedict XII) in the years 1318–1325 conducted an investigation against 89 people, of whom 64 were found guilty and 5 were sentenced to death.<ref>P. Kras: ''Ad abolendam...'', p. 413.</ref>

In 1414, the inquisitor Heinrich von Schöneveld arrested 84 flagellants in [[Sangerhausen]], of whom he burned 3 leaders, and imposed penitential sentences on the rest. However, since this sect was associated with the peasant revolts in Thuringia from 1412, after the departure of the inquisitor, the local authorities organized a mass hunt for flagellants and, regardless of their previous verdicts, sent at least 168 to the stake (possibly up to 300) people.<ref>'''Manfred Wilde''', ''Die Zauberei- und Hexenprozesse in Kursachsen'', Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2003, p. 100–101; '''K.B. Springer''': ''Dominican Inquisition in the archidiocese of Mainz 1348–1520'', w: ''Praedicatores, Inquisitores, Vol. 1: The Dominicans and the Medieval Inquisition. Acts of the 1st International Seminar on the Dominicans and the Inquisition, 23–25 February 2002'', red. Arturo Bernal Palacios, Rzym 2004, p. 378–379; '''R. Kieckhefer''': ''Repression of heresy'', p. 96–97. {{harvp|Lea|1887b|p=408}} mentions at least 135 executions in 1414 and another 300 two years later, but most likely the sources he cites speak of the same repressive action, with different dates ('''Springer''': p. 378 note 276; '''Kieckhefer''': p. 378, note 276; : pp. 97 and 147).</ref> Inquisitor Friedrich Müller (d. 1460) sentenced to death 12 of the 13 heretics he had tried in 1446 at Nordhausen. In 1453 the same inquisitor burned 2 heretics in [[Göttingen]].<ref>K.B. Springer: ''Dominican Inquisition in the archidiocese of Mainz 1348–1520'', w: ''Praedicatores, Inquisitores, Vol. 1: The Dominicans and the Medieval Inquisition. Acts of the 1st International Seminar on the Dominicans and the Inquisition, 23–25 February 2002'', red. Arturo Bernal Palacios, Rzym 2004, p. 381. The mass executions of flagellants in Thuringia in 1454 were the work of secular authorities, see Kieckhefer, ''Repression of heresy'', p. 147; Manfred Wilde, ''Die Zauberei- und Hexenprozesse in Kursachsen'', Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2003, p. 106–107.</ref>

Inquisitor [[Heinrich Kramer]], author of the [[Malleus Maleficarum]], in his own words, sentenced 48 people to the stake in five years (1481–1486).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Institoris|first1=Heinrich|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPml42hWGBIC&q=Malleus+maleficarum|title=The Malleus Maleficarum of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger|last2=Sprenger|first2=Jakob|last3=Sprenger|first3=James|date=2000|publisher=Book Tree|isbn=978-1-58509-098-3}}</ref><ref>cf. {{harvp|Lea|1887c|p=540}}</ref> Jacob Hoogstraten, inquisitor of Cologne from 1508 to 1527, sentenced four people to be burned at the stake.<ref>[https://archive.today/20160419184532/http://www.bbkl.de/lexikon/bbkl-artikel.php?art=./H/Ho/hoogstraaten_j.art BBKL: Jacob von Hoogstraaten]</ref>

A notable former inquisitor, Jesuit [[Friedrich Spee]], published a book ''Cautio Criminalis'' (1631) which helped end witch-hunting and the reliance on torture, highly regarded in Catholic and Protestant circles.<ref>Pinker (2011, pp. 138–139).  Mannix (1964, pp. 134–135).  Mackay (1841 / 2009, p. 320).</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Limborch |first1=Philippus van |title=Philippi a Limborch historia inquisitionis: acced. liber sententiarum inquisitionis Tholosanae ab anno Chr. 1307 ad annum 1323 |date=1692 |publisher=éditeur non identifié |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=cysymJOAxLwC&pg=GBS.PP253 |language=la}}</ref>

There are 558 court cases finished with conviction researched in Poland from the 15th to 18th centuries.<ref>Pilaszek, Wislicz</ref>

Portugal and Spain in the late Middle Ages consisted largely of multicultural territories of Muslim and Jewish influence, reconquered from [[Al-Andalus|Islamic control]], and the new Christian authorities could not assume that all their subjects would suddenly become and remain orthodox Catholics. So the Inquisition in [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]], in the lands of the [[Reconquista]] counties and kingdoms like [[Kingdom of León|León]], [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]], and [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragon]], had a special socio-political basis as well as more fundamental religious motives.<ref name=secrets/>

 

In some parts of Spain towards the end of the 14th century, there was a wave of violent [[anti-Judaism]], encouraged by the preaching of [[Ferrand Martínez]], [[Archdeacon]] of [[Écija]]. In the [[pogrom]]s of June [[Massacre of 1391|1391]] in [[Seville]], hundreds of Jews were killed, and the [[synagogue]] was completely destroyed. The number of people killed was also high in other cities, such as [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], [[Valencia]], and Barcelona.<ref>[[Henry Kamen|Kamen]], ''Spanish Inquisition'', p. 17. Kamen cites approximate numbers for Valencia (250) and Barcelona (400), but no solid data about Córdoba.</ref>

One of the consequences of these pogroms was the mass conversion of thousands of surviving Jews. Forced baptism was contrary to the law of the Catholic Church, and theoretically anybody who had been forcibly baptized could legally return to Judaism. However, this was very narrowly interpreted. Legal definitions of the time theoretically acknowledged that a forced baptism was not a valid sacrament, but confined this to cases where it was literally administered by physical force. A person who had consented to baptism under threat of death or serious injury was still regarded as a voluntary convert, and accordingly forbidden to revert to Judaism.<ref>[[Raymond of Peñafort]], ''Summa'', lib. 1 p.33, citing D.45 c.5.</ref> After the public violence, many of the converted "felt it safer to remain in their new religion".<ref>[[Henry Kamen|Kamen]], ''Spanish Inquisition'', p. 10.</ref> Thus, after 1391, a new social group appeared and were referred to as ''[[converso]]s'' or ''New Christians''.

Under the [[Alhambra Decree]] of 1492, all Jews who had not converted were [[Expulsion of Jews from Spain|expelled from Spain in 1492]]. [[Tomás de Torquemada]] was chosen to be the first [[Grand Inquisitor]], to oversee the Inquisition; and it is estimated that up to 2,000 Jews were burned at the stake during the reign of Queen Isabella.(See [https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2155-auto-da-fe Jewish Encyclopedia]).

 

All [[Forced conversions of Muslims in Spain|Muslims]] were ordered to convert in different stages starting in 1507 and culminating in 1614, when Muslims who had previously converted were now expelled .<ref>''Breve historia de Isabel la Católica.'' Nowtilus, 320 pages.</ref> Those who converted or simply remained after the relevant edict became nominally and legally Catholics, and thus subject to the Inquisition.

{{see also |Mexican Inquisition|Peruvian Inquisition}}

In 1569, [[King Philip II of Spain]] set up three tribunals in the Americas (each formally titled ''Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición''): one in [[Mexican Inquisition|Mexico]], one in [[Cartagena de Indias]] (in modern-day Colombia), and one in [[Peru]]. The Mexican office administered [[Real Audiencia of Mexico|Mexico]] (central and southeastern Mexico), [[Nueva Galicia]] (northern and western Mexico), the [[Audiencia Real|Audiencia]]s of [[Guatemala]] (Guatemala, Chiapas, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica), and the [[Spanish East Indies]]. The [[Peruvian Inquisition]], based in Lima, administered all the Spanish territories in South America and [[Panama]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2024-02-08|title=Inquisition – Spanish, Roman & Torture|url=https://www.history.com/topics/religion/inquisition|access-date=2024-04-15|website=HISTORY}}</ref>

 

The Spanish Inquisition was formerly ended by proclamation on [https://www.britannica.com/question/When-did-the-Spanish-Inquisition-end July 15, 1834], by Maria Cristina de Bourbon, then queen regent of Spain, also known as [[Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily]].

The Portuguese Inquisition formally started in Portugal in 1536 at the request of King [[João III]]. [[Manuel I of Portugal|Manuel I]] had asked [[Pope Leo X]] for the installation of the Inquisition in 1515, but only after his death in 1521 did [[Pope Paul III]] acquiesce. At its head stood a ''Grande Inquisidor'', or General Inquisitor, named by the Pope but selected by the Crown, and always from within the royal family.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} Jews who fled Spain and the Spanish Inquisition now found themselves subject to the Inquisition in Portugal. The Portuguese Inquisition principally focused upon the Jews from Spain, [[the Sephardi Jews]], who had fled or whom the state had forced to convert to Christianity.

 

The Portuguese Inquisition held its first ''[[auto-da-fé]]'' in 1540. The Portuguese inquisitors mostly focused upon the [[Jew]]ish [[New Christians]] (i.e. ''[[conversos]]'' or ''[[marranos]]''). The Portuguese Inquisition expanded its scope of operations from Portugal to its colonial possessions, including Brazil, [[Cape Verde]], and [[Goa Inquisition|Goa]]. In the colonies, it continued as a religious court, investigating and trying cases of breaches of the tenets of orthodox Catholicism until 1821. King [[John III of Portugal|João III]] (reigned 1521–57) extended the activity of the courts to cover [[censorship]], [[divination]], [[witchcraft]], and [[bigamy]]. Originally oriented for a religious action, the Inquisition exerted an influence over almost every aspect of Portuguese society: political, cultural, and social.

 

According to [[Henry Charles Lea]], between 1540 and 1794, tribunals in [[Lisbon]], [[Porto]], [[Coimbra]], and [[Évora]] resulted in the burning of 1,175 persons, the burning of another 633 in effigy, and the penancing of 29,590.<ref>[[Henry Charles Lea|H. C. Lea]], ''A History of the Inquisition of Spain'', vol. 3, Book 8</ref> But documentation of 15 out of 689 autos-da-fé has disappeared, so these numbers may slightly understate the activity.<ref>{{cite book|first1=António José|last1=Saraiva|first2=Herman Prins|last2=Salomon|first3=I. S. D.|last3=Sassoon|author-link3=Isaac S.D. Sassoon|title=The Marrano Factory: the Portuguese Inquisition and its New Christians 1536–1765|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eG8xUFivagkC|access-date=2010-04-13|orig-year=First published in Portuguese in 1969|year=2001|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-12080-8|page=102}}</ref>

{{see also |Goa Inquisition}}

With the [[Protestant Reformation]], Catholic authorities became much more ready to suspect heresy in any new ideas,<ref>{{cite book|last=Stokes|first=Adrian Durham|author-link=Adrian Stokes (critic)|title=Michelangelo: a study in the nature of art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_E7epqLi2CwC|access-date=2009-11-26|edition=2|series=Routledge classics|orig-year=1955|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-26765-6|page=39|quote=Ludovico is so immediately settled in heaven by the poet that some commentators have divined that Michelangelo is voicing heresy, that is to say, the denial of purgatory.|archive-date=2022-04-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407053105/https://books.google.com/books?id=_E7epqLi2CwC|url-status=live}}</ref> including those of [[Renaissance humanism]],<ref>Erasmus, the arch-Humanist of the Renaissance, came under suspicion of heresy, see

{{cite book|last=Olney|first=Warren|title=Desiderius Erasmus; Paper Read Before the Berkeley Club, March 18, 1920.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EdsdOSs6VRgC|access-date=2009-11-26|year=2009|publisher=BiblioBazaar|isbn=978-1-113-40503-6|page=15|quote=Thomas More, in an elaborate defense of his friend, written to a cleric who accused Erasmus of heresy, seems to admit that Erasmus was probably the author of ''Julius''.|archive-date=2022-04-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407053111/https://books.google.com/books?id=EdsdOSs6VRgC|url-status=live}}</ref> previously strongly supported by many at the top of the Church hierarchy. The extirpation of heretics became a much broader and more complex enterprise, complicated by the politics of territorial Protestant powers, especially in northern Europe. The Catholic Church could no longer exercise direct influence in the politics and justice-systems of lands that officially adopted Protestantism. Thus war (the [[French Wars of Religion]], the [[Thirty Years' War]]), massacre (the [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]]) and the missional<ref>{{cite book|last=Vidmar|first=John C.|author-link=John Vidmar|title=The Catholic Church Through the Ages|year=2005|publisher=Paulist Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8091-4234-7|page=241}}</ref> and propaganda work (by the ''[[Sacra congregatio de propaganda fide]]'')<ref>{{cite book|last=Soergel|first=Philip M.|title=Wondrous in His Saints: Counter Reformation Propaganda in Bavaria|year=1993|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=0-520-08047-5|page=239}}</ref> of the catholic [[Counter-Reformation]] came to play larger roles in these circumstances, and the [[Roman law]] type of a "judicial" approach to heresy represented by the Inquisition became less important overall. In 1542 [[Pope Paul III]] established the Congregation of the Holy Office of the Inquisition as a permanent congregation staffed with [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinals]] and other officials. It had the tasks of maintaining and defending the integrity of the faith and of examining and proscribing errors and false doctrines; it thus became the supervisory body of local Inquisitions.<!--pretty much copied from:--><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Galileo Project {{!}} Christianity {{!}} The Inquisition|url=http://galileo.rice.edu/chr/inquisition.html|access-date=2024-04-30|website=galileo.rice.edu}}</ref> A famous case tried by the Roman Inquisition was that of [[Galileo affair|Galileo Galilei in 1633]].

Between 1657 and 1659, twenty-two alleged witches were burned on the orders of the inquisitor Pierre Symard in the province of Franche-Comté, then part of the Empire.<ref>William E. Burns (red.): ''Witch hunts in Europe and America: an encyclopedia'', Greenwood Publishing Group 2003, s. 104.</ref>

 

The inquisitorial tribunal in papally-ruled Avignon, established in 1541, passed 855 death sentences, almost all of them (818) in the years 1566–1574, but the vast majority of them were pronounced in absentia.<ref>Andrea Del Col: ''Inquisizione in Italia'', p. 434, 780.</ref>

Black magic practitioners were generally dealt with through confession, repentance, and charitable work assigned as penance.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rio|first=Martin Antoine Del|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2iCYDHYbycC&pg=PR7|title=Investigations Into Magic|date=2000|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-4976-7}}</ref> In 1258, [[Pope Alexander IV]] ruled that inquisitors should limit their involvement to those cases in which there was some clear presumption of heretical belief<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bailey|first=Michael D.|url=https://archive.org/details/battlingdemonswi00bail|title=Battling demons : witchcraft, heresy, and reform in the late Middle Ages.|publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0271022260|page=[https://archive.org/details/battlingdemonswi00bail/page/n47 35]|oclc=652466611|url-access=limited}}</ref> but slowly this vision changed.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Caputi|first=Jane|title=The Age of Sex Crime|publisher=Bowling Green State University Popular Press|publication-date=1987|page=96}}</ref>

 

The prosecution of witchcraft generally became more prominent in the late medieval and Renaissance era, perhaps driven partly by the upheavals of the era – the [[Black Death]], the [[Hundred Years War]], and a gradual cooling of the climate that modern scientists call the [[Little Ice Age]] (between about the 15th and 19th centuries). Witches were sometimes blamed.<ref>[[Brian P. Levack|Levack]], ''The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe'', p. 49</ref><ref>Heinrich Institoris, Heinrich; Sprenger, Jakob; Summers, Montague. ''The Malleus maleficarum of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger''. Dover Publications; New edition, 1 June 1971; {{ISBN|0-486-22802-9}}</ref> Since the years of most intense witch-hunting largely coincide with the age of the [[Reformation|Protestant Reformation]] and [[Counter-Reformation]], some historians point to the influence of the Reformation on the European witch-hunt. However, witch-hunting began almost one hundred years before [[Martin Luther|Luther]]'s  ninety-five theses.<ref>{{citation|surname1=Brian P. Levack|title=The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe|pages=110, 111|edition=London/New York 2013|language=de|quote=The period during which all of this reforming activity and conflict took place, the age of the Reformation, spanned the years 1520–1650. Since these years include the period when witch-hunting was most intense, some historians have claimed that the Reformation served as the mainspring of the entire European witch-hunt.(...) It would be unwise, however, to attribute the entire European witch-hunt to these religious developments, since witch-hunting began again almost one hundred years before Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the castle church at Wittenberg."|author1-link=Brian P. Levack}}</ref>

Over the centuries that it lasted, several procedure manuals for inquisitors were produced for dealing with different types of heresy. The primordial text was Pope Innocent IV's bull, ''Ad Extirpanda'', from 1252, which in its thirty-eight laws details in detail what must be done and authorizes the use of torture.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ad Extirpanda|url=https://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01p/1252-05-15,_SS_Innocentius_IV,_Bulla_'Ad_Extirpanda',_EN.pdf|access-date=25 April 2024|website=documentacatholicaomnia.eu}}</ref> Of the various manuals produced later, some stand out: by Nicholas Eymerich, ''Directorium Inquisitorum,'' written in 1376; by  Bernardo Gui, ''Practica inquisitionis heretice pravitatis,'' written between 1319 and 1323. Witches were not forgotten: the book ''Malleus Maleficarum ("the witches' hammer"),'' written in 1486, by Heinrich Kramer, deals with the subject.{{Sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=43-45}}

 

In Portugal, several ''"Regimentos"'' (four) were written for the use of the inquisitors, the first in 1552 at the behest of the inquisitor [[Henry, King of Portugal|Cardinal D. Henrique]] and the last in 1774, this sponsored by the [[Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal|Marquis of Pombal]], himself a ''familiar''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Freitas |first=Jordão de |title=O Marquez de Pombal e o Santo Oficio da Inquisição (Memoria enriquecida com documentos inéditos e facsimiles de assignaturas do benemerito reedificador da cidade de Lisboa) |date=1916 |publisher=Soc. Editora José Bastos |pages=10, 106, 122 |language=pt |trans-title=The Marquis of Pombal and the Holy Office of the Inquisition (Memoir enriched with unpublished documents and facsimiles of signatures of the benevolent rebuilder of the city of Lisbon)}}</ref> of the inquisition. The Portuguese 1640 Regiment determined that each court of the Holy Office should have a Bible, a compendium of canon and civil law, Eymerich's ''Directorium Inquisitorum,'' and [[Diego de Simancas]]' ''Catholicis institutionibus''.{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=43-45}}

In 1484, Spanish inquisitor Torquemada,  based in Nicholas Eymerich's  ''Directorium Inquisitorum'', wrote his twenty eight articles code, ''Compilación de las instrucciones del oficio de la Santa Inquisición'' (i.e. Compilation of the instructions of the office of the Holy Inquisitio''n).'' Later additions would be made, based on experience, many by the canonist Francisco Peña.{{sfnp|Pérez|2005|p=135}}{{sfnp|Sabatini|1930|pp=142, 147}}

{{Main| Malleus Maleficarum }}

In 1484 Kramer requested that [[Pope Innocent VIII]] clarify his authority to conduct inquisitions into witchcraft throughout [[North Germany|Germany]], where he had been refused assistance by the local ecclesiastical authorities. They maintained that Kramer could not legally function in their areas.<ref>Kors, Alan Charles; Peters, Edward. ''Witchcraft in Europe, 400–1700: A Documentary History''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-8122-1751-9}}. p. 177</ref> Despite [[Summis desiderantes affectibus|some support]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/witches1.asp|title=Internet History Sourcebooks Project|website=sourcebooks.fordham.edu|access-date=2019-07-22|archive-date=2019-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709182850/https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/witches1.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> from [[Pope Innocent VIII]],<ref>Darst, David H., "Witchcraft in Spain: The Testimony of Martín de Castañega's Treatise on Superstition and Witchcraft (1529)", ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'', 1979, vol. 123, issue 5, p. 298</ref> he was expelled from the city of Innsbruck by the local bishop, George Golzer, who ordered Kramer to stop making false accusations.

Golzer described Kramer as senile in letters written shortly after the incident. This rebuke led Kramer to write a justification of his views on witchcraft in his 1486 book ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' ("Hammer against witches").<ref name=Thurston/> The book distinguishes itself from other demonologies by its obsessive hate of women and sex, seemingly reflecting the twisted psyche of the author.{{sfnp|Burns|2003|p=158-160}}<ref name="LW">{{Cite book|last=Levack|first=Brian|title=The Literature of Witchcraft|publisher=Garland Publishing|year=1992|isbn=0-8153-1026-9|pages=16–17}}</ref> Historian Brian Levack calls it "scholastic pornography".<ref name="LW" />

 

Despite Kramer's claim that the book gained acceptance from the clergy at the [[University of Cologne]], it was in fact condemned by the clergy at Cologne for advocating views that violated Catholic doctrine and standard inquisitorial procedure. In 1538 the Spanish Inquisition cautioned its members not to believe everything the ''Malleus'' said.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Jolly|first1=Karen|title=Witchcraft and magic in Europe: the Middle Ages|last2=Raudvere|first2=Catharina|last3=Peters|first3=Edward|publisher=The Athlone Press|year=2002|page=241}}</ref> Despite this, Heinrich Kramer was never excommunicated and even enjoyed considerable prestige till his death.{{Sfnp|Burns|2003|p=160}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Summers|first=Montague|title=Witchcraft and Black Magic|publisher=Dover Publications|year=2000|page=30}}</ref>

The usual procedure began with the visitation by the inquisitors in a chosen location. The so-called heretics were then asked to be present and denounce themselves and others;  it was not enough to denounce himself as a heretic.{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|pp=46–47}}{{sfnp|Kirsch|2008|p=8}}

 

Many confessed alleged heresies for fear that a friend or neighbor might do so later.  The terror of the Inquisition provoked chain reactions and denunciations{{sfnp|Burman|2004|p=143}} even of spouses, children and friends.{{sfnp|Kirsch|2008|p=14}}

 

If they confessed within a "grace period" — usually 30 days — they could be accepted back into the church without punishment.  In general, the benefits proposed by the "edicts of grace" to those who presented themselves spontaneously were the forgiveness of the death penalty or life imprisonment and the forgiveness of the penalty of confiscation of property.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bethencourt|first=Francisco|title=La Inquisition en la Epoca Moderna – España, Portugal e Italia Siglos XV-XIX|publisher=Akal Ediciones|year=1997|pages=202–204|language=es}}</ref>

Anyone suspected of knowing about another's heresy and who did not make the obligatory denunciation would be excommunicated and then subject to prosecution as a "promoter of heresy."{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=47}} If the denouncer named other potential heretics, they would also be summoned. All types of complaints were accepted by the Inquisition, regardless of the reputation or position of the complainant. Rumors, mere suppositions, and even anonymous letters were accepted, "if the case were of such a nature that such action seemed appropriate to the service of God and the good of the Faith".{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=45}} It was foreseen that prison guards themselves could report and be witnesses against the accused.{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|pp=47–48}}

This strategy transformed everyone into an Inquisition agent, reminding them that a simple word or deed could bring them before the tribunal. Denunciation was elevated to the status of a superior religious duty, filling the nation with spies and making every individual suspicious of his neighbor, family members, and any strangers he might met.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lea|first=Henry Charles|title=A History of the Inquisition of Spain|publisher=The MacMillan Company|year=1906|volume=2|page=91}}</ref>

The primary method of torture was psychological: solitary confinement and indefinite incarceration.

 

The real prevalence of torture is ignored. Some defend that victims were interrogated under physical torture only in extreme cases. The view of historian Ron E. Hassner is that  'inquisitors knew that information obtained through torture often was not reliable. [So] They built their cases patiently, gathering information from a variety of sources, using a variety of methods. With any given subject, they used torture only intermittently, in sessions sometimes months apart. Their main goal was not to compel a confession or a profession of faith, but to extract factual information that would confirm or corroborate information already in hand.'<ref name="hassner">{{cite web |last1=Lempinen |first1=Edward |date=20 July 2022 |title=The tortures of the Spanish Inquisition hold dark lessons for our time |url=https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/07/20/the-tortures-of-the-spanish-inquisition-hold-dark-lessons-for-our-time/ |website=Berkeley News |language=en}}</ref>

 

Defendants were punished if found guilty, with their property being confiscated to cover legal and prison costs and to maintain the heavy machinery of persecution. The victims could also repent of their accusation and receive reconciliation with the Church. The execution of the tortures was attended by the inquisitor, the doctor, the secretary and the torturer, applying them on the nearly naked prisoner. In the year 1252, the bull ''[[Ad extirpanda]]'' allowed torture, but always with a doctor involved to avoid endangering life, and limited its use to non-bloody methods that did not break bones:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sanz|first=Javier|date=2019-09-16|title=Todo lo que te creíste de la Inquisición y no era verdad. Procedimientos y torturas (2/3)|url=https://historiasdelahistoria.com/2019/09/16/todo-lo-que-te-creiste-de-la-inquisicion-y-no-era-verdad-procedimientos-y-torturas-2-3|access-date=|website=Historias de la Historia|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Innocentius IV|title=1243–1254 – SS Innocentius IV – Bulla 'Ad_Extirpanda' [AD 1252-05-15]|url=https://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01p/1252-05-15,_SS_Innocentius_IV,_Bulla_'Ad_Extirpanda',_EN.pdf|access-date=2024-04-15|website=Documenta Catholica Omnia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Carroll|first=James|title=Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Books|year=2002|pages=356–357}}</ref>{{multiple image

** However, at times torture was allowed when guilt was "half proven" or even not proven, or there existed a "presumption of guilt", or confession was considered incomplete, as stated in Article XV of Torquemada's ''instruciones'' and in Eymerich's directions or Portuguese ''Regimentos.''{{sfnp|Sabatini|1930|pp=162, 197, 198}}{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|pp=48, 53}}

** However, at time the defendant was informed that if he died, broke any limbs or lose consciousness during torment, it would be his fault, and not theirs, the inquisitors, because with "such impudence" he put himself in danger of life and health.{{sfnp|Baião|1924|p=179}}{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=54}}

** However, in practice torture was repeated or "continued".{{sfnp|Murphy|2013|p=89}}{{sfnp|Hill|2019|p=122}}{{sfnp|Eymerich|1821|pp=40-41}}{{sfnp|Lea|1887a|p=427}}{{sfnp|Kamen|1999|p=188}} The Portuguese instructions (''Regimentos'') stipulate that defendants may not appear at ''autos de fé'' showing marks of torture, so did not recommend using torture other than ''potro'' in the previous fortnight.{{sfnp|Eymerich|1821|p=41}}{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=54}}

In fact, it seems likely that the inquisitors favoured simpler and "cleaner" methods, which left few apparent marks. Aymerich points out that canon law does not prescribe either this or that particular torture, so judges can use whatever they see fit, as long as it's not an unusual torture. Many types of torments have been chosen, but Eymerich think they seem more like the inventions of executioners than the works of theologians. "It is true that it is a very praiseworthy practice to subject the accused to torture, but no less reprehensible are those bloodthirsty judges who base their vain glory on the invention of crude and exquisite torments" – he adds.{{sfnp|Eymerich|1821|p=43}} Also, [[Rafael Sabatini]] notes that the available records do not show these uncommon inventions. It seems that the inquisitors  must have been satisfied with the  devices already in use, or a limited number of the most efficient.{{sfnp|Sabatini|1930|pp=202-203}}

Many torture instruments were designed by late 18th and early 19th century pranksters, entertainers, and con artists who wanted to profit from people's morbid interest in the [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Age myth]] by charging them to witness such instruments in [[Victorian era|Victorian-era]] circuses.<ref name="Sin_nombre-1_53s-1">{{Cite web|last=McDaniel|first=Spencer|date=2019-11-12|title=Why Most So-Called "Medieval Torture Devices" Are Fake|url=https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2019/11/11/why-most-so-called-medieval-torture-devices-are-fake/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Tales of Times Forgotten}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Marks|first=Anna|date=2016-06-18|title=Victorian Con Men Faked the Middle Ages' Darkest Devices|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-middle-ages-darkest-tech-was-invented-by-victorian-con-men/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Vice}}</ref>

 

However, several torture instruments are accurately described in ''[[Foxe's Book of Martyrs]]'', including but not limited to the dry pan.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Foxe|first=John|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22400/22400-h/22400-h.htm|title=Fox's Book of Martyrs}}</ref>

 

Some of the instruments that "the Inquisition" never used, but that are erroneously registered in various inquisition museums:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Medievalists.net|date=2016-03-20|title=Why Medieval Torture Devices are Not Medieval|url=https://www.medievalists.net/2016/03/why-medieval-torture-devices-are-not-medieval/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Medievalists.net}}</ref>

* The [[Iron maiden|Iron Maiden]]. The use of iron maidens in judicial proceedings or executions is doubted.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kerrigan|first=Michael|title=The instruments of Torture|publisher=Lyons Press|year=2001|pages=142–143}}</ref> Several replicas of the Iron Maiden existed, and the one of Nuremberg Castle  was destroyed in 1944 as a result of bombing during  World War II. It was probably based on the 17th century Cloak of Infamy.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Madrid|first=Darío|date=2020-08-30|title=La "Doncella de Hierro" no fue empleada como método de tortura por la Inquisición España. Nunca existió.|url=http://dariomadrid.com/la-doncella-de-hierro-no-fue-empleada-como-metodo-de-tortura-por-la-inquisicion-espana-nunca-existio/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Darío Madrid Historia y Fotografía|language=es}}</ref>

* The [[Breast ripper]]. Created at the end of the 16th century. The first reference dates back to [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]] (Germany) in 1599 and presumably it would have been used in France and [[Holy Roman Empire]] by civil authorities and not by the Inquisition. However, there are no reliable first-hand historical sources on the use of the devices, so, like the Iron Maiden, there is a possibility that the devices shown in the images are fakes of a later manufacture (such as from the 17th century) or assembled from small fragments that may have been parts of another device. Most likely, it was often mentioned to frighten and force the accused to confess, rather than such dubiously existent torture being inflicted on them.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Breast Ripper' Torture Device, Probably German, 17th/18th C|url=https://www.antiqueweaponstore.com/product/breast-ripper-torture-device-probably-german-17th-18th-c/|access-date=2023-06-23|website=Antique Weapon Store}}</ref>

In many cases, it was common for false accusations to be made against New Christians and it was difficult to prove their innocence. It was therefore more convenient for many to make a false confession to the inquisitors, including a list of imaginary accomplices, in the hope that they would not receive extreme penalties, such as the death penalty, but only the confiscation of property or lesser penalties.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rowland|first=Robert|date=2010|title=Cristãos-novos, marranos e judeus no espelho da Inquisição|journal=Topoi|language=pt|volume=11|issue=20|pages=172–188|doi=10.1590/2237-101X011020012|issn=1518-3319|doi-access=free}}</ref>

 

[[Walter Ullmann]], a historian, summarises his evaluation of the trials: "There is hardly one item in the whole Inquisitorial procedure that could be squared with the demands of justice; on the contrary, every one of its items is the denial of justice or a hideous caricature of it [...] its principles are the very denial of the demands made by the most primitive concepts of natural justice [...] This kind of proceeding has no longer any semblance to a judicial trial but is rather its systematic and methodical perversion."{{sfnp|Saraiva|2001|pp=61–62}} Portuguese author [[António José Saraiva|A. José Saraiva]] points out the analogy of the trials with the absurdity of the Kafka's novel [[The Trial]] or the [[show trial]]s of Stalin's era.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Saraiva|first=António José|title=Inquisição e Cristãos-Novos|publisher=Editorial Inova|year=1969|edition=4th|pages=11, 142–144|language=pt}}</ref>

The Inquisition's sentences could be simple penances, for example  private devotions, or heavy punishments. One of the Inquisition's punishments was the forced wearing of distinctive clothing or signs  such as the [[Sanbenito|sambenito]], sometimes for an entire life.{{sfnp|Kirsch|2008|p=85}}

 

Other punishments were exile, compulsory [[pilgrimage]]s, fines, the [[galley]]s, life imprisonment (in fact prison for some years) and in addition the confiscation of goods and property.{{sfnp|Peters|1989|p=66-67}}<ref name="MH">{{Cite book|last=Deane|first=Jennifer K.|title=A History of Medieval Heresy and Inquisition|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2011|pages=113–114}}</ref> The bull [[Ad extirpanda|Ad Extirpanda]] determined that the houses of heretics should be completely razed to the ground.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Innocentius IV|date=15 May 1252|title=1243–1254 – SS Innocentius IV – Bulla 'Ad_Extirpanda' [AD 1252-05-15]|url=https://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01p/1252-05-15,_SS_Innocentius_IV,_Bulla_'Ad_Extirpanda',_EN.pdf|website=Documenta Catholica Omnia}}</ref> Furthermore, the impact of the Inquisition's activity on the fabric of society was not limited to these penances or punishments. As under the terror of the Inquisition entire families denounced each other,  they were soon reduced to misery,  completed  by the confiscation of property, public humiliation and [[ostracism]].{{Sfnp|Saraiva|2001|p=104-105}}<ref name="MH"/>

 

Even dead people could be accused, and sentenced up to forty years after the death. When inquisitors considered proven that the deceased were heretics in their lifetime, their corpses were exhumed and burned, their property confiscated and the heirs disinherited.{{sfnp|Sabatini|1930|p=169-172, 222, 277–279, 432}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Homza|first=Lu Ann|title=The Spanish Inquisition, 1478–1614 An Anthology of Sources|publisher=Hackett Publishing|year=2006|page=XIV}}</ref>

The Inquisition always referred to biblical passages, as well as to [[Church Fathers|church fathers]], like Augustine of Hippo, to legitimise his actuation.

 

The [[New Testament]] contains some sentences that the church could interpret for dealing with heretics. The excommunication of a deviant from the faith was equivalent to handing him over to the Devil: "When you have gathered together, and my spirit with you, in the power of our Lord Jesus, hand this man over to Satan for destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord." (The Pauline letters: 1 Corinthians, B. Incest in Corinth, 5:4 and 5:5)<ref name="NJ">{{Cite book|last=Wansbrough|first=Henry|title=The Revised New Jerusalem Bible|publisher=Image Catholic Books|year=2019}}</ref>

 

The sentence of [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] could also be understood in this way: he handed over to the Devil those "who have suffered shipwreck in the faith [...] so that they may be  taught not to be blasphemous." (The Pastoral epistles: 1 Timothy – The first letter from Paul to Timothy—Timothy's responsibility: 1:19 and 1:20)<ref name="NJ" />

 

Paul's view reflects less the idea of punishment than the idea of isolation when he says: " After a first and second warning have nothing to do with a disputatious person, since you may be sure that such a person is warped and is self-condemned as a sinner." (The Pastoral epistles : Titus – The letter from Paul to Titus—3:10 and 3:11)<ref name="NJ" />

 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells the apostates in a parable: "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in that person, bears fruit in plenty; for apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a branch and withers. These branches are collected, thrown on the fire and burnt." This parable can be interpreted as the burning of stubborn heretics at the stake. (The Gospel according to John: The true vine—15:5 and 15:6)<ref name="NJ" />

 

The celebrated theologian  [[Thomas Aquinas]] (1225–1274) supplied the theoretical foundation for the medieval Inquisition in his  ''[[Summa Theologica|Summa theologica]]'' II 2. 11. A heretic who repents, the first time, should be allowed penance and their life safeguarded by the church from the punishment of the secular authorities (who treated pernicious and public heresy as a kind of sedition.) A subsequent lapse into heresy would show insincerity that called for excommunication, leaving them to the secular authorities who could impose the death penalty on unprotected heretics: "''Accipere fidem est voluntatis, sed tenere fidem iam acceptam est  necessitatis"''  (i.e. "The acceptance of faith is voluntary, maintaining the accepted faith is necessary. So heretics should be compelled to keep the faith."){{Sfnp|Thomsett|2010|p=35}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Scheuers|first=Timothy|title=Consciences and the Reformation: Scruples over Oaths and Confessions in the era of Calvin and his contemporaries|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2023|page=28}}</ref>

[[Luis de Páramo]], theologian  and Inquisitor of then Spanish-ruled Sicily from 1584 to 1605, asserted that [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]] was "the first Inquisitor under the Evangelical law" and that [[John the Baptist]] and the [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]] were also inquisitors.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Andrew|first=Christopher|title=The Secret World: A History of Intelligence|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2018|page=116}}</ref>

However, another traditional stream of Catholic thought, for example championed by [[Erasmus]], was that the [[Parable of the wheat and tares]] forbade any premature culling of heretics.

[[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]] (354–430)  led a debate in Africa with the [[Donatism|Donatist]] community, which had split from the Roman Church. In his works, he called for moderate severity or measures by secular power,  including the death penalty,  against heretics, however he did not consider it desirable: ''"Corrigi eos volumus, non necari, nec disciplinam circa eos negligi volumus, nec suppliciis quibus digni sunt exerci"'', meaning "We would like them to be improved, not killed; we desire the triumph of church discipline, not the death they deserve."{{Sfnp|Thomsett|2010|p=4}}

The much hated Inquisitor [[Konrad von Marburg]], who also initiated inquisition trials against nobles, was murdered in 1233 by six mounted men on an open country road on the way to [[Marburg]].

 

In 1242, a Cathar group armed with axes entered the castle of the town of Avignonet (southern France) and murdered the inquisitors [[William Arnaud (inquisitor)|Guillaume Arnaud]] and [[Étienne de Saint-Thibéry]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Clare Prophet|first=Elizabeth|title=Reincarnation: The Missing Link in Christianity|publisher=Summit Publications|year=1997|pages=240–243}}</ref>

 

In 1252, the inquisitor [[Peter of Verona]] was killed by Cathars. Eleven months after his assassination, he was made a Catholic saint, the quickest canonization in history. As [[Christine Caldwell Ames]] writes, "Inquisition changed what it meant to be a martyr, to be holy, and to be an imitator of Christ."<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Ames|first=Christine Caldwell|title=Righteous Persecution: Inquisition, Dominicans, and Christianity in the Middle Ages|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|year=2009|pages=62, 63, 67}}</ref>

 

In 1395 near [[Steyr]], where the inquisitor [[Petrus Zwicker]] was quartered with associates, an assassination attempt on him failed: someone had tried to set fire to the place and burn him alive.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Smelyansky|first=Eugene|title=Heresy and Citizenship: Persecution of Heresy in Late Medieval German Cities|publisher=Routledge|year=2021|pages=51, 73}}</ref>

Opposition to Inquisition power and abuses sometimes came from within the clergy: including friars, priests and bishops.

 

During French Inquisition, a Franciscan friar, [[Bernard Délicieux]], opposed the actions of the Inquisition in [[Languedoc]]. The infamous Bernard Gui presented him as the commander-in-chief  of the "iniquitous army" against the Dominicans and the Inquisition. Délicieux alleged the Inquisitiors were pursuing innocent Catholics for heresy, trying to destroy their towns.{{Sfnp|Sullivan|2011|p=147}} He stated that the methods of the inquisition would have condemned even [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] as heretics if they  appeared before the inquisitors. Délicieux later became one more victim of the Inquisition for his criticism.  In 1317, [[Pope John XXII]]  called him and other Franciscan Spirituals to Avignon, and he was arrested, questioned, and tortured by the Inquisition. In 1319, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.{{sfnp|Thomsett|2011|p=94}} Fragile and old, he died shortly thereafter.{{sfnp|Lea|1887b|pp=99–102}}

By decree of Napoleon's government in 1797, the Inquisition in Venice was abolished in 1806.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Public Gardens of Venice and the Inquisition|url=https://www.venetoinside.com/hidden-treasures/post/the-public-gardens-of-venice-and-the-inquisition/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928155329/https://www.venetoinside.com/hidden-treasures/post/the-public-gardens-of-venice-and-the-inquisition/|archive-date=2020-09-28|access-date=2018-09-18|website=venetoinside.com}}</ref>

 

 

 

In Italy, the restoration of the Pope as the ruler of the [[Papal States]] in 1814 brought the Inquisition back to the Papal States. It remained active there until the late-19th century, notably in the well-publicised [[Mortara affair]] (1858–1870).

 

A putative governing institution, the [[Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith|Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition]] was created in 1542 in the Vatican. This office survives to this day as part of the [[Roman Curia]], although it underwent a series of name changes. In 1908, it was renamed the [[Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office]]. In 1965, it became the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_pro_14071997_en.html|title=Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – Profile|website=Vatican.va|access-date=13 October 2017|archive-date=19 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719054340/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_pro_14071997_en.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, this office was renamed the [[Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith]], as retained to the present day.

John Paul II's apology was considered imperfect by several critics, including Jewish figures, who among other points raised the issue of the beatification, at the same time, of [[Pope Pius IX]], known for his [[anti-Judaism]] {{sfnp|Kertzer|2001|p=116, 130}} and his approval of the  abduction of [[Mortara case|Edgardo Mortara]] as the then six-year-old child had been forcibly taken from his Jewish family by Papal States police, under orders of the Inquisitor of Bologna, and was eventually raised in the [[papal household]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carroll |first=Rory |date=2000-03-09 |title=Pope berated for beatifying child-snatching Pius IX |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/mar/09/rorycarroll |access-date=2025-03-22 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>{{sfnp|Kertzer|1997|pp=3-12}}{{sfnp|Dawkins|2006|pp=311-315}}

 

Several inquisitors are considered saints by the Catholic Church, such as [[Peter of Verona]],<ref name=":2" /> [[Pedro de Arbués]], or [[John of Capistrano]]; some were even Popes, such as [[Pope Pius V|Michele Ghislieri]], who would later become Pope Pius V, and [[Jacques Fournier]]—later Pope Benedict XII. [[Raymond of Penyafort]], author of one of the first manuals for use by inquisitors—the ''Directorium inquisitoriale'' (1242) -- is also a Catholic saint.

* {{cite book|last=Eymerich|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas Eymerich|title=Manual de Inquisidores, para uso de las Inquisiciones de España y Portugal -Traducida del frances en idioma castellano, por J. Marchena|language=es|year=1821|publisher=Imprenta de Feliz Avinon}}