When most people think of the Spanish Inquisition, they picture horrific scenes of torture and cruelty, thousands of people burning at the stake, and a tyrannical religious regime with too much power. What led to these misconceptions and propaganda surrounding the Inquisition, and how does public history shape our collective memory?
Roots of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages
The Medieval Inquisition was begun in 1231 by Pope Gregory XI as a response to the spread of heretical movements such as the Cathars and Waldensians. The Cathars were a heretical religious group that started in the 11th century and believed in a dualistic cosmology of two opposing forces — good and evil. The material world, in their view, was created by an “evil god” (Satan) and was inherently corrupt, while the spiritual realm was the domain of the “good god.” Cathars rejected the materialistic and hierarchical nature of the Catholic Church, viewing it as corrupt and aligned with the evil god.
The Catholic Church saw the Cathars as a significant heretical threat due to their growing influence and radically different beliefs. In 1209, Pope Innocent III launched the Albigensian Crusade, a military campaign aimed at eradicating the Cathar heresy, famously saying, “Kill them all. God will know his own.” The Medieval Inquisition was established in part to root out remaining Cathars and those found guilty of heresy were often subjected to severe punishments, including execution.
The Waldensians on the other hand were a Christian movement that originated in the late 12th century and are considered one of the earliest groups to prefigure the Protestant Reformation. They were founded by Peter Waldo (or Valdes), who was a wealthy merchant from Lyon, France, who in around 1173 renounced his wealth and began to preach a life of poverty and piety.
Waldo’s followers, known as the “Poor of Lyon,” sought to live in apostolic poverty and they preached the gospel directly to the people, relying on the authority of the Bible and pushing laypeople to read and study it. They criticized the Catholic Church for its wealth, corruption, and the moral failings of its clergy, and they opposed practices such as the selling of indulgences and the accumulation of church wealth. The Waldensians were condemned as heretics by the Catholic Church and were targeted by the Medieval Inquisition to be arrested, tortured, and executed.
The idea of prosecuting heretics in Medieval times made way for how it would be done in the Early Modern Period. Furthermore, the creation of the first inquisition by Pope Gregory IX to fight against heretical movements such as the Waldensians or Catharism began to enforce regulations that assisted with the Christian conversion of Europe by 1000. By the 11th century, religious leaders determined that if the entire world were reformed, salvation would be easier for people to achieve, and therefore began a plan to “sanctify” the world.
Prior to the medieval inquisition, heretics were dealt with by force, such as mob justice or trials by secular courts. Having a structured inquisition streamlined the process and allowed for it to be based on law rather than unjustified suspicion.
The Spanish Inquisition
During the Medieval Period, the Iberian Peninsula, now Spain, consisted of Christians, Jews, and Muslims who coexisted together for centuries. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Christian kingdoms in the north began to gradually reconquer Muslim-held territories, culminating in the fall of Granada in 1492. The end of their coexistence, however, came with the completion of the Reconquista of Spain, and the subsequent expulsion of Jews in 1492 and Muslims in 1502 by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella.
In 1478, the Inquisition began as a response to deal with many different heretical groups and ideologies that formed against the Spanish Catholic Church. While there isn’t a definitive answer among historians as to what truly inspired the Inquisition, many believe it was to establish political and religious unity, as there were many different “Spains,” throughout the area. The Inquisition would allow the monarchs to create a more centralized authority and challenge smaller Catholic monarchs.
The Jewish Expulsion
Jews had lived in Iberia for over a thousand years, but by the 14th century, they had been subject to severe persecution through forced conversion to Catholicism, violent riots, and eventually being forced to live in ghettos while wearing identifiable clothing to set them apart.
Some Jews chose to convert with promises of higher government positions or marriage to a Catholic. These Jewish converts, who were called conversos, had become the “new urban middle class,” a rank that made “old Christians” jealous of their higher societal status. Furthermore, old Catholics became concerned with the idea of conversos who claimed to be converted, yet continued to practice Jewish traditions in secret. Because of this, Dominican priest Tomás de Torquemada proposed that the monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand establish an Inquisition in order to root out the Judaizers or Jewish heretics.
Methods of the Inquisition
Contrary to the medieval Inquisitions that were unorganized and uncentralized, the new Inquisition thrived on structure, documentation, proper means of communication between inquisitors and the populace, and the backing of the crown, which allowed it to last for over 300 years.
Though they were organized, the Inquisition was a very secretive process. The public gained insight into the Inquisition’s activities primarily through two types of events, with the first being the publication of the general edicts of faith, “Edictos de Fe.” By publicizing these edicts, the Inquisition informed the general populace of what constituted heresy and other crimes against the faith, thereby educating them on the boundaries of acceptable religious and social behavior.
This process was similar to how modern legal systems work, a law is made known and if you break it and are caught, you will be disciplined based on the offense. Furthermore, people were required to turn in their neighbors who committed heresy and if they failed to do so, they would be suspected of attempting to cover it up.
In the New World colonies, specifically in Mexico City, every person over the age of twelve was required to attend the public reading of the Edicts of Faith or be subject to excommunication. After these readings, which occurred every Sunday during Lent, a surge of denunciations, or public condemnations, would come about for the Inquisitors to investigate.
The Edicts of Faith were used to combat heresy but also to establish and maintain social control, especially within the New World colonies that were in the process of being converted to Christianity and Spanish control. For example, offenses such as practicing the occult, sexual immorality (such as priests or friars caught fornicating with women), or gambling were to be denounced. These kinds of heresies follow offences found in the Bible and it is clear why they were being enforced. Other offenses, however, such as fighting on church grounds or in cemeteries, or charging “exorbitant amounts of interest” were found to be heretical as well.
Inquisition Prisons
Contrary to popular belief, the prison system of the Inquisition was very well maintained and offered humane conditions for the prisoners. Upon being arrested, suspects were taken in and had to pay 30 gold ducats to cover the expense of their stay, as well as the bed and clothing to be brought into the prison. Along with this, anything and everything that was sequestered from the inmate was meticulously logged and preserved during the duration of their stay.
For those who did not have enough money or goods that could be sold to pay for their stay, the treasury would take over and have to fund them. All of these records also included the cost of clothing, medicine, and even the candles carried during the arrest.
Details are given as to what the money was spent on, such as in the case of Francisco Vicente from the Canary Islands in 1574. It describes how much it cost to bring him from the port, the cost of the cords used to torture him, the cost of the person used to conduct the torture, the cost of his wine and biscuits, and the cost of the ointment for his wounds after being tortured.
For those who were poor, the Inquisition would have to cover the cost of their torture, which became a factor in whether or not torture was used to extract a confession, and therefore led to fewer cases of torture for common peasants.
However, despite how harsh the prisons may seem on the surface level, the cells and treatment were desirable compared to those in a royal prison. In certain cases, prisoners in convent prisons would make heretical statements just to be moved to the Inquisition prisons, where they would have better treatment. When it came to the use of torture, it was used as a last resort and was viewed as “helping” the accused.
Torture was commonly used throughout Europe and had been for centuries, making it not out of place for use in the Inquisition tribunals. However, the Inquisition could only implement certain methods, such as rack torture, Garrucha torture, and waterboarding. Prior to conducting torture, the individual would have to be medically cleared to survive the ordeal, and even given one last chance to confess when presented with the torture tools that would be used.
Alleged Excessive Use of Torture
As mentioned, there are many myths and misconceptions about the Spanish Inquisition, both in historiography and public perception. Modern historians have challenged these falsehoods, which often originate from Protestant propaganda. In a time period when most people were illiterate, many paintings and pictures were spread depicting horrific scenes of torture and death. During this time, it would have been nearly impossible for people outside of Spain to fact-check the information being spread about the Spanish Inquisition, and it would have likely been taken at face value.
For instance, historian Jerry Kaifetz has refuted the attribution of torture devices like the Iron Maiden, Hanging Cages, the Heretic’s Fork, and the Breast Ripper to the Spanish Inquisition, proving these associations to be incorrect. Kaifetz also addresses misconceptions about the authority of the inquisitors, noting inaccuracies in the belief that they were commissioned directly by the pope and acted on his behalf. Such claims have misrepresented the true nature of the Inquisition, which was primarily an ecclesiastical procedure carried out by legally trained clergy of the Catholic Church.
In the documentary, The Myth of the Inquisition, Professor Stephen Haliczer of the Northern University of Illinois explains that while the Inquisition did use forms of torture, it was used very rarely, in some areas as rare as 2% of cases and for only around 15 minutes maximum. Less than 1% of cases show repeated torture and no long torture was done twice.
Due to the implementation of the printing press, the protestants were able to quickly spread their beliefs and propaganda throughout Europe. Spain did not fight using the printing press, but instead militarily, as they believed it was unfair to fight using words but only through the sword.
A Discovery and Playne Declaration of Soundry Subtill Practises of the Holy Inquisition by John Day was published in 1568, and within a year was printed in all major European languages. Day, masquerading under the pseudonym “Montanus” pretended to be a protestant victim of the Spanish Inquisition, and described his experience as greedy, cruel, tyrannical, and religiously intolerant. He described the goals of the inquisitors to inflict horrendous torture on their victims.
In reality, the Inquisitors were essentially lawyers with legal expertise who were not necessarily churchmen or priests. In comparison to the rest of Europe, Spain was found to use less torture in general, but also less violent methods. For instance, during the 16th century in Britain, people could be executed for damaging shrubs in public spaces, while in Germany, if a person was banished and returned, they could have their eyes gouged out.
The Inquisition, however, had to adhere to a strict rule book for what methods of torture could be used, and if an Inquisitor was found breaking a rule, they would be fired. The Inquisition never used the Iron Maiden, joints were never smashed with hammers, people weren’t encased in brick structures, young boys were not sodomized, nor were people flailed on wheels. Likewise, as the witch trials swept through Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, the inquisitors declared the offense of witchcraft to be a delusion and banned trials or punishment such as burning at the stake.
Torture: Example Case Studies
In 1572, Michael Morgan in Mexico City was accused of being a Lutheran and was subject to torture. After spending over a month being questioned by the inquisitors, and refusing to confess, members of the Holy Office decided that torture would be implemented. Despite being threatened with torture, he remained silent. After many attempts to get him to speak and confess, Morgan was sent to the torture chamber and had to endure the rack method. After several turns of the rack, he finally said, “I have told you the truth . . . what else do you want me to say… I will say anything, just stop the torment…”
Finally, Morgan told the inquisitors of events that happened on a ship regarding allegations of Lutheranism, but still denied taking part in the situation. At the fifth turn of the wheel, he claimed to have practiced Lutheranism while in England but converted to Catholicism once he arrived in Mexico. Once they were satisfied with his confession, he was released, red, and returned to his prison cell.
In another case, a suspected Jewish man named Rodrigo Franco Taváres was warned that if he died because of the torture, or had permanent damage to his fingers, it was his own doing for not telling the truth. Unlike Morgan, Taváres endured six turns of the cords from the rack and still did not confess. Next, they decided to waterboard him at the same time as the cords.
Though he did not confess, they arranged for him to go through another torture session. Both of these cases show the use of torture to get someone to confess, rather than to prove their innocence. It seemed that once you were sent to be tortured, you either had to confess or continue to be tortured, rather than proving your innocence by enduring the torture.
The use of torture was formally authorized and seen as essential to extracting confessions of heresy. The inquisitors believed they were acting within their mandate to preserve religious orthodoxy and prevent the spread of Judaizing or Protestant practices. In the case of Taváres, it was decided that for his punishment for being a Judiazer, he should be sent to the Galleys as a slave for 10 years without pay, while one inquisitor noted that he should be tortured again, and another that he should receive 200 lashes.
While it may seem that Taváres was treated more harshly compared to Morgan, those accused of being Protestants had a 29.6% chance of being tortured, while Judaizers had a 6.8% chance. Again, using the standards of the Inquisition and the rules they had to follow, they adhered to them very strictly.
Collective Memory
While the rumors of brutality and genocide are rooted in falsehood, many modern people throughout the world still believe that the Spanish Inquisition was extremely brutal and deadly. Misconceptions like this have been portrayed in media, such as in the television show Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1970), with an episode about the Spanish Inquisition that satirizes the tribunals. Other media includes Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum (1842), which uses the Inquisition’s torture methods as the central plot, continuing to falsely portray the time as unusually dark and oppressive.
Another popular way the Inquisition is depicted is through the series Warhammer 40k franchise, which has dozens of books, board games, and video games. Within this series, the Inquisition is a powerful and secretive organization within the Imperium of Man, tasked with protecting humanity from a wide array of threats including heresy, mutation, alien influence, and demonic possession. The Inquisition operates across the galaxy to root out these dangers, often employing extreme measures. For many people, these portrayals are the only exposure they receive to this historical topic, and they do not realize that they are based on exaggeration or fiction.
The exaggerated portrayals of the Inquisition’s cruelty, perpetuated by early Protestant pamphlets and later, western pop culture, have overshadowed the actual historical practices. This distorted collective memory fails to recognize the Inquisition’s relative restraint compared to other judicial practices of the time.
Understanding the true nature of the Spanish Inquisition requires a careful reassessment of historical evidence, moving beyond the myths to acknowledge its complex legacy in the context of medieval and Early Modern Europe.
Bibliography
Chuchiak IV, John F., ed. The Inquisition in New Spain, 1536-1820: A Documentary History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012.
Jonathan Stamp, producer. The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition, 1994. Time Watch, 1994. 46 min. YouTube, 240p.
Kamen, Henry. The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.
