The historical revision of the Inquisition is a historiographical process that started to emerge in the 1970s, with the opening of formerly closed archives, the development of new historical methodologies, and, in Spain, the death of the ruling dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. New works of historical revisionism changed our knowledge of the history of the Roman and Spanish Inquisitions.
Writers associated with this project share the view of Edward Peters, a prominent historian in the field, who states: "The Inquisition was an image assembled from a body of legends and myths which, between the sixteenth and the twentieth centuries, established the perceived character of inquisitorial tribunals and influenced all ensuing efforts to recover their historical reality."
Background Inquisitions were ecclesiastical investigations conducted either directly by the Catholic Church or by secular authorities with the support of the Church. These investigations were undertaken at varying times in varying regions under the authority of the local bishop and his designates or under the sponsorship of papal-appointed legates. The purpose of each inquisition was specific to the outstanding circumstances of the region in which it was held. Investigations usually involved a legal process, the goal of which was to obtain a confession and reconciliation with the Church from those who were accused of heresy or of participating in activities contrary to Church Canon law. The objectives of the inquisitions were to secure the repentance of the accused and to maintain the authority of the Church. Inquisitions were conducted with the collaboration of secular authorities. If an investigation resulted in a person being convicted of heresy and unwillingness to repent, punishment was administered by the secular authorities.
"Until recently, Protestant-inspired literature on the Inquisition tended to be hostile to the Catholic Church per se, while Catholic literature tended to be narrowly apologetic and justificatory." For Protestant scholars of the nineteenth century such as William H. Prescott and John Lothrop Motley the Spanish Inquisition represented "the archsymbol of religious intolerance and ecclesiastical power".Kagan, Richard L., "A Kinder, Gentler Inquisition", The New York Times (book review), 19 April 1998 Henry Charles Lea wrote both A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages (1888) and A History of the Inquisition of Spain (1906). A History of the Inquisition of Spain was considered both groundbreaking and polemical. His studies were criticized for having both an anti-CatholicDewey, R. S. "The Last Historian of the Inquisition," The American Catholic Quarterly Review, Vol. XIII, N°. 51, July 1888. and an anti-Spanish bias. Lea saw the Inquisition as theocratic absolutism that weakened Spain to an extent that undermined its overseas empire and ultimately contributed to its defeat during the Spanish–American War of 1898.
For a long time, the Spanish Inquisition had been associated principally with persecution of Protestants. Nineteenth-century historian José Amador de los Ríos brought a focus to bear on the situation of Spain's large converso population.
More recent studies The two most significant and extensively-cited sources of this revised analysis of the historiography of the inquisitorial proceedings are Inquisition (1988) by Edward Peters and The Spanish Inquisition: An Historical Revision (1997) by Henry Kamen. These works focus on identifying and correcting what they argue are popular modern misconceptions about the inquisitions and historical misinterpretations of their activities. Kamen's 1997 book is updated and revised from an edition first published in 1965. Kamen takes the position that the Inquisition in Spain was motivated more by political considerations than religious, that the monarchs routinely protected those close to the crown, and that in Aragon large areas either defied or hindered its operation.The Spanish Inquisition: A Dark Chapter in History Eric Rust of Baylor University describes Kamen's work as "historical revision at its best".
Helen Rawlings credits Kamen with launching a movement to revisit the historical record. Rawlings identifies four distinct phases, as over time the Inquisition in Spain adapted to changing conditions. From 1480 to 1525 there was an intense persecution of conversos suspected of continuing to practice Judaism. From 1525 to 1630 there was an increased concern of possible Protestant influence on "Old Christians". A less active period from 1630 to 1725 periodically looked to Portuguese "New Christians" operating in Spanish commercial sectors; and from 1725 to 1824 traditionalists and liberals argued the future of the institution. Helen Rawlings. "New Perspectives on the History of the Spanish Inquisition." Historically Speaking 7.1 (2005): 35-37. The Johns Hopkins University Press.10.1353/hsp.2005.0092
The Inquisitions in France
The "Grand Program" During the 11th century, a new wave of religiosity swept through Europe. It claimed that the prospect of salvation in the world would greatly increase if the world were reformed. In addition, the papacy itself underwent reform at the end of the 11th century and, according to Peters, the Church began devising its "grand program of sanctifying the world". The "grand program" was a combination of the Church's desire to reform its institutional life, free itself from secular control, and build a Christian society. There was also a growing opinion that those who rebelled from the church's beliefs (heretics) or behaved in a manner that was "un-Christian" were not simply souls led astray in a "temptation-filled world, but [were] subverters of the world's new course".
Until the late 12th century, the investigation of heresy was considered the responsibility of local churches, and it was held that local secular authorities would prosecute heretics. However, in 1179, the Church's "grand program of sanctifying the world" saw the creation of the Third Lateran Council, which included a canon condemning heretics. In 1184, Pope Lucius III issued the Ad abolendam, labeled "the founding charter of the inquisition". It called for those found as heretics by the local church to be turned over to secular courts. Finally, in 1199, Pope Innocent III equated heresy with treason and, in 1208, called for a "crusade" against the Albigensians
Albigensian Crusade
According to Peters, the violence of the following "Albigensian Crusade" was not in line with the reforms and plans of Innocent, who stressed confession, reform of the clergy and laity and pastoral teachings to oppose heresy. Peters asserts that the violence was caused by the "crusade" being under the control of mobs, petty rulers and local bishops who did not uphold Innocent's ideas. Armies from northern France swept through the south and essentially eradicated the Albigensians. The uncontainable, prejudicial passion of local mobs and heresy hunters, the violence of secular courts and the bloodshed of the Albigensian crusade sparked a desire within the papacy to implement greater control over the prosecution of heresy. The desire led to the development of organised legal procedures for dealing with heretics.
Protestant reformers in the 16th century often pointed to the Cathar and Waldensian movements as part of an underground reformed Church that had been the victim of persecution for centuries even though the Cathars had an unquestionably non-Reformed, dualistic perception of God.
Codes and torture Generally, inquisitorial courts functioned much like the secular courts of the time, but their sentences and penances were less cruel. A number of procedures and protections restricted the torture of the accused, but much torture could be inflicted, and capital punishment was executed by secular authorities because of the clerical prohibition on shedding blood. Torture was used to extract confession, rather than as a form of punishment, as used by secular courts. Any confession made following or during torture had to be freely repeated the next day without torture, or it was considered invalid. "Technically, therefore, torture was strictly a means of obtaining the only full proof available.... [The inquisitors'] tasks were not only – or even primarily – to convict the contumacious heretic, but... to preserve the unity of the Church".
After the suppression of the Albigensian heresy in southern France in the 13th century, inquisitorial trials diminished in the face of more pressing local needs, and any lingering trials were left to secular authorities. Inquisitorial courts conducted under local episcopacies worked closely with local secular authorities and dealt with local circumstances. Regional control of the inquisitorial process and regional concerns became dominant. By the mid-to-late 14th century papal-commissioned inquisitions had been dissolved in many parts of Europe.
The Inquisitions in Spain
Antisemitism and the "conversos" Peters writes,"From the mid fifteenth century on, religious anti-Semitism changed into ethnic anti-Semitism, with little difference seen between Jews and conversos except for the fact that conversos were regarded as worse than Jews because, as ostensible Christians, they had acquired privileges and positions that were denied to Jews. The result of this new ethnic anti-Semitism was the invocation of an inquisition to ferret out the false conversos who had, by becoming formal Christians, placed themselves under its authority".
It was a heated mixture of this racial and religious prejudice against the conversos that ignited what later became known as the "Spanish Inquisition."
The main heresy prosecuted during the period of inquisitions in Spain was the secret practice of Judaism among some conversos. (The number of conversos secretly practicing elements of Judaism is unknown, but recent scholarship has tended to document the existence of more of them, and at later dates, than previously assumed.William Childers, "'Según es cristiana la gente': The Quintanar of Persiles y Sigismunda and the Archival Record, Cervantes. Journal of the Cervantes Society of America, vol. 24, no. 2, fall 2004, http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra/segun-es-cristiana-la-gente-the-quintanar-of-persiles-y-sigismunda-and-the-archival-record/, consulted 6/10/2015.) From the establishment of the inquisitions up to 1530, it is estimated that approximately 2,000 "heretics" were turned over to the secular authorities for execution in Spain.
There were so few Protestants in Spain that widespread persecution of Protestantism was not physically possible. In the 1560s, a little over one hundred people in Spain were convicted of Protestantism and were turned over to the secular authorities for execution. From 1560 to 1599, two hundred more people were accused of being followers of Martin Luther. "Most of them were in no sense Protestants...Irreligious sentiments, drunken mockery, anticlerical expressions, were all captiously classified by the inquisitors (or by those who denounced the cases) as 'Lutheran.
Procedure and torture Evidence and witness testimony was gathered before an arrest was made. Once an arrest was made, the accused was given several opportunities to admit to any heretical behavior before the charges against him/her were identified. If the accused did not admit to any wrongdoing, the inquisitors dictated the charges and the accused was required to respond to them immediately. Torture was used, but only for extracting confessions during a trial and was not used as punishment after sentencing. If torture was used, the accused was required to repeat their repentance without torture. The Inquisition also had a rule that they were allowed to use torture only once, however, they were able to 'suspend' sessions and resume them the following day, but never led into a third day.NNDB – Torquemada