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This second series of events, falling within the period of the first reich (800-1802) is often confused with the crusades. While this mistake is understandable, a clearer understanding is necessary to understand the similarities and the differences between the crusades and the inquisitions. This is a popular Catholic-bashing stick because many Catholics seem at a loss for a sensible reply. Jen Gibson, acknowledges that the term, Inquisition, only means a judgement, trial proceedings and cannot be considered to refer solely to the Inquisitions. One reason for the blurring of these events is the overlap in time. With the last (eighth) crusade culminating in 1291 (Acre), the first inquisition began as early as 1184 in southern France in response to the Catharist heresy. This was known as the Medieval Inquisition. A second reason why these two events can be considered one is that despite a shift in 1478, the players remained the same. During the crusades as the sleeping state sat back allowing the Catholic church to set the stage for their land, commerce, power and political takeover, the church was in the front seat during the crusades only to become front seat puppets during the inquisitions. Beginning in 1478, the driving force behind the Spanish Inquisitions was no longer Rome but the crown. King Ferdinand of Spain justified this take-over by claiming that "Heresy" even flourished while the inquisitions were under the control of Rome. While being the real power behind the inquisitions (but allowing Rome to retain its position as the puppet power), the state was pleased that between 1480-89, it put to death approximately 15,000 Jews for secretly practicing the very religion they had inherited from their forefathers. By 1495, the state was able to boast of bearing responsibility for 50,000 Jewish deaths (341,000 victims- not all victims suffered death). Also at this time, it was declared that upwards of 9 million witches were also killed. Ronald Knox cautions us against accepting the inflated statistics of many authors whose claims climb as high as 95 million (the population of Europe didn't reach that level until modern times). The Inquisition claimed far less fatalities than did the Plague at that time which claimed as many as 1/3 of the population of Europe (recent studies even speculate that capital sentences only rank into the low thousands. The less active and benign Roman Inquisition began in 1542. Much information regarding these events are based upon the writings of Henry C. Lea (1825-1909) and G.G. Coulton (1858-1947). However, each writer's hostility toward the Catholic church must be kept in mind while reading these sources and weighed accordingly. A good introduction to the Inquisitions is by David Burr. When considering te role of the Catholic church in this event, one must keep in mind that the church contains both knaves as well as sinners, and that some of them unfortunately attained positions of power. Even Paul warned against the ravenous wolves among church leaders (Mat. 7:15; Acts 20:29). It is a mistake to assume that the church only contains the faithful. While that may have been true during the early days when Christianity was dogged by persecution and martyrdom, but it is not necessarily tru at the time of the inquisitions.
Before the last crusade, Pope Gregory IX, in 1231 created a court to investigate suspected heretics & to induce conversions. As Jews had previously enjoyed relative peace with their neighbors, they were now looked up with varying suspicion. They were blamed for most wrong in society from the black plague to the "blood libel, the alleged kidnapping of Christian children for use in religious rituals.To avoid persecution, many Jews and Muslims "converted" to Christianity but secretly continued to practice their religion (the former, known as Marranos and the latter, Morriscos). In 1478, under the influence of the Inquisitor-general, Torquemada, in order to ferret out the conversos, both Marranos & Moriscos, Queen Isabella (ruler of Castile & Leon) and King Ferdinand (ruler of Aragon) expanded the reach of the inquisitions. The Jewish traitor, Alfonso de Espina- a converso himself (or at least his parents)- compiled a list of 25 "transgressions" of how one could target a converso. "Fra Alfonso was the ideologue of the next phase of anti-semetism." (Johnson, p. 226). Having shown that racial identification was nearly impossible, just as the nazis discovered, one has to go back to religious identification. Based upon the program of Alfonso, a special Spanish inquisition was under way. Though many were captured, & some of whom were killed, the majority were heavily fined & forced to do penance.
As the inquisitions were becoming more of a governmental instrument, the Roman Catholic church began to object that it was now offending natural justice. Sixtus IV in 1482 demanded that Rome be given the right to hear appeals & that personal enemies & former servants should be disallowed to "testify" against individuals and that repentant heretics should be allowed to confess and be freed rather than face trial. They should at least be able to choose their own counsel. In 1492, Jews & Muslems who did not satisfactorily convince the state of their Christian conversion, were expelled from Spain, leaving behind their properties and posessions. Contrary to the charges of many, then and today, Ferdinand and Isabella repeatedly denied that one motive for this expulsion was so they could confiscate the property of condemned heretics. (It is interesting that this is the same year that Christopher Columbus left Spain for America- it is speculated that Columbus himself had Jewish roots). This crusader/inquisition mentality fed the later witchcraft hysteria which swept Europe from 1472 (the burning of Joan of Arc) until 1784 claiming the lives of approximately 300,000 persons, and even visited the New World in 1692 (claiming 19 lives there). Kenneth Latourette points out that neither was Isabella, Ximenes (Archbishop of Toledo who sought, with the support of the pope & Isabella to revitalize the priesthood, purge its lax & secularism) or Torquemada ever canonized by the church. Taking its cue from Xiamenes who channelled substantial amounts of the church's money to careing for the needy & poor, the humanists of the 15th century sought to emulate these acts but also by replacing God with man as the center of purpose. |
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