Inquisition

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This article is about Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church. For other uses, see Inquisition (disambiguation).

Inquisition (capitalized I) is broadly used, to refer to things related to judgment of heresy by the Roman Catholic Church. It can mean an ecclesiastical tribunal or institution from the Roman Catholic Church for combating or suppressing heresy, a number of historical expurgation movements against heresy (orchestrated by the Roman Catholic Church), or the trial of an individual accused of heresy.

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[edit] Origin of the term

The word inquisition (from the Latin: inquisitio) is the act of inquiring. It was broadly used in law, before the Medieval Inquisition, to refer to a common law procedure of inquiring into a matter, investigating, usually through interrogation, and by use of force (see Argumentum ad baculum). Over time, it was gradually associated with judging heresy against Christianity.

[edit] Ancient origins

Christianity and the Christian Church from the beginning of their history suffered from two threats: external persecution by the Roman Emperors, and internal strife caused by theological disputes.

Early examples are the Jerusalem Council reported in Acts of the Apostles (Chapter 15) and the many occasions, in which the Apostle Paul defends his own apostleship, and urges Christians in various places to beware of false teachers, or of anything contrary to what was handed to them by him. The epistles of John and Jude also warn of false teachers, as does the writer of the Book of Revelation.

Since the 2nd century, Church authorities (bishops and local synods) reacted to these disputes by condemning some theologians as heretics and defining doctrine more clearly to combat perceived errors. In this way, orthodoxy (Greek: the right view) was defined contrast to heresy (wrong choice). The most notable heresies were Gnosticism, Marcionism, Montanism and various forms of Monarchianism. During this period, those condemned for heresy were excommunicated from the Church community and only readmitted after having recanted the controversial opinions. Bishops and other church leaders were stripped of their offices and had to resign valuables placed in their care.

When Constantine I adopted Christianity in 313, he among other things hoped that the new religion would help unify the Empire. However, such expectations were threatened by the appearance of heresies inside of the Church. Constantine felt compelled to involve himself with these doctrinal or disciplinary struggles, as in the case of the Donatists or the Arians. He tried to enforce decisions reached by the Church by banishing obstinate opponents - clergy and laity - of these decisions. Non-Christians however were not concerned by these measures. Some of his successors, while leaning to the sides of the Arians, increased their use of force in Church matters, regularly banishing bishops from their sees. Theodosius, an unequivocal supporter of Orthodox Christianity, also made Christianity the official religion of the Empire.

The first person to be executed as a "heretic" was Priscillian of Avila. Having been condemned for heresy by a synod, he appealed to the Emperor Maximus; the latter, however, had Priscillian and six of his followers beheaded at Treves in 385. This act was approved by a synod which met at Treves in the same year, though the most prominent bishops of that time, Ambrose of Milan, Martin of Tours and Pope Siricius protested against Priscillian's execution, largely on the jurisdictional grounds that an ecclesiastical case should not be decided by a civil tribunal, and worked to reduce the persecution.

The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that "various penal laws were enacted by the Christian emperors against heretics as being guilty of crime against the State. In both the Theodosian and Justinian codes they were styled infamous persons ... In some particularly aggravated cases sentence of death was pronounced upon heretics, though seldom executed in the time of the Christian emperors of Rome."[1] Though the death penalty was seldom executed during the Early Middle Ages, these laws nonetheless later served as the basis of the prosecution of heretics, especially after Emperor Frederick II had confirmed these rulings.

[edit] Inquisition tribunals and institutions

Before the twelfth century, the Catholic Church had already suppressed heresy, but on an ad hoc basis. Since the Church at that time had no structured system for suppressing heresy the suppressions were generally slow and without any pattern.

In the twelfth century (Episcopal inquisition), the Catholic Church together with secular governments started to gradually develop a structured way to deal with heresy. In that time, Church Councils (composed of bishops and archbishops) used local authorities to prosecute those deemed to be heretics. Inquisition was, by then, referred to by the Church as "Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis Sanctum Officium", or "Holy Office of Inquisition into Heretical Wickedness".

Later in the thirteenth century (Papal inquisition), the pope assigned the Dominican Order for the duty of inquisitors. Since then Inquisitors were few (always less than 10), acting by the name of the Pope with full authority. They judged heresy alone, using local authorities to put a tribunal and prosecute heretics. Since the end of the fifteenth century(Spanish Inquisition) they were ruled by a Grand Inquisitor. Inquisitors persisted through time until the nineteenth century.

In the sixteenth century, in Roman Inquisition, the Pope Paul III established a system of tribunals, ruled by the "Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition", staffed by cardinals and other officials. In 1908 it was changed to "Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office" by Saint Pope Pius X.

In 1965, the "Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office" was changed again to Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which persists down to today.

[edit] Historic Inquisition movements

Historians distinguish between four different manifestations of the Inquisition: the Medieval Inquisition, the Spanish Inquisition, the Portuguese Inquisition and the Roman Inquisition.

Because of its objective, combating heresy, the Inquisition had jurisdiction only over baptized members of the Church (which, however, encompassed the vast majority of the population). Non-Christians could still be tried for blasphemy by secular courts. Also, most of the witch trials were held by secular courts.

[edit] Medieval Inquisition

Main article: Medieval Inquisition

The Medieval Inquisition is a term historians use to describe the various inquisitions that started around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisition (1184-1230s) and later the Papal Inquisition (1230s). It was in response to large popular movements throughout Europe considered apostate or heretical to Christianity, in particular Catharism and Waldensians in southern France and northern Italy. These were the first inquisition movements of many that would follow.

[edit] Spanish Inquisition

Representation of an Auto de fe, (1475).Many artistic representations depict torture and the burning at the stake as occurring during the auto da fe. Actually, burning at the stake usually occurred after, not during the ceremonies.
Representation of an Auto de fe, (1475).
Many artistic representations depict torture and the burning at the stake as occurring during the auto da fe. Actually, burning at the stake usually occurred after, not during the ceremonies.
Main article: Spanish Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisition was set up by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Castile in 1478 with the approval of Pope Sixtus IV. In contrast to the previous Inquisition, it operated completely under royal authority, though staffed by secular clergy and orders, and independently of the Holy See. It aimed primarily at converts from Judaism and Islam (who were still residing in Spain after the end of the Moor control of Spain), who were suspected of either continuing to adhere to their old religion (often after having been converted under duress) or having fallen back into it, and later at Protestants; in Sicily and Southern Italy, which were under Spanish rule, it targeted Greek Orthodox Christians. After religious disputes waned in the 17th century, the Spanish Inquisition more and more developed into a secret police against internal threats to the state.

The Spanish Inquisition would subsequently be employed in certain Spanish colonies such as Peru and Mexico. The Spanish Inquisition continued in the Americas until Mexican Independence and was not abolished in Europe until 1834.

In the public imagination, the Spanish Inquisition continues as a proverbial example of religious persecution. Some scholars however have opined that the numbers of the Spanish Inquisition's victims may have been exaggerated, that the Inquisition is one of the features of a Black Legend. Also, some argue that the Spanish Inquisition was responsible in part for averting in Spain the kind of religious wars that plagued France and Germany. Similar arguments are made about averting witch trials in Spain.

[edit] Portuguese Inquisition

Main article: Portuguese Inquisition

The Portuguese Inquisition was established in Portugal in 1536 by the King of Portugal, João III, as a Portuguese analogue of the more famous Spanish Inquisition.

Main article: Goa Inquisition

The Goa Inquisition was the office of the Inquisition acting in the Indian city of Goa and the rest of the Portuguese empire in Asia. Established in 1560, it was aimed primarily at wayward new converts from Hinduism.

[edit] Roman Inquisition

Main article: Roman Inquisition

In 1542, Pope Paul III established, a permanent congregation staffed with cardinals and other officials, whose task was to maintain and defend the integrity of the faith and to examine and proscribe errors and false doctrines. This body, the Congregation of the Holy Office, now called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, part of the Roman Curia, became the supervisory body of local Inquisitions. The Pope appoints one of the cardinals to preside over the meetings. There are usually ten other cardinals on the Congregation, as well as a prelate and two assistants all chosen from the Dominican Order. The Holy Office also has an international group of consultants, experienced scholars of theology and canon law, who advise it on specific questions.

Arguably the most famous case tried by the Roman Inquisition was that of Galileo Galilei in 1633.

[edit] Other uses of the word "Inquisition"

Even though the last Inquisition (The Spanish Inquisition) ended in 1834 almost 200 years ago, the word "Inquisition" remains a part of modern vocabulary; even those with no interest in European history associate it with negative meanings.[1] Because of the negative images associated with the Inquisition, the term has taken on a pejorative usage, and is often used to express disapproval.

[edit] Derivative works

The Inquisitions have been the subject of many cultural works. Some include:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] References

  • Foxe's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe (Bridge-Logos Publishers) ISBN 0-88270-672-1
  • Edward Burman, The Inquisition: The Hammer of Heresy (Sutton Publishers, 2004) ISBN 0-7509-3722-X
    • A new edition of a book first published in 1984, a good, well-written and objective general history based on the main primary sources.
  • Edward M. Peters, Inquisition. (University of California Press, 1989). ISBN 0-520-06630-8
    • A brief, balanced inquiry, with an especially good section on the 'Myth of the Inquisition' (see The Inquisition Myth). This is particularly valuable because much of the history available in English of the Inquisition was written in the 19th century by Protestants interested in documenting the dangers of Catholicism or Catholic apologists demonstrating that the Inquisition had been an entirely reasonable judicial body without flaws.
  • Henry Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision. (Yale University Press, 1999). ISBN 0-300-07880-3
    • This revised edition of his 1965 original contributes to the understanding of the Spanish Inquisition in its local context.
  • Cecil & Irene Roth, A history of the Marranos, Sepher-Hermon Press, 1974.
  • Simon Whitechapel, Flesh Inferno: Atrocities of Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition (Creation Books, 2003). ISBN 1-84068-105-5
  • William Thomas Walsh, Characters of the Inquisition (TAN Books, 1997). ISBN 0-89555-326-0
  • Parker, Geoffrey “Some Recent Work on the Inquisition in Spain and Italy” Journal of Modern History 54:3 1982
  • Given, James B Inquisition and Medieval Society New York, Cornell University Press, 2001
  • Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of Spain (4 volumes), (New York and London, 1906–1907).
  • J.A. Llorente, “Historia Critica de la Inquisicion de Espana”
  • W.T. Walsh, “Isabella of Spain,” (1931).
  • Genaro Garcia, “Autos de fe de la Inquisicion de Mexico,” (1910).
  • F. Garau, “La Fee Triunfante,” (1691-reprinted 1931).
  • V. Vignau, “Catalogo... de la Inquisicion de Toledo,” (1903).
  • J. Baker, “History of the Inquisition,” (1736).
  • J. Marchant, “A Review of the Bloody Tribunal,” (1770).
  • E.N Adler, “Autos de fe and the Jew,” (1908).
  • Ludovico a Paramo, “De Origine et Progressu Sanctae Inquisitionis,” (1598).
  • J.M. Marin, “Procedimientos de la Inquisicion” (2 volumes), (1886).
  • R. Cappa, “La Inquisicion Espanola,” (1888).
  • A. Paz y Mellia, “Catalogo Abreviado de Papeles de Inquisicion,” (1914).
  • M. Jouve, “Torquemada,” (1935).
  • Sir Alexandr G. Cardew, “A Short History of the Inquisition,” (1933).
  • G. G. Coulton, “The Inquisition,” (1929).
  • Ramon de Vilana Perlas, “La Verdadera Practica Apostolica de el S. Tribunal de la Inquisicion,” (1735).
  • H.B. Piazza, “A Short and True Account of the Inquisition and its Proceeding,” (1722).
  • A.L. Maycock, “The Inquisition,” (1926).
  • H. Nickerson, “The Inquisition,” (1932).
  • L. Tanon, “Histoire des Tribunaux de l’Inquisition,” (1893).
  • A. Herculano, “Historia da Origem e Estabelecimento da Inquisicao em Portugal,” (English translation, 1926).
  • Henry Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision. (1999).
  • Simon Whitechapel, Flesh Inferno: Atrocities of Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition (Creation Books, 2003).
  • Miranda Twiss, The Most Evil Men And Women In History (Michael O'Mara Books Ltd., 2002).
  • Geoffrey Parker “Some Recent Work on the Inquisition in Spain and Italy” Journal of Modern History 54:3 1982
  • Warren H. Carroll, "Isabel: the Catholic Queen" Front Royal, Virginia, 1991 (Christendom Press)
  • Emile van der Vekene: Bibliotheca bibliographica historiae sanctae inquisitionis. Bibliographisches Verzeichnis des gedruckten Schrifttums zur Geschichte und Literatur der Inquisition. Vol. 1 - 3. Topos-Verlag, Vaduz 1982-1992, ISBN 3-289-00272-1, ISBN 3-289-00578-X (7110 titres sur le thème de l'Inquisition)
  • Emile van der Vekene: La Inquisición en grabados originales. Exposición realizada con fondos de la colección Emile van der Vekene de la Universidad San Pablo-CEU, Aranjuez, 4-26 de Mayo de 2005, Madrid: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 2005. ISBN 84-96144-86-0

[edit] Online works

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