The Holy Inquisition

The Holy Inquisition was a special ecclesiastical

institution for combating or suppressing heresy.
A fair trial was delivered by the inquisition tribune.
• The Inquisition was a permanent institution
in the Catholic Church charged with the
eradication of heresies.

• Heresies were a problem for the Church

from the beginning. During Middle Ages a
permanent structure came into being to
deal with the problem.
• The medieval Inquisition was
founded in 1184 (12th
century). At the end of the
15th century, under Ferdinand
and Isabel, the Spanish
inquisition became
independent of Rome. In its
dealings with converted
Muslims and Jews, the
Spanish Inquisition with its
notorious autos-da-fé
represents a dark chapter in
Parody
the history of the Inquisition.
• “The torture is not an infallible method to obtain
the truth; there are some men so pusillanimous
that at the first twinge of pain they will confess
crimes they never committed; others there are so
valiant and robust that they bear the most cruel
torments. Those who have once been placed
upon the rack suffer it with great courage,
because their limbs accommodate themselves to it
with facility or resist with force; others with charms
and spells render themselves insensible, and will
die before they will confess anything.”

Torquemada’s instructions in 1483