The Inquisition is a name used for several Catholic institutions that investigated and judged alleged departures from religious orthodoxy. The medieval inquisitors appointed under papal authority, the tribunals of the Spanish Inquisition and the Roman Holy Office had different jurisdictions. Their records show how officials questioned people and pronounced judgments. In some cases they also preserve writings by the people prosecuted, which give a different view of what the authorities were investigating. Vatican institutional history of the inquisitions Spanish state archives on the Council of the Inquisition Excerpt from Luis de Carvajal’s autobiography
Medieval inquiries and the Toulouse records
During the pontificate of Gregory IX in the first half of the thirteenth century, papal authorities commissioned inquisitors to investigate heresy. Local bishops also had a role in enforcing religious orthodoxy. In southern France, the Dominican Bernard Gui later served as inquisitor in Toulouse. A surviving register collects his sentences from 1308 to 1323. His manual survives as a separate text and shows how an official was instructed to frame an inquiry. Vatican institutional history of the inquisitions Bernard Gui’s inquisitor’s manual French national union catalogue on Bernard Gui’s sentences
The manual includes forms for questioning and sentencing, including demands that an accused person swear to disclose what they knew about their own beliefs and those of others. It also gives forms for renouncing teachings judged heretical and for reconciliation with the Church. Outcomes varied. The authorities could impose penances and imprisonment. Some people judged to be heretics were handed over to secular authorities for punishment that could include execution. Torture was authorized under certain conditions in inquisitorial practice, giving authorities a means to coerce statements. One model addresses an accused person suspected of sharing the beliefs of the Beguins. It shows an official asking about associates as well as doctrine. An inquiry into one person’s conduct could therefore generate names for other inquiries, and an accused person faced pressure to disclose information about the people around them. Vatican institutional history of the inquisitions Bernard Gui’s inquisitor’s manual
Different records answer different questions. A model sentence shows how an official was expected to speak. A register tells us which judgment was recorded in a particular case. Neither gives an unmediated account of everything a person experienced. Reading the records together helps show how religious belief and personal associations became matters for investigation. Bernard Gui’s inquisitor’s manual French national union catalogue on Bernard Gui’s sentences
The Spanish Inquisition and a manuscript from Mexico
In 1478, Pope Sixtus IV authorized the Spanish monarchs Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon to appoint inquisitors in the Crown of Castile. The Spanish archives date the beginning of its operation to 1480. Its early investigations targeted baptized Christians accused of secretly practising Judaism. Its jurisdiction later encompassed other alleged offenses, and tribunals operated in Spanish territories overseas. The Spanish crown played a central role in the institution. Spain formally abolished it by decree in 1834. Vatican institutional history of the inquisitions Spanish state archives on the Council of the Inquisition
Luis de Carvajal the Younger was prosecuted in Mexico City for practising Judaism in New Spain. He died in December 1596 after being condemned at a public auto de fe, a ceremony at which inquisitorial judgments were made public. The Mexican National Library of Anthropology and History presents his surviving manuscripts, including his memoir. In the memoir he describes a Sabbath visit and a small book containing passages copied from scripture. That account gives a view of religious observance in his own terms, alongside the official category under which he was prosecuted. Mexican National Library exhibition of the Carvajal manuscripts Excerpt from Luis de Carvajal’s autobiography
The manuscripts themselves have a history apart from the verdict. They include a statement of articles of faith as well as the memoir. After resurfacing in the United States, they were exhibited in New York and returned to Mexico in 2017. The library makes it possible to see the small handwritten books as objects that Carvajal created, as well as sources for the history of his prosecution. Mexican National Library exhibition of the Carvajal manuscripts Mexican government announcement of the return of the manuscripts
Rome and the Galileo sentence
In 1542, Pope Paul III established a commission of cardinals to judge matters of faith. It became known as the Roman Inquisition. In June 1633 its tribunal pronounced Galileo vehemently suspected of heresy for holding or defending the motion of the Earth around the Sun. The sentence banned his Dialogue and required him to abjure. The tribunal pronounced imprisonment. Galileo was eventually allowed to live under confinement at his villa in Arcetri. The verdict, the ban on the book and the conditions of his confinement were distinct consequences. Galileo’s sentence, 22 June 1633 Museo Galileo’s biographical chronology Institutional history of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Roman office followed a different institutional path from the Spanish tribunals. Its later names and responsibilities changed. The Vatican records its reorganization as the Holy Office in 1908 and as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1965. The dates give a way to distinguish the history of the Roman institution from the 1834 decree abolishing the Spanish one. Spanish state archives on the Council of the Inquisition Institutional history of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
Conclusion
Inquisitorial institutions enforced religious orthodoxy through procedures that differed by place and period. The Toulouse manual shows how investigators asked questions and classified answers. Carvajal’s manuscript preserves an account of religious practice by a person whom a tribunal condemned. Galileo’s sentence records a different jurisdiction and a different charge. Taken together, these documents show both what the institutions claimed authority to decide and how the people they investigated appear in the surviving record.
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