This establishment had its origin in the endeavours of the Roman
pontiffs for the suppression of heresy. In the year 1184, Pope Lucius
II., alarmed at the appearance of the new religious sects in Dauphiny
and Provence, called a great council at Verona, where a severe decree
was issued against them, and the power of the secular princes called to
aid in their discovery and punishment. In this decree we perceive the
embryo of the Inquisition, although its proper foundation is commonly
fixed some years later.[1]
It was in France, in the year 1208, that it was first established, and
took a distinct character under the direction of Pope Innocent III., who
despatched legates into that country, with a power independent of the
bishops, to persecute the heretics with the assistance of the secular
arm. The unfortunate Albigenses, the objects of this persecution, were
extirpated with fire and sword, and the death of thousands by massacres,
tortures, and the funeral pile, signalized the commencement of the
Inquisition.[2]
This was in the reign of Philip Augustus, during which the Inquisition
appears not to have been in exercise beyond the limits of Provence and
Languedoc; but in 1255, at the request of Louis IX., it was established
by the papal authority throughout the whole kingdom, with the exception
of the territories of the Count of Poitiers and Toulouse.[3] It did not
however, obtain any permanent footing here, although the exact period of
its discontinuance is not easy to ascertain. In 1560, the Cardinal of
Lorraine made an effectual attempt to introduce it into France against
the Protestants, which is the last time we find it mentioned in
connexion with the history of that country.[4]
In 1224, it was established by Pope Honorius II. in all the States of
Italy, except Venice and Naples. In 1289, it was established at
Venice.[5] It appears to have been in existence in the kingdom of Naples
as early as 1269.[6] There is no very frequent mention of it in the
histories of that period, and we may conclude that it did not assume
that sanguinary character in these countries, which marked its first
existence on the other side of the Alps. It disappeared from all these
parts, except the Papal States, before completing a long career.
It was in Spain that this terrible tribunal was destined to obtain the
firmest footing, and exercise the bloodiest sway. Its establishment in
this country may be dated at the year 1232, and it gradually made its
way into all the principalities of which this kingdom is composed,
though not without a bloody resistance on the part of the inhabitants,
who entertained the utmost horror of the Inquisition, and killed many of
the Dominican Friars, who were its chief ministers, and the instruments
of its establishment.[7] In 1481, upon the union, under Ferdinand and
Isabella, of the Kingdom of Castile and Arragon, the inquisitorial
constitution was reformed and modified, with respect to its various
limits of territorial jurisdiction, and also by the introduction of new
and severe statutes and rules. This was called the _modern_
Inquisition,[8] and the pretext for its establishment was the
persecution of the converted Jews, who were suspected of relapsing to
their former faith. It afterwards took under its cognizance other
heresies, and some civil offences. It is very clear that the people felt
a decided aversion to it, which they manifested in violent tumults.
Nevertheless force and terror overcame their resistance, and the
domineering spirit of the Pope, the avarice of Ferdinand, and the
fanaticism of the monks, succeeded in fastening the iron yoke of the
Inquisition upon the necks of the Spaniards. It ran an uninterrupted
career until abolished by Napoleon on the fourth of December, 1808.
The circumstances of its introduction into Portugal are too curious to
be omitted. About the year 1540, there was in Spain, a monk of the name
of Saavedra, who forged apostolic bulls, royal decrees, and bills of
exchange, with so much accuracy, that they passed with every one for
genuine. He succeeded so well as to pass himself off for a knight and
commander of the military order of St Jago, the income of which,
amounting to three thousand ducats, he received for the space of a year
and a half. In a short time he acquired, by means of the royal deeds
which he counterfeited, three hundred and sixty thousand ducats.
With a little prudence he might have remained undetected through life,
but his successes tempted him to undertakings which led to his
discovery. He fell in company with a Jesuit travelling to Portugal, with
an apostolic brief for the foundation there of a college of that order.
These two concerted measures for introducing the Inquisition as well as
the Jesuits into Portugal. Saavedra forged letters from Charles V. to
the King of Portugal, and a papal bull establishing the Inquisition in
that country. This bull appointed Saavedra legate _a latere_ for the
purpose.
This daring and brazenfaced impostor then took upon him the character
and costume of a Roman cardinal. He travelled with litters, silver
dishes, and a train of attendants, levying money on his course by
forging bonds. He sent his secretary to Lisbon with his bull and papers
to prepare for his reception. The king despatched to the frontiers a
distinguished nobleman to receive him, and he made his entry into
Lisbon, where he spent three months, and was treated with the highest
respect. He afterwards travelled through the kingdom, and completed the
business for which he had made his visit. He was at last detected by the
Inquisitor General of Spain and arrested. After a trial by the
Inquisition, he was sentenced to the gallies for ten years. The king
added nine years more to the period. Almost all the establishments made
by him in Portugal, were retained under the pretence that the Holy
Office was necessary to persecute the Jews.
It has been the endeavour of the Spanish monarchs to extend it to every
country under their dominion. The Emperor Charles V., whose zeal for the
Inquisition has procured him the title of the Don Quixote of the Faith,
established it in the Netherlands in 1522, and vast multitudes, who had
embraced the Reformed religion, perished on its funeral piles. This
bloody persecution was one of the means of exciting the revolt by which
Holland was freed from the Spanish yoke.[9] An attempt was also made by
him to introduce it into Naples, but it encountered the most determined
opposition. The Neapolitans rose in insurrection, massacred the
Spaniards, and obliged the emperor to give over the project. About the
time of its appearance in the Netherlands it was also established in the
Spanish dominions in America. The first _autos de fe_ were celebrated at
Lima in 1639.[10] The Portuguese carried it into their East Indian
Colonies, fixing it at Goa in 1559.[11] In Brazil, however, it has never
existed.
The modern history of the Inquisition must be familiar to every reader.
Its abolition by Napoleon in 1808, its reestablishment under Ferdinand
VII. and its second overthrow by the Spanish people in 1820, are events
too well known to need a recapitulation here.