7 myths about the Inquisition imposed on us by popular culture

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In fact, no one burned Copernicus at the stake.

Today we see cruel executioners and religious fanatics in inquisitors. This attitude was formed during the era of wars between Catholics and Protestants in the 16th – 17th centuries. Both sides tried to denigrate each other. One of the targets was the church courts, which were attributed to all kinds of atrocities. In the ensuing era of the Enlightenment, the inquisitors were also not favored and were considered opponents of scientific progress.

As a result, in the mass consciousness, the Inquisition became a symbol of the "dark" Middle Ages, when thousands of innocent people were burned at the stake. Lifehacker tells why this is not entirely true.

1. Witches and sorcerers are the main opponents of the inquisitors

Inquisitors are considered the main persecutors of witches, which could include any red-haired or simply beautiful woman, as well as the mistress of cats. But this is just a common misconception.

In fact, the inquisitors fought Monter W. Ritual, myth, and magic in early modern Europe. M. 2003 with heresies - deviations from the orthodox Catholic doctrine, vices and in violation of the moral norms of that time. For example, with a secret adherence to Judaism or Lutheranism, bigamy or homosexuality.

In Spain, the Inquisition was much more likely to condemn people for blasphemy, secret adherence to Islam, Judaism or Lutheranism, immoral acts and sexual crimes than for superstition, including witchcraft.

In 1610, the Inquisitor Salazar-i-Firas performed the Monter W. Ritual, myth and magic in early modern Europe. M. 2003 "investigative" experiment, in which it proved that women accused of witchcraft have nothing to do with magic, but are either mentally ill, or slander themselves. After a few years, the Inquisition stopped considering cases of witchcraft.

But the witch hunt was widespread in countries that did not have the Inquisition. In Central and Northern Europe in the 15th-17th centuries, they began to look for magicians and sorcerers en masse. At the same time, it was the secular courts that were mainly involved in their persecution. Also, there were frequent cases of lynching.

The notorious Salem trial generally took place in the British colony in America and lies on the conscience of the secular court.

As a result, the number of victims of the 300-year-old witch hunt, according to various sources, ranged from 35 to 100 thousand people. However, in countries where the Inquisition operated, that is, in Spain, Italy and Portugal, this figure was significantly lower. And they were mostly men.

2. Inquisitors tried to burn everyone who fell into their hands

Unlike secular courts, the inquisitors documented the Monter W. Ritual, myth, and magic in early modern Europe in detail. M. 2003 its activities. Thanks to access to these archives, we know a lot about the course of processes and decisions of church courts. It turns out that the tribunals were not so bloodthirsty, and the sentences were rather lenient according to the norms of medieval morality.

Basically, inquisitors were educated lawyers, because in medieval Europe monasteries were centers of science and knowledge. Therefore, the clergy used investigative procedures borrowed from the practice of Ancient Rome: searching for evidence, building a line of accusation, clarifying the impartiality of witnesses. They usually conducted the investigation and interrogations carefully and meticulously.

In order to prevent cases of perjury, before the investigation, the inquisitor asked the accused if he had any enemies. The Monter W. Ritual, myth and magic in early modern Europe were also divided. M. 2003 the concept of "conscious" and "unconscious act."The court could take into account the state of the person who, for example, made "blasphemous" speeches.

This is partly why more than 90% of sentences were acquitted. But even if guilt was proven, church courts more often ordered corporal punishment, exile, fines, confiscation of property, or the wearing of special “penitential” clothes, rather than execution. Only those who persisted in their convictions or were caught a second time in an act in which they had already confessed were sent to the fire.

There are even known cases when ordinary criminals began to blaspheme during a secular investigation. So they hoped to get a lighter sentence from the inquisitorial tribunal.

The story of 1580 is also indicative, when in the Duchy of Milan the locals began hysterically to look for witches among their neighbors. Monter W. Ritual, myth, and magic in early modern Europe was arrested by the inquisitors. M. 2003 17 women accused of witchcraft. Nine of them were acquitted immediately, five more - after taking the oath that they were not witches. Only one woman fully admitted guilt, and the remaining two partially, but they all received minor punishments.

In general, the Inquisition rather sought to establish the motives of the misconduct, to achieve repentance, and not just to punish the culprit. The execution showed that the heretic could not be returned to the Catholic faith and forced to repent of what he had done. For example, Giordano Bruno was burned only seven years after the start of the trial. All this time, theological disputes were held with the scientist.

3. The blood of millions of people is on the conscience of the inquisitors

Although the inquisitors were not the good-natured "orderlies" of medieval society, the scale of their atrocities is often overstated. The surviving archives of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions allow Monter W. Ritual, myth and magic in early modern Europe. M. 2003 to draw some conclusions.

From 1478 to 1834, the Spanish inquisitors examined about 150,000 cases and handed down about 10,000 death sentences. No more than 7,000 of them were enforced.

But it was the ecclesiastical courts of Spain that were considered the most cruel! In fact, this is also a myth. They call him a black legend. It is believed that Protestants spread it during the wars with Catholics.

In Portugal, for 250 years of its existence (since 1540), the Inquisition considered three times fewer cases than in Spain, but carried out 4% more Monter W. Ritual, myth and magic in Europe of the early modern period. M. 2003 death sentences. This was due primarily to the preservation of Jewish traditions among baptized Jews in the far corners of the country.

Although these are considerable numbers, there is still no need to talk about millions of victims.

4. Inquisitors were the main supporters of torture and used it uncontrollably

The courts of the Inquisition were very different from those of today. For example, the prosecutor, the investigator and the judge were the same person. There was a presumption of guilt, not innocence.

The conviction that the defendant was obviously guilty justified the use of torture.

However, violence and the presumption of guilt in those days were characteristic features of any legal process, not only church ones. In the same Spain, civil proceedings in this form existed until the beginning of the 18th century.

At the same time, in the matter of torturing suspects, the clergy were much more humane than the secular authorities. Torture was allowed no more than once a day, no more than two days in a row. And only those who were caught in a lie at the preliminary inquiry, or those whose guilt was almost proven. Also, during the investigation, the arrested person was not supposed to die or remain disabled.

In addition, inquisitors were forbidden to shed blood, so the torture arsenal was limited. Basically, three types of torture were used:

• water: the suspect was put on his back upside down and doused so that he began to choke;
• hanging on a rack;
• stretching on the board.

Also, the defendants could be imprisoned in solitary confinement and forced to starve.

The use of torture was not obligatory, and the accused had to confirm the confession obtained under it again without torture. Inquisitors were usually subtle psychologists and relied more on Monter W. Ritual, myth, and magic in early modern Europe. M. 2003 for cross-examination.

For example, 69-year-old Galileo did not spend a day in prison during the inquisitorial investigation, and most likely he was only threatened with torture. And before the trial, he was examined by a doctor from the Florentine branch of the Roman Inquisition.

However, all this does not make the inquisitors less cruel.

5. The courts of the Inquisition passed the sentence and themselves carried it out

Contrary to popular belief, the inquisitors themselves never executed those they persecuted.

The inquisitors worked in conjunction with the local authorities. If there was no Dominican monastery in the city or village, the secular ruler had to provide the cleric with everything necessary, as well as organize supervision of the suspect. Moreover, the members of the Inquisition had no right to torture the accused on their own, so the local authorities called for a special person for this.

After the end of the investigation and the passing of the verdict, the Inquisition handed over the arrested person to the secular authorities. She punished the culprit.

6. Inquisitors persecuted scientists

Supposedly, therefore, the inquisitors burned Giordano Bruno and Nicolaus Copernicus, and Galileo was forced to abandon his views.

However, Copernicus was not subjected to any church persecution. The astronomer died at the age of 70 from a stroke, not from a fire. There is even a version that the talented scientist, known throughout Europe, was invited to the court by Pope Leo X. He wanted the famous astronomer to take part in the development of the calendar reform, but Copernicus politely refused.

Copernicus's theory that not the Earth, but the Sun is in the center of the world, was banned by the Catholic Church in 1616, almost 70 years after his death. The popes adhered to the theory of Ptolemy, according to which all celestial bodies revolve around the Earth.

But first of all, the inquisitors fought not with scientific convictions, but with heresies. For example, Giordano Bruno did not go to the stake in 1600 because he propagated the teachings of Nicolaus Copernicus: it had not even been banned yet. The Italian scientist suffered due to the fact that he argued, for example, that souls can live in several bodies, Moses was a sorcerer, Jesus sought to avoid death and was crucified not of his own free will, only Jews descended from Adam and Eve, and the Bible is fake.

Unlike Copernicus and Bruno, Galileo Galilei really suffered for his scientific views. His trial took place in 1633. But the scientist was judged not for his belief in the heliocentric model of the world, but for the fact that he discussed this "heresy". They recalled Galileo and the phrase from his book that Holy Scripture is not the only source of truth. However, although the astronomer was not subjected to severe punishment, this renunciation does not make him any less humiliating.

By the way, there is not a single evidence that after the trial Galileo said: “And yet she turns!”.

It was not only the inquisitors who were engaged in the eradication of heresies. So, in Protestant Geneva in 1553, the Spanish scientist Miguel Servetus, the first European who described a pulmonary circulation, was burned. The reason for the execution was that Servetus denied the triune nature of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

7. The Inquisition existed only in the Middle Ages

The origins of church courts in medieval Europe go deep into history. Back in the II century A. D. NS. Christian theologians began to condemn heretics.

Officially, Pope Lucius III established the first authorities to search for those responsible for crimes against the Catholic faith in 1184. Under him, the concept of repentance - auto-da-fe - was adopted. The church court with the name "Inquisition" was created by Pope Innocent III in 1215. Basically, members of the Dominican monastic order became inquisitors.

Yes, auto-da-fe is not the burning of a heretic. This was the name of public repentance. Usually it was a procession, during which the accused repented of his deed, and the inquisitor read out the verdict.

Popes used the Inquisition to combat heresies. The sects of the Cathars, Waldensians, Albigensians openly challenged the authority of the Roman pontiff and considered the Catholic Church mired in sins.

The Inquisition remained influential in the 16th – 17th centuries, during the era of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Then the church courts survived only in Spain, Portugal and Italy. They existed here until the 19th century. The last execution by the verdict of the Inquisition happened in 1826. It happened in Spain: the school teacher Cayetano Antonio Ripol was accused of heresy.

The Inquisition still exists today. Since 1908 it has been named differently, now it is the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.