JMJ
The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition
by Ellen Rice
"The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition," is a 1994 BBC/A&E
production (hardly Catholic organizations,jc). It is a
definite must-see for anyone who wishes to know how
historians now evaluate the Spanish Inquisition since the
opening of an investigation into the Inquisition's archives.
The special includes commentary from historians whose
studies verify that the tale of the darkest hour of the
Church was greatly fabricated.
In its brief sixty-minute presentation, "The Myth of the
Spanish Inquisition" provides only an overview of the
origins and debunking of the myths of torture and genocide.
The documentary definitely succeeds in leaving the viewer
hungry to know more. The long-held beliefs of the audience
are sufficiently weakened by the testimony of experts and
the expose of the making of the myth.
The Inquisition began in 1480. Spain was beginning a
historic reunification of Aragon and Castile. The marriage
of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile created a
unified Hispania not seen since Roman times. Afraid that
laws commanding the exile or conversion of Jews were
thwarted by conversos i.e. synagogue-going "Catholics,
" Ferdinand and Isabella commissioned an investigation or
Inquisition. They began the Inquisition hoping that
religious unity would foster political unity, and other
heads of state heralded Spain's labors for the advent of
a unified Christendom. The documentary clearly and boldly
narrates the historical context, which intimates that the
Spanish were not acting odd by their contemporary standards.
The Inquisition Myth, which Spaniards call "The Black
Legend," did not arise in 1480. It began almost 100 years
later, and exactly one year after the Protestant defeat at
the Battle of Muhlberg at the hands of Ferdinand's grandson,
the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. In 1567 a fierce propaganda
campaign began with the publication of a Protestant leaflet
penned by a supposed Inquisition victim named Montanus.
This character (Protestant of course) painted Spaniards as
barbarians who ravished women and sodomized young boys.The
propagandists soon created "hooded fiends" who tortured
their victims in horrible devices like the knife-filled
Iron Maiden (which never was used in Spain). The BBC/A&E
special plainly states a reason for the war of words: the
Protestants fought with words because they could not win
on the battlefield.
The Inquisition had a secular character, although the
crime was heresy. Inquisitors did not have to be clerics,
but they did have to be lawyers. The investigation was
rule-based and carefully kept in check. And most
significantly, historians have declared fraudulent a
supposed Inquisition document claiming the genocide of
millions of heretics.
What is documented is that 3000 to 5000 people died during
the Inquisition's 350 year history. Also documented are the
"Acts of Faith," public sentencings of heretics in town
squares. But the grand myth of thought control by sinister
fiends has been debunked by the archival evidence. The
inquisitors enjoyed a powerful position in the towns, but
it was one constantly jostled by other power brokers. In
the outlying areas, they were understaffed - in those days
it was nearly impossible for 1 or 2 inquisitors to cover
the thousand-mile territory allotted to each team. In the
outlying areas no one cared and no one spoke to them. As
the program documents, the 3,000 to 5,000 documented
executions of the Inquisition pale in comparison to the
150,000 documented witch burnings elsewhere in Europe
over the same centuries.
The approach is purely historical, and therefore does not
delve into ecclesial issues surrounding religious freedom.
But perhaps this is proper. Because the crime was heresy,
the Church is implicated, but the facts show it was a
secular event.
One facet of the Black Legend that evaporates under scrutiny
in this film is the rumor that Philip II, son of Charles V,
killed his son Don Carlos on the advisement of the aging
blind Grand Inquisitor. But without a shred of evidence,
the legend of Don Carlos has been enshrined in a glorious
opera by Verdi.
Discrediting the Black Legend brings up the sticky subject
of revisionism. Re-investigating history is only invalid
if it puts an agenda ahead of reality. The experts - once
true believers in the Inquisition myth - were not out to
do a feminist canonization of Isabella or claim that Tomas
de Torquemada was a Marxist. Henry Kamen of the Higher
Council for Scientific Research in Barcelona said on camera
that researching the Inquisition's archives "demolished
the previous image all of us (historians) had."
And the future of the Black Legend? For many it may continue
to hold more weight than reality. There is the emotional
appeal against the Church. The dissenters of today may
easily imagine Torquemada's beady eyes as a metaphor of the
Church's "dictatorial, controlling, damning" pronouncements.
The myth is also the easiest endorsement of the secular
state: "de-faith" the state and de-criminalize heresy. Who
will be the revisionists in this case? Will the many follow
Montanas' lead in rewriting history? Our 20th century crisis
of man playing God - usurping power over conception, life,
and death - leaves us with no alternative but to qualify
our demythologization of the Inquisition with a reminder:
3,000 to 5,000 victims are 3,000 to 5,000 too many.
Ellen Rice is assistant to the editor of Catholic Dossier
Jim Carew sfo