menu_book Chapter 19

Book I, Chapter 4, Part 6, A History of the Inquisition of Spain, Vol. 1. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. History of the Inquisition of Spain, Vol. 1. By Henry Charles Lee.

Book I, Chapter 4. Establishment of the Inquisition. part six by the agreement of villa fafila june twenty seventh fifteen six ferdinand bound himself to abandon castile to philip and juana he departed for aragon and busied himself with preparations for a voyage to naples whither he set sail september fourth philip assumed the government and disembarrassed himself of his wife by shutting her up as unfit to share in the cares of royalty he was amenable to the golden arguments of the conversos and doubtless had not forgotten the contempt with which had been treated his order of the previous year to suspend the inquisition

he therefore naturally was in no haste to revive its functions ferdinand's secretary almazan writes to rojas july first that the king and the grandees have imprisoned juana and no one is allowed to see her he has in vain sought to get some prelates to carry letters from her to her father but no one ventures to do so the grandees have done this to partition among themselves the royal power the conversos to free themselves from the inquisition which is now extinct the people of cordova made haste to take advantage of the situation they sent a powerful appeal to philip and juana stating that their previous complaints had been intercepted through deza's influence and accusing lucero of the most arbitrary iniquities they asked that all the inquisitorial officials at cordova and toro should be removed and the whole affair be committed to the bishop of leon philip referred the matter to the comendador mayor garcilaso de la vega and to andrea de borgo ambassador of maximilian i to laymen to the great scandal we are told of all ecclesiastics the conversos were triumphant and the inquisition succumbed completely

the suprema including deza himself hastened to disclaim all responsibility for lucero's misdeeds in a letter addressed to the chapter of cordova in which it said that the accusations brought against him seemed incredible for even highwaymen when robbing their victims spare their lives while here not only the property but the lives of the victims were taken and the honour of their descendants to the tenth generation but after hearing the narrative of the master of toro there could no longer be doubt and to tolerate it would be to approve it therefore the chapter was instructed to continue to prevent these iniquities and their majesties would be asked to apply a remedy and to punish their authors the remedy applied was to compel deza to subdelegate irrevocably to diego ramirez de guzman bishop of catania and member of the council of state power to supersede lucero and revise his acts which was confirmed by a papal brief placing in guzman's hands all the papers and prisoners in cordova toro and valladolid

lucero endeavoured to anticipate this by burning all his prisoners so as to get them out of the way but after the auto de fe was announced there came orders from the sovereigns which fortunately prevented the holocaust the relief of the sufferers seemed assured but the situation was radically changed by the sudden death of philip september twenty fifth fifteen six for although juana was treated nominally as queen she exercised no authority deza promptly revoked guzman's commission of which the papal confirmation seems not to have been received he took possession of the prisoners at toro and sent the archdeacon of torquemada to cordova to do the same but francisco osorio the representative of guzman refused to obey the people of cordova were in despair it was in vain that they sent delegations to deza and petitioned the queen to save them deyza was immovable and the queen refused to act in this as in everything else the chapter every member of which was an old christian proud of his limpiesa

assembled on october sixteenth to consider the situation some of the most prominent dignitaries of the church had already been arrested by lucero and had been treated by him as jewish dogs he had asserted that all the rest and most of the nobles and gentlemen of the city and of other places were apostates who had converted their houses into synagogues in view of the impending peril it was unanimously resolved to defend themselves while the citizens at large declared that they would sacrifice life and property rather than to submit longer to such insupportable tyranny if the eclipse of the royal authority had enabled deysa to restore lucero to power it also afforded opportunity for forcible resistance the grandees of castile were striving to recover the independence enjoyed under henry the fourth and a condition of anarchy was approaching rapidly the two great nobles of cordova the count of cabra lord of ballena and the marquis of priego lord of aguilar

and nephew of the great captain were nothing loath to listen to the entreaties of the citizens especially as the marquis had been summoned by lucero to appear for trial meetings were held in which formal accusations of lucero and his promoter fiscal juan de ariola were laid before padre fray francisco de cuesta commendedor of the covenant of la merced who seems to have assumed leadership of the movement he pronounced judgment ordering lucero and the fiscal to be arrested and their property to be confiscated under the lead of cabra and priego the citizens arose to execute the judgment on november ninth they broke into the alcazzar where the inquisition held its seat they seized the fiscal and some of the subordinates and liberated the prisoners whose recital of their wrongs excited still more the popular indignation but no blood was shed and lucero saved himself by flight

the whole proceeding appears to have been orderly a commission of ecclesiastics and laymen was appointed to which the kinsmen and friends of the prisoners gave security that they should be forthcoming for trial as soon as there should be a king in the land to administer justice this engagement was duly kept and their temporary liberation under bail was justified on the ground that many of them had been incarcerated for six or seven years and that all were in danger of perishing by starvation for they were penniless their property having been confiscated and deza having ordered the receiver of confiscations not to provide for them when the news of this uprising reached deza he promptly november eighteenth commissioned his nephew pedro juarez de deza archbishop elect of the indies to prosecute and punish all concerned while by his orders the tribunal of toledo intercepted arid threw into prison dr alonso de toro sent by the city to present its case to the queen other envoys however bore instructions to ask for the move of levdeza and the prosecution of lucero and his officials coupled with the intimation that steps had been taken to convoke all the cities of andalusia and castile

to devise measures of protection against the intolerable tyranny of the inquisition this plan seems to have been abandoned but early in january fifteen seven the bishop of cordova juan de in conjunction with the clerical and secular authorities sent a solemn appeal to the pope asking him to appoint archbishop xaimenez and the bishop of catania or of malaga with full power to investigate and to act and this they accompanied january tenth with a petition to ferdinand who was still in naples to support their request to the pope deza however continued to command ferdinand's unwavering support and the result was seen the prompt and uncompromising action of julius the second he wrote to deza and the jews pretending to be christians who had dared to rise against the inquisition must be exterminated root and branch no labour was to be spared to suppress this pestilence before it should spread to hunt up all who had participated in it and to exercise the utmost severity in punishing them without appeal for their crimes

thus stimulated and encouraged lucero resumed his activity and the liberated prisoners were surrendered to him peter martyr writes from the court march seventh fifteen seven to archbishop that his sister and his nephew the dean of granada francisco herrera who had doubtless been released in the rising of november ninth had been thrown in prison in cordova talavera himself moreover was put on trial before the papal nuncio giovanni rufo and assessors duly commissioned by the pope showing that ferdinand's scruples as to scandalizing the people of granada had vanished in the fierce resolve to vindicate lucero and that the missing papal brief had been duly found peter martyr describes his earnest efforts to convince the judges of talavera's holy life and spotless character to which they replied that all this might be true but their business was to ascertain the secrets of his heart by the time the evidence was sent to rome however his conviction was no longer desired the testimony was pronounced to be worthless and pascual de la fuente bishop of burgos who was in attendance on the curia

was an earnest witness in his favour the papal sentence was acquittal and this apparently carried with it the exoneration of his kindred but it came too late on may twenty first peter martyr exultingly writes to him that the dean and his sister with their mother and the rest of his innocent household had been set free but already he had gone to a higher tribunal on ascension day may thirteenth he had walked bareheaded and barefooted in the procession through the streets of granada when a violent fever set in and carried him off the next day he had accumulated no treasure having spent all his revenues on the poor he left no provision for his family and the bishop of malaga charitably gave to his sister a house in granada to shelter her old age his reputation for sanctity is seen in the accounts which at once were circulated with universal credence of the miracles wrought by him in curing the sick

the reaction in favor of the inquisition led by ferdinand and julius the second had evidently been short-lived for the political situation dominated everything and king and pope found it advisable to yield juana was keeping herself secluded with the corpse of her husband and was refusing to govern the rival factions of the two grandfathers of charles v maximilian i and ferdinand each striving for the regency during his minority were both desirous of the support of the conversos and thus the question of the cordovan prisoners attained national importance as one on which all parties took sides ximenez the duke of alva and the constable of castile the heads of ferdinand's party held a conference at capia and listened to the complaints against stesa for which they promised to find a remedy the friends of the prisoners however seemed more inclined towards the faction of maximilian they offered money to defray the expenses of troops to be sent to spain to resist ferdinand's return and it was currently rumoured that four thousand men were gathered in a flemish port ready to embark

it is not easy to penetrate the secret intrigues culminating in the settlement which gave the regency to ferdinand but ximenez who represented him took advantage of the situation with his usual skill to further his own ambition which was to gain the cardinal's hat and deza's position as inquisitor-general for the former of these ferdinand had made application as early as november eighth fifteen five and had repeated the request october thirtieth fifteen six it was granted in secret consistatory january fourth fifteen seven and was published may seventeenth for the latter the complaints of the conversos afforded substantial reasons we have seen that cordova had petitioned the pope to commission ximenez as its judge and his appointment would help to pacify the troubles ferdinand at length recognized that deza's sacrifice was inevitable and the way was made easy for him as he was allowed to resign on may eighteenth ferdinand writes to ximenes from naples that he had received deza's resignation and had taken the necessary steps to secure for him the succession

he has two requests to make that he shall foster piety and religion by appointing only the best men and that he shall exercise the utmost care that nothing shall be allowed to impair deza's dignity the commission as inquisitor-general was duly issued on june fifth fifteen seven the hatred excited by lucero had been too widespread and the friends of the prisoners were too powerful to be satisfied with the mere substitution of ximenez for and there was evidently an understanding that the matter was not to be dropped as early as may first peter martyr writes it is reported that the imprisoned witnesses corrupted by lucero are to be released and that he will expiate with due punishment his unprecedented crimes some such promise was probably necessary for the pacification of the land but the delay in its performance is significant of protection of the fountain-head of justice it assumes at first the shape of an action brought by the chapter and city of cordova before the pope charging lucero with the evil wrought by his suborning

some witnesses and compelling others by punishment to testify that the plaintiffs were heretics julius the second commissioned fr francisco de mayorga as apostolic judge to try the case and on october seventeenth fifteen o seven he decreed that lucero be imprisoned and held to answer at law nothing further was done however and the impatient citizens addressed a memorial to queen juana asking her to send some one to inform himself about it and report to her the action of the apostolic judge seems to have been regarded as a mere formality the months passed away and it was not until may eighteenth fifteen eight that the suprema took independent cognizance of the matter winzzy menes and his colleagues except aguirre all voted that lucero should be arrested peter martyr intimates more than once that numbers of the suprema were suspected of complicity with lucero and assures us that the council did not act without thorough investigation of numerous witnesses and interminable masses of documents revealing an incredible accumulation of impossible and fantastic accusations contrived to bring infamy on all spain

it was apparently the first time that an inquisitor had been thus publicly put on trial for official malfeasance and the opportunity was improved to render the spectacle a solemn one fitted not only to satisfy the national interest felt in the case but to magnify the office of the accused by the scale of the machinery employed to deal with him lucero was carried in chains to burgos where the court was in residence and was confined in the castle under strict guard ximenez assembled a congregacion catholica composed of twenty-one members besides himself including a large portion of the royal council the inquisitor-general of aragon and other inquisitors several bishops and various other dignitaries in short an imposing representation of the piety and learning of the land after numerous sessions presided over by ximenez sentence was rendered july ninth fifteen eight and was published august first at valladolid whither the court had removed in presence of ferdinand and his magnates and a great concourse assembled to lend solemnity to this restoration of the honour of castile and andalusia

which had been so deeply compromised by the pretended revelations extorted by lucero this weighty verdict declared that there were no grounds for the asserted existence of synagogues the preaching of sermons and the assemblies of missionaries of judaism or for the prosecution of those accused the witnesses or rather prisoners were discharged and everything relating to these fictitious crimes was ordered to be expunged from the records to complete the vindication of the memory of the victims ferdinand ordered the rebuilding of the houses which had been torn down under the provisions of the canon law requiring the destruction of the conventicles of heresy by implication the acquittal of the prisoners convicted lucero but all this was merely preliminary to his trial ferdinand's hand had been forced he had been obliged to yield to public opinion but his resolve was inflexible to undo as far as he could the results reached by in october he visited cordova where he rewarded some officials of the tribunal by grants out of the confiscated estates which should have been restored when the proceedings were annulled

it is true that the judge of confiscations licenciado simancas was suspended but in november fifteen nine he was ordered to resume his functions and to act as he had formerly done we happen to know that in fifteen thirteen the house of the unfortunate bachiller membreque was still in possession of the inquisition there was no relief for those who had suffered when the new inquisitor diego lopez de cortegano archdeacon of seville revoked lucero's sentence on the licenciado daza who had been penanced and his property confiscated the purchasers who had bought it complained of ferdinand and he expressed his wrath by promptly dismissing the inquisitor and ordering all the papers in the case to be sent to the suprema for review and action the vacancy thus created was not easy to fill for when in september fifteen nine ferdinand offered the place to alonso de mariana he declined saying that it would kill him

but he agreed to take the tribunal of toledo and it was not until february fifteen ten that the licenciado mondragon was transferred from valladolid to take cortegano's place in fact the interests involved in the confiscations were too many and too powerful for the victims to obtain justice martin alonso conchina had been condemned by lucero to reconciliation and confiscation when the pressure was removed he revoked his confession as having been exhorted by threats and fear whereupon the confiscated property was placed in sequestration awaiting the result unluckily for him one of the items a ground rent of nine thousand mrs a year had been given in april fifteen six to the unprincipled secretary with the result that one of the new inquisitors andre sanchez de torquemada promptly arrested conchina tried him again convicted him and sentenced him to perpetual imprisonment so that the confiscation

held good in the ground rent with all arrears was confirmed to calcena by a royal cedula of december twenty third fifteen nine there seems to have still been some obstacle to this reaction in the episcopal ordinary francisco de simancas archdeacon of cordova for in february of fifteen ten ferdinand wrote to the bishop that without letting it be known that the order came from the king he must be replaced with some one zealous for the furtherance of justice and a month later this command was peremptorily repeated it is true that the extravagant wickedness of lucero was scarce to be dreaded but with a tribunal reconstructed under such auspices the people of cordoba could not hope for justice tempered with mercy and its productive activity as evidenced by the large draughts made in fifteen ten on its receiver of confiscations we may assume that siemens has looked on this with disfavour for in a letter to ferdinand after his return from the expedition to oran in fifteen nine he supplicates that the decision of the congregation be maintained for he has never infringed it and never intends to do so as for the author of the evil lucero himself he was sent in chains to burgos with some of his accomplices ximenes as inquisitor-general had full power as we have seen to dismiss and punish them

but for some occult reason a papal commission for their trial was applied for this caused a lay under which ferdinand chafed for he wrote september thirtieth fifty nine to his ambassador complaining that it caused great inconvenience and ordering him to urge the pope to issue it at once so that it could be sent by the first courier when it came it empowered the suprema to try the case and ferdinand who warmly espoused lucero's cause expressed his feelings unequivocally in a letter of april seventh fifteen ten the prisoners say that they have been long in prison and those who informed against them have gone to portugal or other parts and others have been burnt or penanced as heretics showing clearly that they testified falsely and they supplicate me to provide that their trial be by inquisitorial and not by accusitorial process so that they shall not be exposed to greater infamy than hitherto by dead or perjured witnesses especially as the law provides that the trial be summary and directed only to reach the truth

there is great compassion for their long imprisonment and suffering wherefore i beg and charge you to look well into the matter and treat it conscientiously and with diligence for its speedy termination with which i shall be well pleased in spite of this urgency the trial dragged on much delay being caused by the difficulty of finding an advocate willing to undertake lucero's defence the suprema selected the bachiller de la torre but he declined to serve and ferdinand on may sixteenth expressed his fear that no one would assume the duty july nineteenth he writes that lucero complains that he still has no counsel and suggests that if none of the lawyers of the royal court can be trusted dr juan de orduña of valladolid be called in and his fees be paid by the inquisition the suggestion was adopted and on august twentieth ferdinand wrote personally to ordunna ordering him to take charge of the defence and see that lucero suffered no wrong and at the same time he wrote to the university of valladolid to give ordunna the requisite leave of absence under this royal pressure and considering that the adverse witnesses had been largely burnt or frightened in the flight it is perhaps rather credible to the suprema that it ventured to dismiss lucero

without inflicting further punishment on him he retired to the seville canonry which he had acquired by the ruin of the archdeacon of castro and there he ended his days in peace in fifteen fourteen for manifested his undiminished sympathy by a gift of fifteen thousand murs to juan carrasco the former portero of the tribunal of cortova to indemnify him for losses and sufferings which he claimed to have endured in the brison of fifteen six yet before we utterly condemn him for his share in this nefarious business we should make allowance for the influence of lucero's accomplice his secretary who was always at hand to poison his mind and draft his letters to the same malign obsession may doubtless also be attributed an order of charles v in fifteen nineteen requiring the cordovan authorities to bestow the first vacant scrivenorship on diego marino who had a lucero's notary chapter four part six