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Summary
Summary
This is the story of 350 years of terror. Established by papal bull in 1478, the first task of the Spanish Inquisition was to question Jewish converts to Christianity and to expose and execute those found guilty of reversion. Authorities then turned on Spanish Jews in general, sending 300,000 into exile. Next in line were humanists and Lutherans. No rank was exempt. Children informed on their parents, merchants on their rivals, and priests upon their bishops. Those denounced were guilty unless they could prove their innocence. Nearly 32,000 people were publicly burned at the stake; the "fortunate" ones were flogged, fined, or imprisoned. Joseph P#65533;rez tells the history of the Spanish Inquisition from its medieval beginnings to its nineteenth-century ending. He discovers its origins in fear and jealousy and its longevity in usefulness to the state. He explores the inner workings of its councils, and shows how its officers, inquisitors, and leaders lived and worked. He describes its techniques of interrogation and torture, and shows how it refined displays of punishment as instruments of social control. The author ends his fascinating account by assessing the impact of the Inquisition over three and a half centuries on Spain's culture, economy, and intellectual life.
Author Notes
Joseph P#65533;rez is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Bordeaux and Honorary Director of the Velazquez Museum in Madrid. His previous books include a history of Spain under Philip II and biographies of Ferdinand and Isabella and Emperor Charles V. Janet Lloyd has translated more than fifty books and was twice awarded the Scott Moncrieff prize for best translation of a full-length French work of literary merit and general interest.
Reviews (1)
Choice Review
To encapsulate into roughly 250 pages the history of an institution that lasted over three centuries is a daunting task. Perez, a noted historian of early modern Spain (emer., Univ. of Bordeaux), has produced an objective, scholarly, and eminently usable overview of the origins, administration, operations, and impact of the Spanish Inquisition. Lower-level undergraduates will appreciate the clear explanations of how the Holy Office, at the same time a representative of both state and ecclesiastical power, interacted with Spain's royal, papal, episcopal, and local authorities such as the Aragonese fueros and the Castilian cortes. Those more conversant with the Inquisition's general history will be challenged by the author's argument that its institutionalized persecution differentiated Spain from other contemporaneous European societies' intolerance and repression. Equally fascinating is Perez's contention that the Holy Office, given its mixed nature (a state-sponsored ecclesiastical court), foreshadowed modern totalitarianism--an argument begging for an exploration of either the connections between this institution and Robespierre's Republic of Virtue, or the similarities between Spain's "blood purity" practices and the later development of racial anti-Semitism. Sadly, the conclusion fails to summarize or explore the many important points raised by this study. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. All academic levels/libraries. R. T. Ingoglia Felician College
