The Inquisition’s medieval origins can be traced

back to the 12th century when Pope Lucius III

instructed bishops to root out heresy in their

dioceses. Across Europe, agents of the Inquisi-

tion had the power to accuse, arrest, imprison,

torture, and execute suspected heretics.

The Inquisition officially came to Spain in

1478.Pope Sixtus IV authorized Isabella of Cas-

tile and Ferdinand of Aragon to identify heretics

to strengthen Catholic orthodoxy in Spain. The

two Catholic monarchs had recently conquered

territory in Andalusia, in southern Spain, the

outposts of a Muslim presence that had endured

for more than seven centuries. It had produced

one of the most sophisticated scholarly and ar-

tisticculturesinmedievalEurope.Tosecuretheir

hold on these“reconquered”lands,the monarchs

founded the Holy Office of the Inquisition. The

office was overseen by the grand inquisitor

whose jurisdiction included Spain and all of its

territories, including those in the Americas.

The Spanish Inquisition aimed to create spir-

itual and national unity through the Catholic

Church. In addition to large numbers of Mus-

lims, 15th-century Spain was home to a strong

Jewish community, one of the first targets of

the grand inquisitor. In 1492 Ferdinand and Is-

abella issued an edict that ordered Spanish Jews

to convert or be exiled; historians believe that

more than 160,000 Jews“chose”exile.Jews who

converted were typically viewed with suspicion;

some were accused of being Marranos,Jews who

feigned baptism and covertly practiced Judaism.

In the 16th century Spain began targeting its

Muslim community in earnest. In the 1520s

Muslims became subject to forced conversions.

As with the Jewish community, Muslims who

had converted, the Moriscos, were often per-

secuted. By 1614 approximately 300,000 were

exiled from Spain.As the Inquisition continued,

the Holy Office also targeted sinners,free think-

ers, the mentally ill, and homosexuals.

The testimonies of the people who lived

through the Spanish Inquisition reveal the per-

sonal dimension of living in a climate of para-

noia, desperation, and fear. From 1478 until the

Spanish Inquisition’s official end in 1834,Span-

iards across all social classes were vulnerable to

the expanding reach of the Holy Office. They

could be labeled heretics,lose their property,be

imprisoned and tortured, and even be execute

—all in the name of faith.

ISLAMIC ART

IN SPAIN

A 10th-century ivory

pyx (casket) bears

the name of the son

of the caliph Abd

ar-Rahman III.

His capital, the

Andalusian city of

Córdoba, was, at the

time, the largest city

in Europe.

WERNER FORMAN/GTRES

FAITH

AND

OPPRESSION

1184

Pope Lucius III

lays the

groundwork for

the Inquisition

throughout

Europe.

1834

Following se

suppressions

and restoratio

the Spanish

Inquisition is

abolished.

1808-09

Napoleon

suspends the

Inquisition in

Spain. After his

1814 withdrawal,

it is restored.

1478

The Spanish

Inquisition begins.

Persecution of

Jews will extend

to Muslims and

Protestants.

POPE SIXTUS IV,WHO AUTHORIZED THE SPANISH INQUISITION.

PORTRAIT BY TITIAN (1546). UFFIZI GALLERY, FLORENCE

SCALA, FLORENCE

L

asting more than 350 years, the Spanish Inqu

sition left behind a legacy of cruelty, intoleranc

and inhumanity. The rulers of Spain arrested, tor

tured, and executed thousands of their own peo

ple in pursuit of power and national unity. The sto

ries of the Inquisition’s victims reveal a climate of fear an

paranoia that took root in a time devoid of religious freedom

ISLAMIC ART

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be

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