A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 1Lea, Henry Charles
History
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 1
Lea, Henry Charles
Inquisition -- Spain
Before it was despatched, however, Ferdinand's position had changed with
the arrival in Spain of his daughter Juana, now Queen of Castile, and
her husband Philip of Austria. Eager to throw off Ferdinand's iron rule
and to win the favor of the new sovereigns, most of the nobles had
flocked to them and with them the Conversos, who hoped to secure a
modification in the rigor of the Inquisition. They had been aroused by
the sufferings of their brethren in Córdova, whose cause was their own,
and they were becoming an element not to be disregarded in the political
situation; they had already secured a hearing in the Roman curia, always
ready, as we shall see hereafter, to welcome appellants with money and
to sacrifice them after payment received; they had obtained from Julius
II commissions transferring from the Inquisition cognizance of certain
cases--commissions which Ferdinand repeatedly asked the pope to withdraw
and doubtless with success, as they do not appear in the course of
events; they had even approached Ferdinand himself, while in Valladolid,
with an offer of a hundred thousand ducats if he would suspend the
Inquisition until the arrival of Juana and Philip. This offer, he says
in a letter of June 9, 1506, to Rojas, he spurned, but we may perhaps
doubt his disinterestedness when he adds that, as Philip has disembarked
and is unfamiliar with Spanish affairs, he had secretly ordered Deza to
suspend the operations of all the tribunals--the motive of which
evidently was to create the belief that Philip was responsible for it.
As for Talavera, he adds, as it would greatly scandalize the new
converts of Granada, if they thought there were errors of faith in him
whom they regarded as so good a Christian, he had concluded to let the
matter rest for the present and would subsequently send
instructions.[545] He evidently had no belief in Lucero's fabricated
evidence, a fact to be borne in mind when we consider his attitude in
the ultimate developments of the affair. This despatch, of course,
reached Rojas too late to prevent the issuing of the commission to try
Talavera, but it explains why that document was suppressed when it
arrived. Deza denied receiving it; it disappeared and Talavera, in his
letter of January 23, 1507, to Ferdinand, manifests much anxiety to know
what had become of it, evidently dreading that it would be opportunely
found when wanted.
[Sidenote: _THE INQUISITION SUCCUMBS_]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account