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
Subsequent Córtes were held at Monzon and Lérida, where the popular
dissatisfaction found expression in further complaints and demands,
leading to some concessions on the part of Ferdinand. The temper of the
people was rising and manifested itself in occasional assaults,
sometimes fatal, on inquisitorial officials, to facilitate the
punishment of which Leo X, by a brief of January 28, 1515, authorized
inquisitors to try such delinquents and hand them over to the secular
arm for execution, without incurring the "irregularity" consequent on
judgements of blood.[709] Ferdinand was too shrewd to provoke his
subjects too far; he recognized that the overbearing arrogance of the
inquisitors and their illegal extension of their authority gave great
offence, even to the well-affected, and he was ready to curb their
petulance. A case occurring in May, 1515, shows how justifiable were the
popular complaints and gave him opportunity to administer a severe
rebuke. It was the law in Aragon that, when the Diputados appointed any
one as lieutenant to the Justicia, if he refused to serve they were to
remove his name from the lists of those eligible to public office. A
certain Micer Manuel, so appointed, refused to serve and to escape the
penalty procured from the inquisitors of Saragossa letters prohibiting,
under pain of excommunication, the Diputados from striking off his name.
This arbitrary interference with public affairs gave great offence and
Ferdinand sharply told the inquisitors not to meddle with matters that
in no way concerned their office; the Diputados were under oath to
execute the law and the letters must be at once revoked.[710] Finally he
recognized that the demands of the Córtes of Monzon had been justified
and that he had done wrong in violating the Concordia of 1512. One of
his latest acts was a cédula of December 24, 1515, announcing to the
inquisitors that he had applied to the Holy See for confirmation of the
agreements made and sworn to in the Córtes of Monzon and Lérida; there
was no doubt that this would speedily be granted, wherefore he straitly
commanded, under pain of forfeiture of office, that the articles must
not be violated in any manner, direct or indirect, but must be observed
to the letter; the inquisitor-general had agreed to this and would swear
to comply with the bull when it should come.[711]
[Sidenote: _FURTHER DEMANDS_]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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