A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 2Lea, Henry Charles
History
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 2
Lea, Henry Charles
Inquisition -- Spain
When Philip at last acted on the power to name Carranza's judges he
appointed, March 13, 1561, Gaspar Zuñiga, Archbishop of Santiago who, on
May 2nd, subdelegated the work to Bishops Valtodano and Simancas, both
members of the Suprema and hostile to the prisoner. Carranza, as the
result of his recusation, thus found himself practically remanded to
Valdés, who was moreover shielded from direct responsibility. Carranza
naturally recused his new judges, on the ground that they had voted for
his arrest, but Philip airily dismissed the recusation, saying that if
this were just cause no judge could try a culprit whose apprehension he
had ordered.[198] In the following June Carranza was allowed to select
counsel--a special favor for, as a rule, the accused was restricted to
one or two lawyers who held appointments under the tribunal. He chose
Martin de Azpilcueta and Alonso Delgado and also Doctors Santander and
Morales, though of these latter we hear nothing subsequently.
Azpilcueta, known also as Doctor Navarro, was one of the leading
canonists of the time and a man of the highest reputation. He served
faithfully to the end and probably thereby ruined his career in Spain,
for he remained in Rome as a papal penitentiary.
After nearly two years of imprisonment the formal trial began July 30th
and proceeded in most leisurely fashion. The rules of the Inquisition
required three monitions to be given within ten days after arrest, but
Valtodano and Simancas administered the first monition to discharge his
conscience by confession on July 30th, the second on August 25th and the
third on August 29th. He replied that for two years he had been desirous
of learning the cause of his arrest and begging to be informed, which
showed how ignorant he was of inquisitorial practice, for this was
sedulously concealed from the accused, who was sternly ordered to search
his conscience and earn mercy by confession. Then, on September 1st, the
fiscal presented the accusation, in thirty-one articles, to each of
which the accused was required to make answer on the spot. After this a
copy was given to him on which to frame a more formal defence and for
this he asked to have access to his papers--a fruitless request, for it
was not the style of the Inquisition to allow the accused to have means
of justifying himself.[199]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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