A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 3Lea, Henry Charles
History
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 3
Lea, Henry Charles
Inquisition -- Spain
The presidio continued as a punishment under the Restoration, but cases
were so rare that there was question as to the reception of the convicts
in their places of destination. In 1818, the Seville tribunal sentenced
three persons--two for propositions and one for bigamy--to two years'
service in Ceuta or Melilla, and it asked the Suprema to get the
minister of war to issue orders to the governors to receive them. The
Suprema replied that this was the business of the tribunal; it must do
as on former occasions, and if necessary could write to the governors.
The _forçats_ were duly received and, it is pleasant to add that, in six
months, the Suprema humanely remitted the punishment in order that they
might return and support their families. For this an order from the
secretary of the Council of War was required and procured.[400]
For women, the equivalent of the galleys was service without pay in
hospitals, houses of correction and similar institutions. Apparently
these female convicts were not always regarded as desirable inmates and
though, in the pre-revolutionary times, no opposition was ventured,
under the Restoration there was sometimes difficulty in securing their
admission. In 1819 the Seville tribunal appealed to the Suprema,
representing that it had been unable thus to dispose of Juana de Luna,
for the same reasons which it had experienced in the cases of Ana
Barbero and Leonor Macias. The Inquisition inspired no such terror as of
old, for the Suprema could suggest no means of overcoming the
difficulty, and could only instruct the tribunal to devise some method
of executing its sentences.[401]
* * * * *
It is not to the credit of the Roman Inquisition that it followed the
example of the Spanish and included the galleys in its list of
punishments. Carena, indeed, tells us that it was the most usual of all
and was the customary penalty in a wide variety of offences.[402]
RECONCILIATION.
That reconciliation to the Church, which was represented as a loving
mother, eager to welcome back to her bosom her erring children, should
be regarded as a punishment, seems a contradiction in terms, yet so it
was, and the Suprema did not hesitate to speak of those "who had been
condemned to reconciliation."[403] It would not be easy to invent a more
emphatic illustration of the perversion of the spirit of religion by
persecuting fanaticism.
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