Reconciliation brought with it one alleviation, for the reconciled, as penitents, were entitled to the fuero of the Inquisition. This was derived from the penitential system of the Middle Ages, which deprived the penitent of bearing arms during the long series of years for which penance was imposed, and no one could be expected to assume it unless protected by the Church against his enemies. In this the Inquisition stood in the place of the Church, and cast its jurisdiction over its penitents during their term of penance. In 1501, we find a certain Pan Besante of Teruel, a _reconciliado_, to whom Ferdinand had restored his confiscated property, complaining to the king that he was persecuted and maltreated by his debtors and his neighbors, and that the inquisitors, to whom he had appealed for protection, neglected to aid him, whereupon Ferdinand promptly ordered them to come to his assistance, to enforce, by their officials, the payment of his just claims and to punish the aggressors.[414] So far was this carried that at Granada, in 1654, the reconciled penitents had an advantage in trade over the faithful, by claiming exemption from the _alcavala_, or royal tax on sales. When the citizens complained of this discrimination, the fiscal of the tribunal admitted that the question was a difficult one; to subject the penitents to the royal jurisdiction would give rise to great embarrassments, yet at the same time the inquisitorial jurisdiction ought to be a punishment and not a reward.[415] That it was a reward we have seen from the eagerness with which it was claimed by all who could put forward the slenderest pretext. [Sidenote: _THE PENITENTIAL PRISON_] THE PERPETUAL PRISON.