A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 4Lea, Henry Charles
History
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 4
Lea, Henry Charles
Inquisition -- Spain
He started, as we have seen, on May 22, 1611, with the Edict of Grace;
his work was thoroughly conscientious and he did not return until
January 10, 1612, after which he employed himself, until March 24th, in
drawing up his report to the Suprema, which was accompanied with the
original papers, amounting to more than five thousand folios. It will be
remembered that an Edict of Grace was published in 1610 with little or
no result. In contrast with this, showing the effect of a different
spirit in its administration, Salazar received eighteen hundred and two
applicants, of whom thirteen hundred and eighty-four were children of
from twelve to fourteen years of age and, besides these, there were
eighty-one who revoked confessions previously made. All applicants for
reconciliation made full confessions of misdeeds, after kindly warning
of the obligation to tell the truth and the danger of committing
perjury, and were promised secrecy to relieve them of fear. The enormous
mass of evidence thus collected Salazar carefully analyzed and presented
under four heads--I, the manner in which witches go to the aquelarre,
remain and return; II, the things they do and endure; III, the external
proofs of these things; IV, the evidence resulting for the punishment of
the guilty. The first two of these present a curious medley of marvels,
such as holding aquelarres in the sea without being wet, and the
testimony of three women that, after intercourse with the demon, in a
few hours they gave birth to large toads; but we need not dwell on these
feats of imaginative invention. The importance of the report lies in the
last two sections.
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