History - Spain - Philip Ii, 1556-98: Religion

Front 1

Religious background

Back 1

. Philip was very devout and inherited the title of 'Catholic King' first granted to hsi great-grandfather

. The Escorial Palace included a Jeronomite monastery and a seminary - His bed in the royal apartment in Escorial was in view of the High Altar of its church

. He heard mass daily and went into retreat at a monastery each Holy Week

. That he was devout, is not debated by historians - But its key to know whether his domestic/foreign policies were driven by religion, or more secualr concerns

. Philip inherited great control over the Spanish Church - Control of Church appointments, revenue and the Spanish Inquisition

. The Spanish Crown controlled the Church "more completely than in any part of Europe including Protestant countries" - Lynch

Front 2

Jesuits - Overview

Back 2

. The Jesuits did a lot of good work in Spain driving the Counter Reformation forward and improving the standard of Catholicism

. However, from the 1570s onwards (and to some extent before that), Philip greatly resented the 'foreign' allegiance that the Jesuits had to the Pope

. Thus, the battle for control of the Jesuits between Philip and the papacy was fierce and can be analysed when assessing Philip's religious/political motives

Front 3

Jesuits 1

Back 3

. Jesuits were founded by Basque soldier Ignatius Loyola in 1534 and granted papal approval in 1540

. Their initial aim to retake Jerusalem for Christianity was soon modified to devote their efforts to education of the masses and reinvigoration of the Catholic Church with a missionary zeal

. They spread the Christian word to South America, India and Japan and did a lot of good work in Spain in driving the Counter Reformation

. They appealed to powerful Spanish nobles - Francisco Borja, the Duke of Gandia and viceroy of Catalonia, became its third general and was crucial in setting up the educational arm of the Jesuits

. Kamen suggests Jesuits were outstanding in their work of conversion among the upper classes and for their intellectual contribution to the Council of Trent

. They also did a lot of good missionary work with the common people of Spain - e.g. Jesuit, Pedro de Leon, worked all over Andalucia and Extramadura

Front 4

Jesuits 2

Back 4

. But the situation regarding Jesuits caused friction with the papacy - In the 1560s and 1570s, Philip fully supported the Jesuits in Spain under Spanish leadership and realised they had an important role in the Catholic revival

. Loyola (died 1556) and his two successors as leader were Spanish (Diego Lainez and Francis Borja) - In 1558, over 70% of the General Congregation of Jesuits were Spanish (good for Philip so far!)

. But all Jesuits had to take a vow of loyalty to the papacy and there was a central executive (general in Rome) as opposed to the more federal structure of other orders - this irked Philip who icnreasingly saw the Jesuits as papal agents

. Conflicts arose with the papacy as Philip sought to nationalise the order and make it purely Spanish

. Under Philip, a group of Spanish Jesuits, with his support, tried to resist the centralising tendenc of the movement and create a more national Spanish Jesuit movement not under control from Rome

. High political games between Philip and the papacy

Front 5

Jesuits 3

Back 5

. Tension was highest under the foreign leadership of the Belgian, Everard Mercurian (1573-81) and the Neapolitan, Claudio Aquaviva (1581-1615) - Their arch-rivals in Spain, the Dominicans, led bu Cardinal Siliceo, saw the Jesuits as papal agents

. In 1586 under Sixtus V, the Dominican controlled Spanish Inquisition denounced Antonio Marceau, the Jesuit leader of the Toledo Tribunal for nto reporting a case of another Jesuit - accused of relations with women and for expelling the informer from the Society

. Marceau was arrested and Philip called upon the Pope to revise its constitution and reduce the power of its Italian general - Sixtus refused and ordered Marceau's release

Front 6

Jesuits 4

Back 6

. The real 'trial of strength' (Lynch) came in 1587, when Philip obtained the Pope's approval for the appointment of the Spanish bishop of Cartagena to carry out a visitation of the Spanish Jesuits - in order to remove them from papal obedience and control

. In the end, the attempt failed and the Jesuits still did good work in Spain; most Spanish Jesuits remained compliant to the royal will - In 1588, Aquaviva convinced the pope to suspend the action

. In 1593, Clement VIII actually succeeded in getting a full investigation of Jesuit activities - the outcome was a loss for Philip

. Aquaviva held onto power and expelled some troublesome Spanish Jesuits who he accused as being 'false sons' of Jewish/Moorish descent

. Philip ultimately failed to 'nationalise' the Jesuits and brign them under the control of the Spanish Inquisition

. But the Jesuits were still important in improving Spanish Catholicism - Jesuit colleges, preachign and missions were found in every important town and helped the revival of Spanish Catholicism enormously

Front 7

Relations with the papacy 1

Back 7

. There is major debate about whether Philip's relations with various popes prove that he was acting with political, rahter than religious. motivations

. The popes saw Philip using his prestige as a Catholic sovereign to pursue political aims

. Philip II would disagree and see religion as a main driver of his policies

. There was considerable friction between Philip II and the papacy over foreign polciy, Philip's control of the Spanish Church and the Jesuits

. There was conflict between Spain and almost every Pope under Philip - Some Popes didn't like the secular motives of Philip's foreign policy and each side accuesed each other of pursuing their own interests

. Philip saw himself as God's representative on Earth and not a papal agent

Front 8

Relations with the papacy 2

Back 8

. In 1589, Sixtus V argued that Philip's foreign policy was for 'the security and aggrandisement of his domnions' and not to help Catholicism - religion was just a 'pretext' for foreign policy of Spain

. Philip's relations with Sixtus were particularly bad, but there were conflicts with virtually every pope - Thus, the two main halves of the Counter Reformation were nto working in perfect harmony

. Philip told Pius V in 1566 that 'rather than suffer the least damage to religion...I would lose all my lives and a hundred lives if I had them' - This was written to his ambassador in Rome for papal consumption and because he was nto doign hwat the pope wanted and going to the Nehterlands to deal with revolt in person

Front 9

Philip and papal relations on England 1

Back 9

. Lynch argues categorically that 'political and not religious considerations' were Philip's priority - Initially Philip was guided by political considerations and refused to align with the Papacy

. Philip twice thwarted the excommunication of Elizabeth (1561 and 1563 Pius IV) and for much fo the reign he had good relations with England

. Even in 1570 when Pius V did excommunicate Elizabeth, Philip refused to have it published in Spain and tried to stop it getting to England

. Philip claimed that it would make England more Protestant and lead to persecution of Catholic, but real motive seems to have been the preservation of the Anglo-Spanish alliance against France and the defence of his interests in the Low Countries, Portugal and the Americans of greater priority

. The lack of substantial Spanish support for Mary Queen of Scots was also due to her links with France (half-French and had been briefly Queen) - On this Philip seemed to be driven by political motives

Front 10

Philip and papal relations on England 2

Back 10

. In the 1570s, Philip refused to listen to Popes who wanted him to invade England - when he did commit in 1588, it was due to English aggression against Spain in the Netherlands and the Caribbean rather than a crusade agaisnt heresy

. Philip also knew that the Papacy expected him to bear the financial burden of such a campaign - In 1587, Philip demanded 1 million ducats from Sixtus V that he said had been promised in 1587 for the Armada campaign

. Sixtus responded by saying it was not applicable as he wasn't successful and that he had always urged caution with England, also that the Armada was a bad idea with Philip's only aim being to add to his empire

. This annoyed Philip and linked to the death of Henrry II and the Henry of Navarre issue - in 1589 Philip mobilised troops to invade Italy, crisis was only averted in 1590 with the death of Sixtus and then two pro-Spanish popes, Urban VII (1590) and Gregory XIV (1590-91)

. The election of pro-French Clemet VIII (1592-1605) who formally recognised Henry of Navarre as King humiliated Philip

. Philip had always appreciated the need for good relations with the Pope and spent considetable time and effort ensuring a pro-Spanish party in the Vatican - Cardinals were showered with bribes and he tried tointerfere with elecitons as much as possible this way

Front 11

Philip and papal relations over the Dutch Revolt

Back 11

. Philip also clashed with the papacy over methods to suppress Dutch rebels - In 1566 Pius IV urged Philip to go to the Netherlands and sent a special ambassador to investigate the situation there

. Philip did nto go and objected to the legate - Pius V wanted a peaceful settlement but Philip thought he needed to use force

. When the Pope declared the problem religious, Philip argued it was about secular rebellion as then it would avoid conflict with Protestant England and other Protestant powers - also would allow Alba to recruit German Lutheran troops for his army

. Lynch argues that Philip was fighting for his political inheritance in the Low Countries mainly, although concedes he still had good religious motives

. Philip argued that playing down the religious motives made more political sense as he didn't want to provoke other Protestant powers - Gradually though he came to openly talk more about the revolt in religious terms, speaking of 'rebels and heretics' in correspondence to his governors in Brussels

. After the death of Don John, Farnese continued to speak of 'rebels and heretics' and in letters by soldiers and Spanish chronicles always called the royal army 'the Catholic army'

Front 12

Relations over France

Back 12

. From 1556-59 Philip was at war with the violently anti-Spanish pope Neapolitan Paul IV who was allied with France and briefly even excommunicated Philip

. Later Popes, not as extreme but were wary of Spanish power in Italy, looked to counter this by backing Spain's enemies

. There was a major fall out between Philip and the papacy over Henry of Navarre (Henry IV of France) - Philip incensed when Clement VIII recognised Henry IV as King of France after he reconverted to Catholicism

. Philip was still fighting Henry at the time - This problem was still unresolved at Philip's death in 1598

Front 13

Relations over the Turkish threat

Back 13

. They clashed over the fact that Philip would not follow up the 1571 Lepanto victory with a full crusade against the Turks in the Eastern Mediterranean as urged by Pius V - Philip wanted to consolidate in the Western Mediterranean

. This led to further clashes with Gregory XIII after a truce was announced with the Turks in 1578 and the pope threatened to end the cruzada tax

. In the build up to Lepanto, Pius V had to bend to Philip as he was the only monarch who would help him against the Turks, and he knew he was hard-pressed after the Morisco Revolt and the Dutch Revolt, so he not only renewed the cruzada but also the subsidio on the Spanish clergy for the next 5 years

. In 1580, Philip annexed Portugal despite the papal endorsement of a rival claimant

Front 14

Iberia 1

Back 14

. In Iberia, the main point of argument was Philip's insistence that he controlled the Spanish Church, not the papacy

. 1559-76 Carranza case: Became a case study for ecclesiastical power between the Pope and Philip - Pope insisted Carranza be tried in Rome for heresy and eventually Philip did yield

. Carranza first imprisoned for 7 years in Spain by Inquisitor General Valdes - It is likely Valdes had a major political motivation and resented Carranza's successful career

. The Inquisition refused to hand him over to Pope Pius V who demanded he had a fair trial away from Spain - In 1566, Pius V refused to grant Philip the cruzada so Philip backed down and transferred to Rome - but Philip insisted that he be allowed to send some inquisitorial officials to help out in the court

. Thus, the decision was delayed for 9 years and three popes, as Philip's men, managed to keep on stalling the case - after admitting a few minor errors he was set free and died two months later

Front 15

Iberia 2

Back 15

. The Carranza case shows Philip's stubborn support of his Inquisition in the face of the papacy - This hurt the Castilian Church as they were without an Archbishop of Toledo for 8 years (Philip took the revenue though)

. Furthermore, the papacy was frustrated by the fact that no Tridentine decree (1564) would be published in Spain unless vetted by the Council of Castile and Philip's lawyers

. According to Lynch, this was important because if Philip reserved the right to check papal bulls and briefs in Spain then if he was ever excommunicated he could not publish it and punish those by Spanish law that tried

. In November 1567, Pius V's edict against bullfighting was ignored

. In 1572 it was decreed that all papal briefs before ecclesiastical courts in Spain should be ignored

. In 1582, the papacy complained about Philip sending royal officials to the Church synod in Toledo

Front 16

Iberia 3

Back 16

. The Crown used the Council of Castile as an ecclesiastical court and consistently opposed appeals to Rome

. In 1578, Philip wrote to his ambassador in Rome 'Secular princes are not bound to carr out the mandates of the Pope in temporal matters'

. For Philip, it was obvious that royal control over the Church had led to triumphs against the Jews, Moors and Protestants - he did not want to lose rights gained by his predecessors

. The papcy resented Philip's control over appointment in Spain, that meant that Spanish clegy had to be loyal to Philip if they wanted promotion

. The Spanish inquisition was also completely under Philip's control and he used vacant sees to increase royal income - e.g. In the case of the Carranza case, Philip pocketed a share of the Archbishop's revenues even though the see was not vacant, and he expected considetable financial rewards from newly appointed clerics

. Philip enjoyed exclusive patronage over the highest ecclesiastical offices and collected 50% of the total clerical revenue in addition to vacant see incomes

Front 17

Iberia 4

Back 17

. Lynch argues that Crown domination of the Church was 'probably more complete in Spain than in any other part of Europe including Protestant countries'

. Von Habsburg argues that Philip never overstepped the mark with popes as he needed their financial and moral support at various times

. Philip's foreign policy, in the Mediterranean and Low Countries, coincided with the Popes - Both despised Calvinism in the Low Countries although Philip saw the revolt as political rebellion where the papacy saw it driven by religion

. Lotherington further stresses this theme of neither side pushing each other to breakingpoint and uses the Carranza case to show how, although neither would fully back down, they comprised

. Carranza was the pawn in the game and was kept in prison for 17 years (Spain and Rome)

. The Pope had not released him earlier as he needed Philip's support against the Turks and to drive the Counter Reformation - Philip allowed his release to Rome in 1566 as he needed the cruzada tax

Front 18

Debate of Philip's foreign policy aims

Back 18

. Geoffrey Parker has argued that Philip's sense of religious mission crucially shaped foreign and imperial policy

. He calls this attitude 'messianic imperialism' with three elements - that God had chosen him to rule for His purpose; that God would protect him; that God would intervene to help him succeed

. Kamen denies that Philip was a religious fanatic but admits that in his old age he became more obsessed with relgiion, quoting a 1590 statement by Philip that 'The cause of religion has been and is my principal guide in everything I have done and do'

. On the other hand some historians charge Philip with using Catholicism as a cloak for national and dynastic ambitions - e.g. Philip claimed Lepanto as a triumph for Catholicism agaisnt militant Islam, but then signed a truce in 1578 proving to be no crusader and that national interests came first

Front 19

Council of Trent and Tridentine Decrees (1564) overview 1

Back 19

. Kamen states that Spanish Catholicism was 'revolutionised' by Tridentine Decrees - There were achievements made, but most agree more with Woodward that 'the condition of the Spanish Church appears to have been largely unreformed by the end of the century'

. There were 3 sessions at Trent from 1545-63, the Church in response to Protestantism

. The Tridentine Decrees were ratified by the pope in January 1564 and issued on 12th July by philip in Spain - The third session, 1562-63, is the one we are really interested in

Front 20

Council of Trent and the Tridentine Decrees (1564) overview 2

Back 20

. There was a strong Spanish presence in the final session (1562-63), estimated at 130 Spaniards of high quality - including Cardinal Pacheco, Dominicans Melchor Cano and Domingo de Soto, Jesuits Lainez and Alfonso Salmeron

. Spanish theologians and bishops argued that Spanish bishops would be more effective to promote reform in Spain rather than agents of Rome

. Decrees ratified by Pius IV in 1564 and published in Spain, but philip was hesitant at first as he didn't want the power of the Crown reduced - so the decrees were implemented but at a speed that suited Philip

. Philip made it clear that he would introduce the decrees in Spain, not the Pope

Front 21

Religious situation in 1556 (1)

Back 21

. Little had been done by Charles to improve the standard of Catholicism in Spain - Heresy was not a major problem in 1556 but the clergy was uneducated and poorly paid (30 ducats/year) so pluralism developed

. Many of the clergy were absentee and the quality of bishops and Archbishops varied - Absenteeism was rife e.g. In 1549 in Barcenlona, only 6 out of 67 parish priests were resident

. Rules about clerical celibacy were flouted - perhaps 1 out of 5 of the clergy lived with a woman in Barcelona in 1562 and many more had the occasional dalliance

. Clergy were generally ill-educated and many reformers likened the standard of Catholicism as similar to the New World - These problems were not fully solved by Philip

. Bishops were often non-resident and were employed in the service of the King - e.g. Hernando de Valdes, Archbishop of Seville from 1546-68, rarely visited his see in his tenure of office; Cardinal Mendoza of Burgos only took up residence in 1564, 14 years after appointment

Front 22

Religious situation in 1556 (2)

Back 22

. In contrast to the impoverished clergy, some bishops were massively and dominated through noble families - e.g. the Archbishop of Toledo was at the top with income of 200,000 ducats/year (other bishops were 15-30,000/year)

. The spiritual development of ordinary Catholics had been neglected by 1556

. Coria Cathedral in Estramadura was not unusual in claiming it had soil from the crib at Bethlehem and Mount Olive and the tablecloth of the Last Supper - despite the best efforts of Philip, these superstitions continued

. There were too many parishes in towns and not enough in rural areas - The overlap of jurisdiction between church, religious orders, lords, bishops, inqusition and town authorities was a major obstacle to Catholic reform

. Many laymen also had the right to appoint priests

Front 23

The Tridentine Decrees 1

Back 23

. Tradition stressed by the decrees: The Latin Vulgate Bible was to be the official version

. Mass was to become the central focus of worship

. Variations in liturgy were abolished and a new missal was introduced (book containing the prayers and customs of the Catholic Church)

. This all led to a greater uniformity of service across Spain but still had huge regional variations

. As late as 1588 in Mallorca, it was reported that less than a third of the clergy were using the official services

. Role of bishops strengthened: Bishops were to live in their benefices, hold regualr meetings of their clegy, carry out visitations, preach regularly, monitor the quality of religious orders, set up seminaries to rain priests

. Six provincial synods met in 1565, but then tailed off after that - Moreover, only 20 seminaries were up and running by 1598 which was far too few

Front 24

The Tridentine Decrees 2

Back 24

. Priests were to: receive more education via seminaries - but there were only 20 new seminaries set up under Philip, which was too few to make a major impact and thus the education level of the Spanish clergy remained amongst the lowest in Europe

. Preach every Sunday; keep records of marriages, births and deaths; live in their parish (not to be absentee), not to have more than one parsih (pluralism), record church attendence, not get involved at wedding parties, censor painting

. Priests were to make sure all churches were only used for religious services and not local parties, and to whitewash walls and wear distinctive vestments

. Again, the effectiveness of these reforms was not uniform across Spain (therefore a mixed result) - Many of the clergy in Mallorca in 1578 were still refusing to wear the clerical vestments

Front 25

Analysis of the clergy 1

Back 25

. Rawlings argues that divisions of authority between lay and church patrons at local level made reform inconsistent - while inaccessibility obstructed the missions to remote, rural areas where there were no priests

. In Orense, the bishop had control of only 70 of the 700 benefices and in Oviedo all monasteries were lay foundations that did not recognise the authority of the bishop

. There was much opposition from the clergy and laity - Powerfule cathedral chapters resented the new powers bishops had over them

. In vast areas of Spain, the local people remained wedded to local customs, saints, processions and carnivals, resisting officials orders to ban them

. The Inquisition records in the 1590s were still full of numerous complaitns against poor Christian understanding - In 1572 one inquisitor in Galicia claimed that the region 'has no priests or lettered persons or impressive churches or people who are used to going to mass and hearing sermons...'

Front 26

Analysis of the clergy 2

Back 26

. Woodward states that the impact of the Counter Reformation 'should not be exaggerated' and that there was great regional variation depending on the quality of the bishop and clergy - Moors still unconverted, wages of priests low

. Philip also took full advantage of Church financial potential and collected up to 50% of its revenues - Cruzada and subsidio remained lucrative taxes and this impacted on the effectiveness of the reforms

. A Jesuit priest in Huelva ocmplained that 'many live in caves, without priests or sacraments; so ignorant that some cannot make the sign of the cross; in their dress and way of life very like Indians'

. Kamen goes as far as to suggest - 'over much of Spain, Christianity was still only a vener'

Front 27

Analysis of the clergy 3

Back 27

. There were some outstanding bishops but they were thinly spread across Spain - the visitation of the Spanish town of Mediona in 1574 was the first for a century. The state did not possess the resources to ensure nationwide compliance

. In rural Spain, the Inquisition adopted less rigorous standards as they argued that most of those arrested were ignorant and uneducated, not heretics - This proved Philip's reforms were not universal

. However there were some improvements - There was a strong emphasis on increasing the power and efficiency of the bishops; 6 new bishoprics in Aragon and Burgos in Castile were uprgraded to Archbishopric in 1572 and Valladolid made a bishopric in 1595

. The calibre of the bishops improved but that was not fully realised as bishops were often needed for government decisions

Front 28

Analysis of the clergy 4

Back 28

. There was a greater degree of uniformity in Church service across Spain achieved by Trent, although by no means perfect regionally

. Woodward states some successes, ssuch as the foundation of 12 Franciscan convents in La Mancha, 17 monasteries in Madrid and over 80 Discalced houses all over Spain after the new order of Discalced Carmelites founded by Teresa of Avila in 1562

. Kamen points ot major spiritual creativity under Philip - mainly driven by the Jesuits and Augustinians and the Dominican Luis de Granada, the most influential writer according to Kamen

. His 1544 Book of Prayer went through 100 editions from 1554-1679, making it the most successful book of the Counter Reformation

. Inquisitorial records from Toledo and Cuenca prove that there was some increase in relgious understanding - In 1555, 40% could recite the Lord's Prayer to 82% in 1600 (must be set against lack of progress in rural areas)

Front 29

Analysis of the clergy 5

Back 29

. Kamen stresses the huge differences pre- and post-Tridentine Decrees - that worshipers would see whitewashed walls in churches, paintings purged of sensuality, a pulpit if there were none before, strict separation of sexes in church

. Philip received papal approval to carry out drastic reform of conventual religious houses in 1566 and he dissolved some houses and merged others - Force was used and there was some bitter opposition in some areas, but the result was a much more reformed set of religious orders with a firm ephasis on community and contemplative life

. Philip also worked to dissolve links between religious orders and foreing monasteries - e.g. In 1561 he secured the separation of the Spanish province of the Cistercian Order from the jurisdiction of Citeaux in France

Front 30

Analysis of the clergy 6

Back 30

. Gaspar de Quiroga (another key reformer) - From 1558 he was an inspector of monasteries in Naples and Sicily, Bishop of Cuena 1572 and Inquisitor Genral from 1573, 1577 Archbishop of Toledo and Cardinal in 1578

. Quiroga was a resident bishop who set the standards by his own frugal liveing - he promoted education in his diocese and worked closely with the Augustinian and Jesuit order

. He used revenues from his see to help bring about important changes in Toledo despite low levels of literacy

. Lynch says Philip also liked him for political reasons as he fully supported royal prerogative in church matters

. Similarly, Archbishop Juan de Ribera began a financial scheme from 1568 to raise his priest's incomes, helped found a seminary and college for Moriscos and devoted himself to church reform for 43 years

. In the Netherlands, Philip promoted a massive reorganisation of the Church in the 1560s - 13 new bishoprics

. This would have made the Church more effective but alienated the Dutch nobility and the existing Church, giving rise to fears fo an Inqusition being introduced - and contributed to the collaps of trust between Philip and his subjects

Front 31

Christian Mysticism

Back 31

. The aspect of Christian belief that prepares the individual for a direct spiritual encounter with God

. Evidence of some fantastic religious devotion/intellectual thought under Phlip

Front 32

St Teresa of Avila (1515-82)

Back 32

. Very influential in driving religious reform - masterminded the reform of the Carmelite order and it led to a notable rise in new communities

. Her 'Life' became influential and opular - Philip kept a copy by his bed

. She founded the Discalced Carmelites in 1562 and by 1590, founded 81 convents and priories across Spain

. She was briefly investigated by the Seville Inquisition in 1576 (converso roots) but she enjoyed the protection of Philip

. St John of the Cross (1542-91) a disciple of St Teresa, became a Discalced Carmelites and Luis Ponce de Leon (1527-91) was one of the last great mystics of Golden Age Spain

Front 33

Inquisition 1

Back 33

. The Council of Inquisition was based in MAdrid with 15 tribunals each with about 3 inquisitors, so not enormous numerically

. 1550s/60s Protestant scare - this was Philip's first action when he arrived back in Spain in 1558

. Hernando de Valdes was Inquisitor General from 1547-66 and Archbishop of Seville

. The Inquisition was harsh in the early years of Philip - Several groups of Protestants were found from 1557-58 and 1559-62 in Burgos, Valladolid, Salamanca and Seville

. Valladolid, May and October 1559, held two autos de fe - Philip was present at the second in October

. In 1557 a group of 130 Protestants were found in Seville

. In total, 6 autos de fe took place in Seville and Valladolid from 1559-62 at which 278 were persecuted and 77 put to death - by 1562, 'Protestantism in Spain had been effectively eradicated' (Woodward)

Front 34

Inquisition 2

Back 34

. Lotherington argues that not all the 'Protestants' were heretics and some of them were just mystics who sought direct communion with God - but the government was in a state of paranoia about Protestants (and there were some genuine Protestants arrested)

. Valdes was accused of trying to pursue his own career goals by stressing the threat of heresy - he was in disgrace as Archbishop of Seville for failing to fully cooperate finacially with the Crown

. Philip was clearly worried by Calvinism, especially due to growing French Calvinism - In 1560 he ordered the viceroy of Catalonia to monitor the borders and a new viceroy from 1564 was ordered to improve the frontier fortifications

. In 1565, his French ambassador warned him that Calvinist Geneva was planning to flood Spain with heretical books - and in 1570 a large Catalan force under Hurtado de Mendoza drove back a Huguenot attack on Perpignan

Front 35

Inquisition 3

Back 35

. The Inquisition squashed Protestantism in Spain - a lot of attention was paid to stopping book circulation; from September 1558 a royal edict decreed that importing books without a licence was punishable by death

. 1559 saw the introduction of the first Spanish Index of books - 670 works banned, only of which 170 were written in Castilian, and also 14 editions of the Bible along with works by Erasmus and Sir Thomas More

. The Inquisition checked ports and bookshop

. The list in the Index was regularly updated and extended, mainly be Inquisitor General Quiroga from 1583-4, who quintupled the number of books - Lotherington states there were 2,500 books eventually and many of these were written by men and women of 'unquestionable orthodoxy;

. BUT, given the Inquisition's limited resources, prohibited books still continued to reach Spain from Italy, France and the Low Countries - Don Jose de Salas, a Castilian noble, managed to collect 250 banned books

. The 1559 ban on students at foreign universities was never watertights - in the second half of the 16th century, Spaniards were still at universities in Italy and the Low Countries

Front 36

Carranza case

Back 36

. The most famous investigation is the Carranza case

. Carranza had been sent by Charles V to the Council of Trent, was appointed confessor to Prince Philip in 1550 and spent 3 years with him in England (1554-57)

. In 1557, he became Archbishop of Toledo but his powerful rivals, including Cano and Valdes, accused him of heresy, citing his Commentaries on the Christian Catechism

. Valdes was jealous of Carranza's successful career and his elevation to Archbishop of Toledo only raised his evy as he had wanted this job

. The trial lasted 17 years

. In 1566, the case was transferred to Rome and delayed by the death of Pius V in 1572

. Gregory XIII eventually decided to suspend Carranza - he was not guilty of heresy but was guilty of 16 'highly suspect' propositions

Front 37

Inquisition debate - JH Elliott

Back 37

. Censorship had a negative effect on the intellectual devleopment of Spain and led to the cultural isolation of Spain from the rest of Europe as freedom of speech was stifled

. Pendrill cites the Carranza case as an example that made Spanish intellectuals think twice about publishing, supporting Elliott to some extent

. Theologian and poet, Luis de Leon, who fell foul of the Inquisition talked of 'keeping silent out of fear' - he was one victim, deprived of his Chair and kept in prison for 5 years

. Rawlings argues that the Inquisition sought to control the speech, thoughts and behaviour of all Spaniards, making everyone watch their words carefully

. Lynch argues that the heated competition between the variosu religious orders in Spain led to rival academics denoucnign their opponents to the SI and having them removed

. In this way, the rivalry between orders and the existence of the SI combined to have a detrimental impact on Spanish intellectual thought

. Lynch says the Dominican vs Jesuits contents was 'no holds barred' but the most fierce between the Dominicans and Augustinians

Front 38

Inquisition debate - Kamen

Back 38

. Spaniards still had access to a wide range of material so that Spanish culture could develop - e.g. Spaniards went to the New World, traded in Europe, went on poltiical missions to Europe and thus were exposed to new ideas that they brought back to Spain

. Kamen thus concludes that it had little impact on literature or science - the Spanish Inquisition was remarkably enlightened on witchcraft, in the 1590s less than 5% of Inquisition dealt with 'witches', markedly less than the resto of Europe

. Kamen's overall view on the Iquisition is that it was less harsh than some historians suggest and that torture and burnign were the excpetion rather than the rule - also that the Inquisition's place in everyday life was marginal

. On the 1583-84 Index, most of the works had never entered Spain and were in languages no Spaniard could understand so the real impact was small and onyl about two dozen were Castilian literary works

. A 1591 inventory of Benito Boyer, a bookseller in Medina del Campo, had two-thirds of the 26,000 books in his shop having come from France, the Netherlands and Italy

Front 39

Inquisition - eradicate hersey or political control?

Back 39

. Woodward admits there was a strong secular element - officials were royal councillors and overall control was exercised by the Inquisitor General and the Council of the Suprema in Madrid

. Each of the tribunals kept Philip informed on secular business as well as church business - but Woodward concludes that the Spanish Inquisition was neither conceived nor used as an instrument of royal power

. Only on one occasion (1591 sttempt to prosecute Perez in Aragon) was it used for a blatantly political purpose - although the Carranza case may have been a case study for papal vs Crown power

Front 40

Inquisition - social damage 1

Back 40

. Woodward argues that the Inquisition had a negative impact on society - contemporaries never really liked the Inquisition and that an 'aura of suspicion' and a fear of denunciation surrounded its proceedings

. The onus lay with the accused to proved their innocence; inquisitors were never identified; torture was used in 10% of the cases and many flogged, imprisoned for long periods of time or sent to the galleys - Even the 2% of the acquitted never lost the social stigma of having been accused

. In Castile, the Cortes regularly complained about the intrusive conduct of Inquisitors - bishops resented its intereference in ecclesiastical matters and in rural regions the network of familiars (paid informers) were hated

. In Aragon, complaints by the Cortes of Monzon that tribunals were interfering in criminal and civil cases led to the publication in 1568 of a Concordia, regulating the future conduct of the Valencian Inquisition

. Woodward says there were 40,000 cases under Philip, most involving ordinary Catholics and only 250 were burned

. But there was still 'an instrument of terror' directing social and political control on an uneducated and backward society

Front 41

Inquisition - social damage 2

Back 41

. McKinnon-Bell has a different view and uses the denunciation figures to suggest that the Spanish Inquisition was popular - e.g. 88% of Cuenca denunciations from 1561-1631 originated from Italy

. Moreover, the success/fear of the Inquisition varied from tribunal to tribunal - There was little impact in Galicia, but in Toledo in the 1590s there was a great improvement in understanding

. 'Overall, the Spanish Inquisition played an important part in increasing the number of orthodox Catholics in Spain and strengthening their Christian education' - Woodward

. McKinnon-Bell argues that as there were only 45 inquisitors for the whole of Spain with 8 million people, it as under-funded and over-worked, that Castile was not akin to a modern day police state

. He argues that it was over-worked as it had to try and help enforce Tridentine decrees by increasingly monitoring Old Christians and guard against genuine heresy - so that the Index of books and ban on foreign study was never fully enforceable and that the idea of a Spanish Inquisition reaching into everyday lives all the time was a fallacy

Front 42

Inquisition - Social damage 3

Back 42

. Most people in the countryside barely came into contact with the Inquisition

. Under Philp 40,000 cases were heard in tribunals but fewer than 250 were burned at the stake

. In the last 40 years of the 16th century, less than a dozen were burned for identifiable Protestantism and executions totalled no more than 1% a tear of those arrested, or two-thirds of executions in the whole of the Spanish monarchy including America - thus stressing the marginal impact of the Inquisition

. Kamen sees the inquisitors as an 'elite state bureaucracy' of trained lawyers, often laymen, with the same background as councillors of state, corregidors and high court lawyers, rather than small-minded clerics or dedicated, fanatical heresy hunters

. Kamen also argues that Philip never wanted to extend the Inquisition to the Netherlands and that this was just anti-Spanish propaganda

Front 43

Inquisition - social damage 4

Back 43

. So Kamen argues that the impact of the Inquisition was largely infrequent and marginal on lives and that most cases simply dealt with low level accusations such as blasphemy, swearing and sex outside marriage; thus not major heresies

. After initial attack on Protestants early in the reign, there were further autos de fe involving moriscos and conversos, but the main bulk of the work against Old Chrisitians and highlighting how Philip's religious reforms never really worked out

. Kamen suggests that the main role of the Inquisition under Philip was nto persecution of heretics but reconversion of Old Christians

. From 1576-90, one-third of those arrested in Toledo and over half in Valencia and Zaragoza were ordinary Catholics - These people were then nto executed but re-educated so Kamen stresses that the Inquisition was an educative tool, not mainly a muderous one under Philip

. Only 7% of those accused from 1540-1614 were Protestants, mainly foreigners, and less than half a dozen were burnt for Protestnatism in Spain after 1562

Front 44

Inquisition - social damage 5

Back 44

. Rawlings backs up by commenting on the impressive rise in literacy in some areas as uneducated peasants learned the Lord's Prayer to avoid falling foul of the Inquisition

. Jean-Pierre Dedieu calls the Inquisition 'a gigantic teaching machine'

. Kamen does admit that there was always unease at the secrecy of trials, the infamy that would be created by a brush with the Inquisition, the continued reliance on confiscations as a source of income and concludes that the Spanish accepted it as an institution but never loved it

. Lynch makes a great point that when analysing the impact of the Inquisition, one must recognise that it did not behave 'in exactly the same way in every period in history'

. This supports Kamen's view of a harsh period from 1480-1500, followed by a marginal role in terror and a major role in education after that date - Additionally, Inquisitor General Valdes was succeeded by the likes of Espinosa and Quiroga 'who had their prejudices but did not see a heretic in every devout priest'

Front 45

Moriscos/Conversos and the Inquisition 1

Back 45

. In Granada, Moriscos were 88% of the Inquisition's victims from 1563-69 - but post-expulsion following the suppression of the Revolt of the Moriscos it was less than 10% in the 1590s

. However, Valencian and Sevillian Inquisiton went into overdrive following the expulsions in the 1570s and 80s as Moriscos flooded in

. After the annexation of Portugal in 1580, that had a large number of Jews, a new Inquisitor was appointed in 1586 - 3,200 were cases heard by 50 autos de fe between 1580 and 1600, an increase of 50% of the previous 30 years

. In Castile, more and more Jews were being brought before the tribunals - 27 cases in Toledo in 1591, 75 in Granada in 1593 and 80 in Seville in 1595

Front 46

Moriscos/Conversos and the Inquisition 2

Back 46

. Kamen argues that Philip was more enlightened towards conversos and appointed known conversos as well as refusing the extend or enforcce purity laws

. He uses statistics of 5% of cases from 1540-1614 dealing with Judaism and 7% with Protestantism during the same period, one-third of Morisco cases

. However, Kamen has been criticised for being too positive about Philip and going too far when getting rid of all traces of the Black Legend