First of all, a little brief background about the role of the Inquisition generally during the Middle Ages. The Inquisition was set up as early as 1184 by Pope Lucius III to run the trials of those charged with heresy. So far, so good – most of us are aware of that connection between the Inquisition and the rooting out and trial of heretics. But what is generally less well known is that the Inquisition was in fact set up as an alternative to the courts that already existed and was intended to prevent cruel and unjust punishments and executions. Yes, that’s right, it was set up to restore some sense of fair play and ultimately provide rehabilitation for those accused of that most heinous of Middle Age crimes, heresy.

Heresy was a crime that carried a capital punishment. The rulers throughout Medieval Europe all believed their power and authority came from God, and therefore had good reason to spare no time for heretics. But the common people, too, saw heretics as dangerous outsiders who would bring down divine wrath. When someone was accused of heresy in the early Middle Ages, they were brought to the local lord for judgment, just as if they had committed any other of a long, long list of capital offences – such as stealing a pig. The difference, of course, was that although the evidence of theft of a pig might be relatively easy to establish, the crime of heresy required at least a modicum of theological knowledge – something your local lord was unlikely to have much of. The result is that countless thousands across Europe were executed by secular authorities without fair trials or a competent assessment of the validity of the charge. The Inquisition was set up by the Catholic Church, therefore, as an alternative to the secular slaughter, by providing fair trials for the accused, using laws of evidence, and presided over by knowledgeable judges.

The myth we keep alive is that the Inquisition sent heretics to be burned alive at the stake. But it was the state and not the Church that considered heresy to be a capital offence. In fact, most of those tried for heresy by the Inquisition were either acquitted or had their sentences suspended. Those found guilty of serious failings were allowed to confess their sin, do penance, and be restored to the bosom of the Church. The underlying assumption of the Inquisition was that, like lost sheep, heretics had simply strayed. If, however, an inquisitor determined that a particular sheep had purposely left the flock, there was nothing more that could be done. Unrepentant or obstinate heretics were excommunicated and handed over to the secular authorities. The fact is, therefore, that the medieval inquisition saved countless thousands of innocent (and perhaps not so innocent) people, who would otherwise have been roasted by secular lords or the common mob. Myth one is exposed.

As the Inquisition came more and more institutionalized during the 13^th century, highly trained Dominicans answerable to the Pope conducted the inquisition in courts that represented the best legal practices in Europe. After the 14^th century, royal authority grew and assumed responsibilities for the network of national-level inquisitions. In the 16^th century, when a hysteria about witches swept Europe, in those places with well-established inquisitions, the worst excesses were kept at bay. In Spain and Italy, for example, trained inquisitors investigated charges of witches’ Sabbaths and baby sacrifice and found them to be groundless. Indeed, until about the 1530s, the Spanish Inquisition was widely hailed as the best run, most humane court in Europe. There are actually records of convicts in Spain purposely blaspheming so that they could be transferred to the prisons of the Spanish Inquisition. Elsewhere, particularly in Germany, secular or religious courts burned witches by the thousands.

So what happened to the Spanish Inquisition after the 1530s? The answer lies with myth number two, whipped up by an early form of very effective propaganda against the powerful, wealthy and Catholic kingdom of Spain.

The mid-16^th century saw the emergence of new Protestant countries in Europe – notably the Netherlands, northern Germany and England. Although they lacked Spain’s military might, they made full and very effective use of the weapon represented by the printing press and set about winning the propaganda war. These were the years when the “black legend” of Spain was hatched by its northern, Protestant neighbours. Countless books and pamphlets poured from northern presses accusing the Spanish Empire of inhuman depravity and horrible atrocities in the New World. Opulent Spain was cast as a place of darkness, ignorance, and evil.

Although the Spanish Inquisition remained active, forceful and extremely effective in keeping Protestantism out of Spain, this served only to fuel still further the propaganda about the “black legend”. It continued as Spain’s military and economic power began to wither and a new tide of religious tolerance and enlightenment gained ground in the rest of Europe. Where other arms of the inquisition withered and died, Spain stubbornly clung to its own – and was ridiculed for its pains. Enlightenment thinkers derided the Spanish Inquisition as a brutal weapon of religious persecution, intolerance and ignorance that served only to keep Spain firmly rooted in the past of the Middle Ages.