Notes on Monarchs, Inquisition, and Interrogation

Very Powerful Monarchs

  • Isabella:
    • Queen of a kingdom in Spain called Castile.
  • Ferdinand:
    • Secretly practicing Judaism.
    • In Hebrew, it's called Mitzi Hadim.
    • Judaizers are people who are making themselves Jewish.

The Inquisition in Spain

  • Inquisitors arrive to root out Judaizers.
  • They find a building in Toledo.
  • The first act is to announce a "term of grace".
    • Everyone is called to the town square.
    • They are asked to confess their Judaizing practices.
    • People are encouraged to report on others.

Atmosphere of Suspicion

  • People look at each other with suspicion.
  • People report on others to the inquisitors, suspecting them of being Moranos (secret Jews).

Incentives for Reporting

  • Rewards offered by the inquisitors include:
    • Monetary prizes.
    • Promises of going to heaven.
  • Personal motives:
    • Getting back at someone due to personal conflicts.
      • Examples:
        • A maid mad at her mistress.
        • An employee mad at his boss.
        • A person mad at a friend who married their boyfriend.
  • Reporting others can be a way to get rewarded or get revenge.

Self-Protection

  • Moranos might falsely accuse others to deflect suspicion from themselves.

Examples of Suspicious Behavior

  • She doesn't work on Saturdays, suggesting she's secretly keeping Shabbos.
  • The mistress never has orders ready for pickup on Saturday.
  • The mistress always makes the cleaning person change the sheets on Friday.
    • Reasoning:
      • Christians normally rest on Sunday.
      • Changing sheets on Friday could be in preparation for Shabbat.

The Spanish Inquisition's Interrogation Tactics

  • Inquisitors employed pressure tactics to induce confessions.
  • They were not interested in unbiased questioning.
  • They had often already decided the person was guilty and sought a confession.

Justification for Torture

  • Inquisitors, as officials of the Catholic Church, believed they were saving the soul of the accused.
  • Confession is integral to Christian repentance.
  • Forcing a confession was seen as helping the person.

Torture and Punishment

  • Inquisitors used terrible torture devices to cause pain while asking if the person was a Judaizer.
  • Under stress, many people confessed.
  • Punishments varied, including:
    • Flogging.
    • Imprisonment.
    • Execution