The Inquisition was never in so much danger as during the first year of the reign of Charles V. When the young monarch arrived in Spain, he was disposed to abolish the Inquisition, or at least to regulate the proceedings according to those of other tribunals. In 1518 a general a.s.sembly of the Cortes was held at Valladolid, when the representatives solicited that his highness would command the office of the holy Inquisition to conform to the rules of the canons and the common law.
The Cortes likewise sent ten thousand pieces of gold to the chancellor Selvagio, and promised the same sum when the decree which they solicited should be put in execution. The king replied that he would take proper measures to remedy the evil of which they complained: in consequence, he engaged the Cortes to publish the abuses which had been introduced, and to indicate the means of abolishing them.
When the a.s.sembly at Valladolid had terminated their labours, Charles convoked the Cortes of Aragon at Saragossa, where he was accompanied by the chancellor Selvagio, who had prepared a royal ordinance, to be published according to the demand of the Cortes of Castile. It was composed of thirty-nine articles: the proceedings of the tribunal were regulated in it, with the ages, the rank, and salaries of the judges and subaltern officers.
The result of this new code was, that the inquisitors could not question a witness to obtain information on any subject but that for which he was summoned.
That each denouncer should be subject to a strict examination, to discover his motives for the accusation.
That the order for imprisonment could not be given without the concurrence of the diocesan in ordinary, or until they had examined each witness a second time.
That the prisons should be public, neat, and convenient.
That the prisoners should be allowed to see their relations, their friends, and their counsel.
That they might choose a lawyer or procurator in whom they placed confidence.
That the accusation should be immediately communicated to them, with the name of the place where, and the time when, the witnesses had declared the crime to have been committed.
That if the accused demanded a copy of the accusation and the examination, it should be given to him.
That when the proofs and the depositions were all received, they should be communicated entirely to the prisoner, _as in the present time there are no persons powerful enough to inspire the witnesses with fear, except in cases where the prisoner is a duke, marquis, count, bishop, or in possession of some other dignity of the church_.
That in this case, in order to conceal the names of the witnesses, the judge shall draw up a writing, declaring upon oath, that he believes this measure to be necessary for the preservation of the lives of the witnesses; that this act shall deprive the prisoner of his right of appealing against it.
That if it is considered absolutely necessary to make use of the torture, it shall only be administered in moderation, and without recurring to the cruel inventions. .h.i.therto employed.
That it shall only be employed once for what personally concerns the accused; never to obtain from him information of other individuals; and only in the case of persons mentioned in the law.
That the definitive sentences, and even the interlocutory orders, shall be subject to the right of appeal, as to their double effect.
That when the preparatory examination of the judgment is commenced, the parties and their counsel may attend at this revision of the process, and demand that the reading may be made in their presence.
That if the proof of the crime is not then established, the prisoner shall be acquitted, without being liable to a punishment as being still suspected.
That if the accused desires to clear himself, on oath, he shall be allowed to seek witnesses, and to converse with them in private; and that their being descendants of the Jews shall not prevent their admission.
That the challenge of witnesses shall be permitted; and if one of those called by the procurator-fiscal is convicted of giving false testimony, he shall be subject to the punishment of retaliation, according to a law of Ferdinand and Isabella, in the beginning of their reign.
That when an accused person has been reconciled, he shall not be arrested for things which he has not confessed, because it is to be supposed that he forgot them.
That no persons shall be molested or imprisoned for a simple presumption of heresy, arising from their having been brought up among Jews or heretics.
That the San-benitos shall be taken out of the churches, and that they no longer be worn in the streets.
That the punishment of perpetual imprisonment shall be abolished, _because the prisoners die of hunger, and cannot serve G.o.d_.
That the statutes recently established to prevent _New Christians_ from being admitted into convents, shall be considered as null and void, because they are contrary to all laws, human and divine.
That where an individual is sentenced to imprisonment, an inventory shall be taken of his property, and they shall not be sequestrated or sold.
That he, and his wife, and children, shall possess his revenues during his detention, and shall be allowed to employ them to prepare his means of defence against the Inquisition.
That when a man is condemned, his children shall inherit his property.
That no donation shall be made on their property, until it has been definitively confiscated.
That the spirit and letter of the canons shall be complied with in all things, without regard to any particular custom previously in use.
That the king shall be supplicated to obtain a bull from the Pope to ratify these measures.
That until this bull is obtained, the king shall be requested to command the inquisitors to conform to these regulations, in the trials already commenced, and in those which may begin from this time.
This excellent code of laws was never put in execution, because the chancellor Selvagio, who framed it, died before its publication; and Cardinal Adrian so totally changed the ideas and inclinations of Charles V. that he became an ardent defender of the Inquisition.
Charles V. had sworn at Saragossa, in 1518, to respect the privileges and customs of the Aragonese, particularly the resolutions of the Cortes at Saragossa, Tarazona, and Monzon, and consequently that he would not suffer the inquisitors to commence any trials for usury.
But a new a.s.sembly of the Cortes having been convoked at Saragossa, towards the end of the year 1518, the deputies of Aragon represented to the king, that the agreement of the Cortes at Monzon, in 1512, was not sufficient to remedy the abuses which the inquisitors had introduced; they therefore entreated his Majesty to add to it thirty-one articles which they had adopted. These articles differed little from those of the Cortes of Castile.
The king, after having consulted his council, replied, "_that it was his pleasure that the holy canons, and the decrees of the holy see, should be conformed to in regard to all the articles which had been presented to him. That if difficulties or doubts should occur, which required explanation, they should apply to the Pope_; that if any person wished to accuse an inquisitor of abuse in the exercise of his office, he might do so by applying to the inquisitor-general, who would p.r.o.nounce sentence according to equity; and that the king would cause them to be punished as an example; _that he engaged by oath to observe himself, and cause others to observe, the order and declaration which he addressed to the a.s.sembly, as well as the articles which the Pope might add to those of the Cortes_; that he also promised, upon oath, never to demand a dispensation from his promise; and that if one was addressed to him he would never make use of it, as he at that time renounced all the rights which might arise from it."
This reply induced the Cortes to believe that the king had granted all their requests; they considered that the trials would be there conducted as before other ecclesiastical tribunals. Persuaded that this was the king"s intention, the Cortes resolved to show their grat.i.tude by a voluntary contribution of money.
Some time elapsed before the agreement was approved by the Pope. The Emperor wrote the following letter from Cologne, in 1520, to his amba.s.sador at Rome:--"In regard to the transactions of the Cortes, it will be sufficient if his Holiness will approve an act sent to Don Louiz Carroz, and afterwards to Don Jerome Vich, which is written by the hand of the venerable Cardinal of Tortosa, and that of the great chancellor, without any extension or interpretation, as I have often demanded earnestly."
The Aragonese, who did not even believe it possible to obtain this last point, entreated the inquisitor-general to command the inquisitors of Saragossa to conform immediately to the regulations of the agreement, without waiting for the confirmation of the Pope, because almost all the articles were the same as those in the convention of 1512, which the Pope had approved.
Cardinal Adrian complied with the request, and wrote to the inquisitors.
They replied, that they thought themselves obliged to take the orders of the king before they obeyed him. Charles addressed an ordinance to them, in which he commanded them to execute all that he had promised and sworn in the preceding year.
At last the Pope confirmed the resolutions by a bull, which was proclaimed with great solemnity. However, it soon appeared that this publication would have no effect, because the promise of the king was, that the canons and apostolical ordinances should be strictly observed in regard to the articles; and in conforming to this they only executed the bull of 1515.
On the 21st of January, 1521, the Emperor ordered the secretary of the Cortes to be set at liberty; for although the inquisitor-general, in 1520, had decreed that he should be _relaxed_, and the prisoner had been informed of it, yet he refused to quit the prison, affirming that the decree which set him at liberty, tended more to make him appear guilty than innocent, by the use of the word _relaxed_.
Similar debates took place in Catalonia, where the king convoked a Cortes at Barcelona, in 1519, to take the oath of maintaining the privileges of the province. The Catalans, informed of the effect produced by the representations of the Cortes of Aragon, likewise demanded a reform of several abuses of their Inquisition relative to the taxes, as well as usury, bigamy, and other crimes of that cla.s.s. The king, after having heard their remonstrances, made nearly the same reply as to the Cortes of Saragossa, and wrote to the Pope to demand a ratification of the articles. The Pope approved them in a bull in 1520; but Charles did not wait for its arrival to enforce the execution of his promise, which is proved by his order to Don Diego de Mendoza, his lieutenant-general in Catalonia. Yet he declares in his letter to his lieutenant, that he only made these promises _on account of the importunities of some representatives_ of towns, and some _men who were among the members of the Cortes_.
In consequence of some events in Aragon, during the period which elapsed before the bull of confirmation was issued, Leo X. was on the point of destroying the Inquisition; but intimidated by the policy of Charles V., he left the hydra in the same state.
John Prat, the secretary of the Cortes of Aragon, drew up the proposition of the representatives, and the reply of the king, to be addressed to the Pope; the chancellor of the king had done the same.
This proceeding particularly displeased the inquisitors of Saragossa; and to avoid the danger which they believed themselves to be in, they began to intrigue at court, and soon succeeded in rendering the king averse to the cause of the deputies of Aragon. They insinuated that Prat had drawn up the act which was to be sent to Rome, in such a manner, as to represent the reply of the king as obligatory, not only in the literal sense of the words, but in supposing that he had admitted the articles as being conformed to the common law; and that they, consequently, only wanted the ratification of the Pope, which there was no doubt of obtaining, as it was known that the deputies of Aragon were supported by several cardinals, and had sent them considerable sums of money.
The papers which contained these details were sent to Cardinal Adrian, who communicated them to the king, and obtained permission to order the inquisitors of Saragossa to make an inquiry if this recital was true, when they would be authorized to arrest Prat. Everything happened according to the hopes of the inquisitors.
Prat was arrested on the 5th of May, 1509, and the next day the king wrote to the Pope, to request that he would not expedite the bull. It was intended that the prisoner should be transferred to Barcelona, but the _permanent deputation_ (who then represented the Aragonese during the intervals of the a.s.sembling of the Cortes) wrote to the king, that this proceeding was contrary to the statutes which he had sworn to maintain. The deputation also judged it necessary to convoke a new Cortes, who represented to the king the dangerous consequences of the removal of Secretary Prat, whose fidelity had been particularly remarked during the reign of Ferdinand; and entreated him to set Prat at liberty, not only because they believed him to be just, faithful, and loyal, but that it was impossible to levy the supply which had been offered to the king, unless this request was granted. The king prevented the removal of the prisoner, but would not liberate him.
The deputation of the Cortes sent commissioners to Barcelona, to say that the sum of money offered to the king was conditional, and at the same time convoked the _tiers-etat_. Charles being informed of it, commanded the dissolution of the a.s.sembly, which replied, that the kings of Aragon had no right to use so violent a measure, without the consent of the people; it decreed that the levy should not be raised, and applied to the Court of Rome for the ratification of the articles of Saragossa.
Leo X. was at that time displeased with the Inquisition of Spain, on account of its refusal to admit certain briefs of inhibition in the tribunals of Toledo, Seville, Valencia, and Sicily; and forgetting the consideration which he owed to Charles (who was then emperor of Germany), he resolved to reform the holy office, and to compel it to submit to the rules of common law.