Henry Lea - A History of the Inquisition of Spain (Vol. 1-4)

TRIBUNALS

Sigüenza. A tribunal was early established in Sigüenza which must have been busy if we may believe the statement that at an auto de fe in 1494 it relaxed a hundred and forty-nine victims to the secular arm. In 1506, Deza dismissed the officials for the reason that it was about to be united with Toledo, a merger ratified by Ximines in 1509. Toledo neglected it and it was transferred to Cuenca, q. v. In the eighteenth century there would appear to be some kind of subordinate tribunal there, for about 1750, Saragossa, in a report of its personnel, states that one of its five inquisitors is assisting at Sigüenza.[1326]

Tarazona. A tribunal established here in the early period was merged into that of Saragossa in 1519.[1327]

Tarragona. When, in 1643, the inquisitors of Barcelona were ejected, they were, after some delay, sent to open their tribunal at Tarragona, where they remained until the suppression of the Catalan rebellion in 1652.[1328]

Teruel. In 1485 a tribunal was established in Teruel after some resistance. At what time it was transferred to Valencia does not appear, but a cédula of October 2, 1502 is addressed to the inquisitors of Valencia residing in Teruel and Albarracin, showing that it was then subordinate to Valencia. In 1518 it was discontinued and the district was subjected to the direct jurisdiction of the Valencian tribunal, but Cardinal Adrian, by a provision of Nov. 21st of the same year, transferred it to Saragossa and then, March 3, 1519 restored it to Valencia. This was felt by Aragon as a grievance and, at the Córtes of Monzon, in 1533 it asked that Teruel and Albarracin should be restored to the Saragossa tribunal, but the request was peremptorily refused and they remained subject to Valencia.[1329]

Toledo. In 1485 the tribunal of Ciudad Real was transferred to Toledo. At first the limits of its district seem not to be clearly defined for, in 1489 the inquisitors were told to go to Guadalajara and Ferdinand ordered the local authorities to show them favor and allow them to make arrests. See Corte, Cuenca, Segovia, Sigüenza, Valladolid for sundry changes in its district. In 1565 the official designation is the city and archbishopric of Toledo, the city and bishopric of Sigüenza and the bishoprics of Avila and Segovia, which apparently remained permanent, except the detachment of Madrid.[1330]

Tortosa. For some reason the bishopric of Tortosa, although part of Catalonia, was subject to the tribunal of Valencia. When, in 1697, Vendôme captured Barcelona, the tribunal emigrated to Tortosa and established itself in the Colegio Imperial. Although peace was declared soon afterwards it remained in Tortosa at least until 1700 and presumably stayed until the conclusion of the War of Succession, when it was reinstated in Barcelona in 1715.[1331]

Tudela. See Navarre.

Valencia. The old Inquisition of Valencia was reorganized in 1484, and continued to the end. As seen above, it parted with Orihuela to Murcia, obtaining Teruel and Albarracin from Saragossa and Tortosa from Barcelona.

TRIBUNALS

Valladolid. A tribunal was assigned to Valladolid in 1485, but did not get into working order until 1488. After this it was suspended to be revived in 1499, as appears from a letter of Isabella, Dec. 24, 1498. The northern provinces of Spain were comparatively free from heresy and Ximenes, in his reorganization of 1509, assigned to Valladolid the enormous district comprising the sees of Burgos, Osma, Palencia, Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, Zamora, Leon, Oviedo and Astorga and the abbeys of Valladolid, Medina del Campo and Sahagun. In 1516 the enumeration is the same except the omission of Zamora and the addition of Ciudad Rodrigo and Calahorra. Roughly speaking, it may be assumed to comprise the whole of the provinces of Old Castile, Leon and Asturias. Valdés, August 8, 1560, repeated April 12, 1562 made over the whole of this to Toledo, but the grant can only have been temporary for, in 1565 the Toledan inquisitors described themselves as of the city and archbishoprics of Toledo, the city and bishopric of Sigüenza, with the bishoprics of Avila and Segovia, and in 1579 we find the inquisitors of Valladolid styling themselves inquisitors of the kingdoms of Castile and Leon and the principality of Asturias. This enormous district it continued to retain, subject to the easternmost portion detached to Calahorra or Logroño and to its translation in 1601 to Medina del Campo and thence to Burgos, from which it returned to Valladolid, probably about 1630.[1332]

Xeres. In 1495, Rodrigo Lucero is described as Inquisitor of Xeres. In 1499 the sovereigns appointed Alonso de Guevara Inquisitor of Cadiz and Xeres. The tribunal continued there for some time. In 1515 Ferdinand alludes to Luis de Riba Martin “our late receiver in the Inquisition of Xeres,” who in dying had left to the treasury a legacy of 30,000 mrs. for the relief of his conscience.[1333] I have met no later reference to it and probably it was soon afterwards merged into the tribunal of Seville.

Table of Contents

Separation of Inquisitions of Castile and Aragon.

Signature of the Last Inquisitor-general.