No. I.

Articles of Torquemada, for regulating the proceedings of the Inquisition, drawn up in 1484.

1. The first article regulates the manner in which the establishment of the Inquisition shall be announced in the country where it is to be introduced.

2. An edict shall be published, accompanied by censures against those who do not accuse themselves voluntarily during the term of grace.

3. A delay of thirty days shall be appointed for heretics to declare themselves.

4. All voluntary confessions shall be written in the presence of the Inquisitors and a clerk.

5. Absolution shall not be given secretly to any person voluntarily confessing, unless no individual is acquainted with his crime.

6. A part of the penance imposed on a reconciled heretic, shall consist in his being deprived of all honourable employments, and of the use of gold, silver, silk, &c.

7. Pecuniary penalties to be imposed on all who make a voluntary confession.

8. The person who accuses himself after the term of grace, cannot be exempted from the punishment of confiscation.

9. If persons under twenty years of age accuse themselves, after the term of grace, and it is proved that they were drawn into error by their parents, a light punishment shall be inflicted.

10. The Inquisitors shall declare in their act of reconciliation, the exact time when the offender fell into heresy, that the portion of property to be confiscated may be ascertained.

11. If a heretic, while in prison, demands absolution, and appears to feel true repentance, it may be granted, imposing at the same time perpetual imprisonment.

12. But if the Inquisitors are suspicious of a prisoner's repentance, they may refuse absolution, and declare him to be a false penitent, and condemn him to be burnt.

13. If a person who has been absolved, should boast of having concealed several crimes, or if information should be obtained that he had committed more than he had confessed, he shall be arrested, and treated as a false penitent.

14. If the accused persist in denying his crimes, even after the publication of his testimony, he is to be condemned as impenitent.

15. If a semi-proof exist against a person who denies the charge brought against him, he is to be put to the torture; if he confesses during the torture and afterwards confirms his confession, he is to be punished as convicted; if he retracts, he is to be tortured again, or condemned to an extraordinary punishment.

16. The entire deposition of the witnesses shall not be communicated to the accused.

17. The Inquisitors shall, if possible, interrogate the witnesses themselves.

18. One or more Inquisitors shall be present when a prisoner is tortured, or appoint a commissioner in their place.

19. If the accused does not appear when summoned, he shall be condemned as a heretic.

20. When it is proved that a person by his writings or conduct dies a heretic, he shall be judged and condemned as such, his body disinterred and burnt, and his property confiscated.

21. Vassals of nobles shall be subject to the Inquisitors.

22. In the event of a man burnt for heresy leaving children under age, the Inquisitors shall grant them a portion of their father's property, under the title of alms, and confide their education to proper persons.

23. If a person who has been reconciled without confiscation, possesses property belonging to a condemned person, this property not to be included in the pardon.

24. Those who are reconciled, and whose property is not confiscated, shall give liberty to their Christian slaves.

25. The Inquisitors, and officers of the Inquisition, shall not receive any present, on pain of excommunication, &c.

26-28. Enjoin the Inquisitors to live at peace with each other, and to watch the conduct of their inferiors.

No. II.

Articles drawn up by the Inquisitor-general Valdes, in 1561, for the better regulation of the Holy Office.

1. That when the Inquisitors admit an information they must consult theologians of integrity; and—

2. That if it appears from the opinion of these theologians, that the object of their examination is a matter of faith, or if the Inquisitors conceive, without consulting them, that the denounced fact is sufficiently proved, the procurator-fiscal shall cause the persons implicated to be arrested.

3. That the Inquisitors shall be assembled to decide if imprisonment should be decreed; in doubtful cases, they shall summon consulters. [This is never found necessary.]

4. That when the proof is not sufficient to cause the arrest of the denounced person, the Inquisitor shall not cite him to appear, or subject him to any examination.

5. If the Inquisitors are not unanimous in decreeing an arrest, the writings of the trial must be sent to the council.

6. The Inquisitors shall sign the decree of arrest, and address it to the grand alguazil of the holy office. When it relates to a formal heresy, this measure shall be immediately followed by the sequestration of the denounced person's property. If several persons are to be imprisoned, a decree shall be expedited for each individual, to be separately executed, and a note shall be entered in the trial, stating the day on which the decree of arrest was delivered, and the person who received it.

7-9. Refer to the manner of arresting a prisoner, &c.

10. The alguazil shall require the prisoner to give up his money, papers, arms, and every thing which it might be dangerous for him to be in possession of; he shall not allow him to have any communication with the other prisoners, without receiving permission from the Inquisitors. He shall remit all the effects found on the person of the prisoner, to the jailer, who shall inform the Inquisitors of the prisoner's arrival.

11. The jailer shall not lodge several prisoners together, nor permit them to communicate with each other.

12. Refers to the treatment of the prisoner by the jailer, in regard to food and clothing.

13. When the Inquisitors think proper, they shall order the prisoner to be brought to the chamber of audience—cause him to sit on a small seat, and take an oath to speak the truth at this, and all succeeding audiences—ask him his name, surname, age, country, &c.

14. The accused shall be afterwards examined on his genealogy. The recorder shall write down these details, in order to discover whether the accused is descended from Jews, Moors, heretics, or other individuals punished by the holy office.

15. The accused shall next be required to give an abridged history of his life; asked if he is instructed in the truths of the Christian religion, if he has confessed himself, &c.; and when he has given an account of all these things, he shall be asked, if he knows or suspects the cause of his arrest, and his reply shall regulate the questions put to him afterwards.

16-18. Enjoin, first, the Inquisitors to be on their guard, to be deceived neither by the witnesses nor the culprit; secondly, the recorder to write down every question and answer; and lastly, the fiscal to accuse the prisoner, first of being a heretic in general terms, and afterwards mention in particular the crimes laid to his charge.

19. Although the accused may confess all the charges brought against him in the first audiences of admonition, yet the fiscal shall draw up and present his act of accusation; because experience has shown, that it is better that a trial caused by the denunciation of a person, who is a party in the cause should be continued and judged at the prosecution of the denunciator, that the Inquisitors may be at liberty to deliberate on the application of punishments and penances, which would not be the case if they proceeded officially.

20. Whenever the accused is admitted to an audience, he shall be reminded of the oath he has taken to speak the truth.

21. At the end of his requisition, the fiscal shall introduce a clause, importing, that if the Inquisitors do not think his accusation sufficiently proved, they are requested to decree torture for the accused.

22-26. Refer chiefly to the appointment and duties of an advocate to the accused which in the Inquisition, is little more than a burlesque on justice, and never proves of the least benefit to the unhappy victim of inquisitorial persecution.

27. If the accused confesses himself guilty of another crime, after the proof is admitted, the fiscal shall accuse him of it, and he shall be prosecuted according to the ordinary forms. If the proof of the first crime is increased, it will be sufficient to inform the prisoner of the circumstances.

28. In the interval between the proof and the publication, the prisoner may demand audiences, through the jailer, which the Inquisitors must grant without delay, in order to profit by the inclination of the accused, which may change from day to day.

29-32. Order the Inquisitor to cause the ratification of the witnesses; the manner in which this is to take place, and the publication of their depositions.

33. If the accused, who has made declarations, reveals crimes committed by persons whom he names—the Inquisitors will cause him to name them one after the other, and afterwards to state the facts or words which he imputes to them.

34. Although the accused has denied the charges, the publication of the depositions must be read to him, &c.

35. When the accused has replied to the publication of the depositions, he shall be permitted to consult with his advocate, in the presence of an Inquisitor and the recorder, that he may prepare his defence. The recorder shall write down the particulars of the conference; but neither the Inquisitor nor recorder, still less the advocate, shall remain alone with the accused.

36. If the accused wishes to write, to fix the points of his defence, he shall be furnished with paper, but the sheets shall be counted, and numbered by the recorder, that the accused may give them back again, either written upon or blank. When there is an examination in the defence of the prisoner, he shall be required to name on the margin of each article, the witnesses he wishes to call, that those who are most worthy of credit may be examined; but he must name none but Christians of an ancient race, who are neither his servants nor relations.

37. Whenever the prisoner is admitted to an audience, the fiscal shall examine the state of the trial, to ascertain if he has declared any thing new of himself or others, &c.

38 and 39. Relate to the reception of informations in behalf of the accused; but with their accustomed injustice it is ordered, that if the accused demands the publication of the depositions in his defence, it must be refused, as it may tend to discover the persons who have deposed against him.

40. When the trial is so far advanced, that the sentence may be passed, the Inquisitors shall convoke the ordinary, and the consulters. The consulters shall give their votes first; then the ordinary, the Inquisitors after him, and the Dean the last.

41. When the accused confesses himself guilty, and his confessions have the required conditions, if he is not relapsed, he shall be admitted to reconciliation; his property shall be seized; he shall be clothed in the habit of a penitent or a sanbenito, and be confined in the prison for those who are condemned to perpetual imprisonment. If it is proper that he should remain in prison for an unlimited time, it shall be said in his sentence that his punishment shall last as long as the Inquisitor thinks proper. If the accused has relapsed after abjuring a formal heresy, or is a false penitent when he has abjured as violently suspected, and is convicted in the present trial of the same heresy, he shall be given up to the common judge according to the civil law, and his punishment shall not be remitted, although he may protest that his repentance is sincere, and his confession true in this case.

42. The abjuration must be written after the sentence, and signed by the accused,—or if he cannot write, by an Inquisitor and the recorder.

43. If the accused is convicted of heresy, bad faith, and obstinacy, he shall be relaxed, [i. e. burnt,] but the Inquisitors must not neglect to endeavour to convert him, that he may die in the faith of the Church.

44. If a condemned person repents and confesses his sins before the night of the auto-da-fÉ, in a manner that shows a true repentance, his execution shall be suspended; but if he is converted on the scaffold, the Inquisitors must suppose that the fear of death has more influence in this conversion, than true repentance; yet if they think proper, they may suspend the execution.

45. When the Inquisitors have resolved to have recourse to the torture, they must state the motive, declaring whether the accused is subjected to it in consequence of persisting in his denials, or suffers as a witness who denies, in the trial of another accused. If he is convicted of bad faith in his own cause, and is consequently liable to be relaxed, or if he is equally so in any other affair, he may be tortured, though he must be given up to the secular judge, for what concerns him personally.

46. If only a semi-proof of the truth exists, or if appearances will not admit of the acquittal of the prisoner, he shall make an abjuration, as either being violently or slightly suspected.

47. In cases where only the semi-proof of the truth exists, the accused has been sometimes allowed to clear himself canonically before the number of persons in the ancient instructions, (viz. a jury of twelve persons;) but though the Inquisitors may allow it if they think proper, they must observe that this proceeding is very dangerous.

48. The third manner of proceeding in this case is to employ the question, (that is, the torture.) The remainder of this article, and the four articles which follow, refer chiefly to the regulations to be observed in appointing the torture to be inflicted.

53. Twenty-four hours after the accused has been put to the question, he shall be asked if he persist in his declarations, and if he will ratify them. If at this moment he confesses his crimes, and ratifies his declarations, in such a manner as to prove his conversion, he may be admitted to a reconciliation; but if he retracts his declaration, the Inquisitors shall proceed according to rule.

54. If the accused resist the torture, the judges shall deliberate on the nature, form, and quality of the torture which he has suffered, or the degree of intensity with which it was inflicted; on the age, strength, health, and vigour of the patient, &c. and they shall declare if he is already cleared by what he has suffered.

55. The judges, notary, and the executioners, shall be present at the torture; and when it is over, the Inquisitors shall cause an individual who has been wounded, to be properly attended.

56. The Inquisitor shall take care that the jailer shall not insinuate any thing to the accused relating to his defence.

57. The affair being for the second time, in a state for passing sentence, there shall be a new audience of the Inquisitors, the ordinary, &c.

58. When the Inquisitors release an accused person from the secret prisons, he shall be conducted to the chamber of audience; and after being interrogated with regard to the conduct of the jailer, he shall be ordered to keep these details, and all that has passed since his detention, secret, and sign a promise to this effect.

59. If a prisoner dies before his trial is terminated, and his declarations have not extenuated the charges of the witnesses, so as to give a sufficient cause for reconciliation, the Inquisitors shall give notice of his death to his children, or other persons who have the right of defending his memory and property, in case they see cause to pursue the trial of the deceased.

60-63. Specify chiefly the manner in which the children or heirs of the deceased who wish to defend his memory or property are to proceed. But few individuals dare enter the lists with such a powerful, tyrannical, unjust, and avaricious tribunal, though perfect truth and equity be clearly on their side.

64. When absent individuals are to be tried, they shall be thrice summoned to appear at proper intervals; the fiscal denouncing them contumacious at the end of each citation.

65. The Inquisitors may take cognizance of several crimes which may occasion heresy, such as bigamy, blasphemy, and suspicious propositions; the degree of punishment to depend on the prudence of the judges.

66 and 67.—Refer to the manner of the Inquisitors giving their votes, and of the duty of the secret notaries.

68. When the Inquisitors are informed that any of the prisoners have communicated with other detained persons, they shall ascertain the fact; in which case little credit can be given to any subsequent declarations made by these persons, either in their own cause, or in the trial of another.

69. When a trial has been suspended, if another commences, though for a different crime, the charges of the first shall be added to those of the second, and the fiscal shall maintain them in his act of accusation, because they aggravate the new crime of which the prisoner is accused.

70 and 71. Specify the necessity of keeping the prisoners separate, and point out the treatment of those who fall sick.

72. The witnesses in a trial shall not be confronted, because experience has shown that this measure is useless and inconvenient, independently of the infringement of the law of secrecy which is the result.

73. When an Inquisitor visits the towns of the district of his tribunal, he shall not undertake any trial for heresy, or arrest any denounced person, but he shall receive the declarations, and send them to the tribunal; yet, if it is the case of a person whose flight may be apprehended, he may be arrested and sent to the prisons of the holy office.

74. In the definitive sentence pronounced against an individual guilty of heresy, and condemned to be deprived of his property, the period when he first fell into heresy shall be indicated, because this knowledge may be useful to the steward of the confiscations, &c.

75. The jailer shall give an account of the common and daily nourishment of each prisoner, according to the price of the eatables.

76. If the prisoner has a wife or children, and they require to be maintained from his sequestrated property, a certain sum for each day shall be allowed them, proportioned to their number, age, quality, and state of their health, as well as to the extent and value of these possessions. If any of the children exercise any profession, and can thus provide for themselves, they shall not receive any part of the allowance.

77. When any trials are terminated and sentences passed, the Inquisitors shall fix the day for the celebration of an auto-da-fÉ, giving proper notice of it to the ecclesiastical chapter and municipality of the town, &c.

78. The Inquisitors shall not permit any person to enter the prisons on the day before the auto-da-fÉ, except the confessors and the familiars of the Holy Office, when their employments make it necessary. The familiars shall receive the prisoner, and be responsible for him after the notary has taken evidence if it in writing, and shall be required to take him back to the prisons after the ceremony of the auto-da-fÉ, if he is not given over to the secular judge; they shall not allow any person to speak to him on the road, or inform him of any thing that is passing.

79. On the day after the auto-da-fÉ, the Inquisitors shall cause all the reconciled persons to be brought before them; explain to each the sentence which had been read the day before, and tell him to what punishment he would have been condemned if he had not confessed his crime. They shall examine them all, particularly on what passes in the prisons, and give them into the custody of the jailer of the perpetual prisons, who shall be commissioned to observe that they accomplish their penances, and to inform them when they fail, &c.

80. The Inquisitor shall visit the perpetual prisons, from time to time, to observe the conduct of the prisoners, and if they are well treated.

81. The sanbenitos of all those persons who have been condemned to death shall be exposed in their respective parishes, after they have been burnt in person or in effigy; but the same shall be done with the sanbenitos of the reconciled persons, after they have left them off. The inscription of the sanbenito shall consist of the names of the condemned persons, a notice of the heresies for which they were punished, and of the time when they suffered their penance, in order to perpetuate the disgrace of heretics and their descendants.