[[caption-width-right:280: Bet he didn't expect that.]]

->''"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"''

'''The Spanish Inquisition''' was a StateSec of the Catholic Church in the Kingdom of Castile-Leon founded by Queen Isabella in 1478. It was later given jurisdiction over the Crown of Aragon (a union of the kingdoms of Aragon, Valencia, and Catalonia) and the Lordship of Navarra as well and eventually[[note]] after the war of the Austrian Succession, in which Aragon and Navarra sided with the Austrian Habsburgs and were crushed[[/note]] the unified Kingdom of Spain. It was disbanded in 1834.

The Inquisition was founded by Isabella of Castile to stamp out {{heresy}} and enforce religious orthodoxy amongst her subjects, particularly in Granada - the not-quite-complete conquest and subjugation of which was used as something of a rallying point which she used to smooth over the cracks caused by the somewhat-unexpected union of the Spanish Kingdoms brought about by her marriage to Ferdinand, King of Aragon. Whom we'll mention in passing just long enough to [[HenpeckedHusband make it clear who wore the pants]], though he did come in handy at times and by all accounts was a decent husband who could be trusted to get things done. Ferdinand and Isabella are still Spain's most popular monarchs.



The Inquisition's surveillance exclusively focused on people in urban centres, particularly people of prominence or importance -- a strategy of limited resources more than anything else. The Inquisition was to some extent used as a political weapon by the Crown, which had few other means of dealing with its political enemies amongst the Clergy and the Civic Authorities, who administered over two-thirds of the urban population of Spain virtually independently from the Crown. To this end, cultural hang-overs like daily bathing (a Moorish custom) or not eating pork were (infamously) used as the basis for accusations of false conversion. In the same manner, the possession of certain texts -- a list of banned books was eventually drawn up to this end -- was used to support accusations of heresy, protestantism, anti-monarchism, &c. This had the effect of getting many relatively harmless intellectuals into trouble, but the Inquisition's role in preventing the outbreak of Protestantism in Spain has been called everything from 'marginal but useful' to 'critical and essential'.

Most of these people brought up on charges of heresy, heretical ideas, dangerous ideas, &c were asked to recant their sins and accept religious re-education. The afterlife and one's (subjects') place(s) in it being prized above all else -- what's an earthly life of thirty years to eternity? -- this was big stuff. The Inquisition witnessed very few [[WitchHunt witch trials]]; this is not just because they dealt only with a small proportion of the peninsula's (minority) urban population at intervals of decades or more -- some towns for which there exist records were not visited more than a few times during the entire period of the Inquisition's existence -- but because what trials there were ceased in the latter 16th Century.

The concept that the Inquisition [[BurnTheWitch burned witches]], however, is a myth. The Inquisition ruled, then, that so-called witchcraft did not exist and that all self-identified 'witches' were insane. They also denounced the backwardness and unorthodoxy of witch-hunters -- the Inquisition was not so much interested in enforcing 'old' Catholicism as it was in promoting the 'new' Catholicism of the Catholic Reformation or Counter-Reformation.

Unfortunately, this did not stop civic authorities -- who had their own court systems independent of the Church and the Crown -- and groups of angry villagers from rounding up 'witches' and hanging them anyway. Said authorities and mobs did not, sadly, keep records, so the actual number of Spanish people killed as witches remains unknown. That said, it is generally assumed to be lower than that in, say, France.

A common misconception is that the Spanish Inquisition was deployed overseas -- it was not. There are contemporary, sensationalist, rumours of the Spanish Inquisition burning people left right and centre in the Netherlands during the course of the Reformation and Eighty Years' war. This was, however, the work of the Dutch Inquisition in the Spanish Netherlands, who were again in many cases using heresy as an excuse to deal with Dutch Nationalists and other politically troublesome individuals. It should also be pointed out that the Inquisition under Torquemada argued to ''save'' the books and documents taken in the Conquest of Mexico and South America, to sadly little avail.

Some points about the actual Spanish Inquisition:
* The ''auto de fe'' was actually only [[ComeToGawk a public penance of heretics]] and didn't actually feature [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] or [[BurnTheWitch burning at the stake]] as commonly depicted -- the last part came later on, and while it was public (as all executions were at the time), it wasn't made a show of. However, the two were seen as the same process.
* Unusually among the multiple Inquisitions established in different parts of Europe, final authority and control rested with the monarchs rather than the Church hierarchy. It quite often functioned as a simple tool of repression, a sort of medieval secret police working for the Crown. This rather ironically means you could argue it was the ''least'' religiously motivated of the Inquisitions, despite its image and reputation.
* The Holy Office of the Inquisition is now known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Amongst the most recent Prefects of this office was one Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger... known from April 2005 to February 2013 as [[ThePope Pope Benedict XVI]]. In fact, he was Prefect when he was elected Pope.
** Protestant Nations [[NotSoDifferent themselves executed witches and dissidents en masse]], so their criticism was mostly just propaganda against their religious opponents, with each side considering the other heretics. And then atheist writers started to put pens to paper...

!!The Spanish Inquisition in fiction:
* The classic film ''ManOfLaMancha'' is the story of Literature/DonQuixote as told by Miguel de Cervantes to a group of inmates while he awaits trial by the Inquisition. An underplayed but important arc involves Miguel building up his courage to face the Inquisition, running parallel to Quixote's seeming fearlessness.
* One episode of ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' has a RunningGag where a frustrated character would grumble, "I didn't expect some kind of/this kind of/the Spanish Inquisition!" After a "jarring chord," several anachronistic Spanish Inquisitors would burst in and seize control of the skit.
* A ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' episode actually plays a version of the famous Creator/MontyPython sketch completely straight.
* In Voltaire's ''Literature/{{Candide}}'', the title character and his friend Pangloss fall into the hands of the Inquisition of Portugal due to Pangloss' optimistic philosophy getting them branded as heretics. They are put to the torture and Pangloss is hanged, but an earthquake allows Candide to escape. Afterward, he learns that his LoveInterest, Lady Cunegonde, is still alive, but has fallen into the hands of a corrupt merchant and the even more corrupt Grand Inquisitor, who have treated her horribly. Candide kills both her captors, but has to flee when an ''alcalde'' (Spanish fortress commander) comes after him for killing the Grand Inquisitor.
* The opera ''Theatre/DonCarlo'', and the play by Friedrich von Schiller on which it is based.
* A parable told by Ivan in ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'' is set in the Spanish Inquisition.
* Inspired the Quisition in the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Small Gods''.
* The protagonist of the Creator/EdgarAllanPoe story ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' is a prisoner of the inquisition.
* Spoofed in a musical number in Creator/MelBrooks' ''[[Film/HistoryOfTheWorldPartI History of the World, Part I]]''.
* Also mentioned in ''Literature/GoodOmens'', which has the Them playing at being the Spanish Inquisition. We also learn that Hell congratulated Crowley for the Inquisition, despite him having no involvement whatsoever in bringing it about. When he went to see what all the fuss was about, he stayed drunk for a week. EvenEvilHasStandards.
* Kage Baker's novel ''[[TheCompanyNovels In the Garden of Iden]]'' has its immortal cyborg protagonist, Mendoza, rescued as a child from the Spanish Inquisition. She is not above using this to try to squeeze sympathy and better job postings from her superiors.
* Depicted as a cancer on an idealized body politic in ''TheFountain'' by Creator/DarrenAronofsky. Then we realize it was [[spoiler:[[AllJustADream All Just a Story in the head of a dying astronaut who has attained enlightenment.]]]]
* Depicted as a torturous game show sketch, "Convert or Die!", in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}!'' episode "Megalomaniacs". The sketch was replaced with a new sketch about CustersLastStand in reruns, but restored when the episode appeared on [=In2TV=].
* ''CodenameKidsNextDoor'' had the ''Spinach'' Inquisition from the land of Spinachia, who forced kids to eat spinach so they didn't have to (and sang about it as well). Upon saying "Nobody expects the spinach inquisition!", a rim shot plays.
* Henry was pursued by a priest in ''Series/BloodTies''. In two different eras.
* ''OpenBlue'' has the [[ChurchMilitant Three Inquisitional Orders]], which served as the Avelian Empire's Spanish Inquisition. When the inquisition ended, they continued to train their priests (and nuns) in the art of [[WarriorMonk swinging swords around]] as they were frequently assigned as chaplains aboard Avelian warships, which usually went off hunting {{pirates}}. Additionally, these priests and nuns are responsible for ''training'' the [[CloakAndDagger spies]] and StateSec agents working for the Empire's intelligence service.
* Spanish series of novels ''The Adventures of Captain Literature/{{Alatriste}}'' (and the movie, simply ''Alatriste'') feature the Inquisition as an antagonistic organization, represented mostly in Fray Emilio [[MeaningfulName Bocanegra ("Black-Mouth")]] and his conspiracies.
* The Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures novel ''Sanctuary''.
* Mentioned in the early books of EricFlint and DavidWeber's ''1632'' series, but comes to the fore in ''1634: The Galileo Affair''.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' has the Inquisition, a [[ChurchMilitant religious]] [[StateSec paramilitary security force]] that protects the Imperium from its enemies within and enemies without. One branch (Ordo Malleus) deals with [[TheLegionsOfHell daemons of Chaos]], another (Ordo Hereticus) with [[SuperPowerMeltdown rogue psykers]] or [[TheHeretic outbreaks of heresy]], and a third (Ordo Xenos) from [[FantasticRacism alien corruption]]. The Inqusition's members have a fondness for [[NiceHat broad-brimmed hats]] (when they're not in full-blown PowerArmor), and helped provide most of the ''[=40K=]'' contributions on the QuotesWiki on the subject of HangingJudge.
** And by extension, the Inquisition is the main organization of ExterminatusNow. There are also two references to the Monty Python sketch.
* ''WarhammerFantasy'', [[OlderThanTheyThink way before]] Warhammer 40K, had the Witch Hunters, agents who hunted down Chaos activities, unlicensed magic users, mutants, and whatever else they don't like much. Their authority might come from local authorities, the official [[KnightTemplar State Cult]], or simply [[{{Vigilante}} be acting on their own]].
* ''[[AnimaBeyondFantasy Anima: Beyond Fantasy]]'' also has an Inquisition, a fanatic [[ChurchMilitant branch]] of the Church of [[CrystalDragonJesus Abel]] whose mission is to hunt down and kill heretics and demons (read: people with supernatural powers as magic or psyonic abilities or [[FantasticRacism non-humans]]). They've everything from the Black Legend mentioned above: [[BurnTheWitch burning heretics at the stake]], [[ColdBloodedTorture tortures]], etc and are '''not''' very nice.
* The Holy See of ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' also has an Inquisition dedicated to rooting out heretics. Much like Anima above, the Black Legend has full influence here -- many people are horribly tortured in the Inquisition's dungeons, and a major character nearly gets burned at the stake as a witch (though this is mainly because she has a [[MagneticPlotDevice mark]] on her that draws TheLegionsOfHell to her, which the protagonist also has). The most notorious figure of the Holy See's Inquisition is Bishop and High Inquisitor Mozgus, who is [[KnightTemplar quite the nasty piece of work]].
** Given how much stuff in Anima has been inspired (or simply taken [[{{Expy}} more]] or [[CaptainErsatz less]] changed) from different anime and manga, it's very likely its Inquisition is actually based on the Holy See of Berserk.
* Paul Luther is detained by the Inquisition in ''EternalDarkness''; his chapter is even titled "Heresy!".
* The Inquisition is still around in the DresdenFiles. [[spoiler: GoodShepherd Father Forthill is even a member.]] Nowadays, though their primary goal is dealing with dangerous supernatural threats and helping the Knights of the Cross. They're really very sorry about what happened in Spain, and have sworn off political power because of it.
* They're also still around in ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil''. The Malleus Malefictorum are also dedicated to only fighting supernatural threats, particularly vampires. [[spoiler: Their leader is a ghoul, as in someone who survives on vampire blood. He's also [[GayConservative gay,]] but surprisingly not a PedophilePriest.]]
* Lang Lang [[http://langlang.comicgenesis.com/d/20041028.html plays it completely straight.]]
* ''GoyasGhosts'' starring NataliePortman as one of the victims of the Inquisition.
* ''ComicBook/{{Marvel 1602}}'' features [[spoiler: Magneto]] as the Grand Inquisitor, and [[spoiler: Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch]] as his two assistants. While he publicly advances the Pope's agenda, he secretly [[spoiler: kills only "witchbreed" whose mutations are obvious, such as Angel's. Those who are less obvious he inducts into his "Brotherhood of those who will inherit the earth"]].
* ''Literature/TheMonk'' takes place in Spain during this era.
* While ''RequiemChevalierVampire'' doesn't have an actual Inquisition, some of the more notorious Inquisitors show up as [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]] (including Torquemada himself), which are what people who do horrible things to people in the name of religious fanaticism are reborn as in the world of Resurrection.
* Features prominently in any of Jack Chick's ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'' about the Catholic Church and, like the life of Jesus is treated [[ArtisticLicenseHistory as if almost no one has ever heard of it]].
* ''Literature/DonQuixote'': The only contemporary example by an Spanish author (Cervantes) shows the Spanish Inquisition as an Institution responsible for ensuring that the Spanish captives by the Moors who returned to Spain did not present traces of having converted to Islam,and as a MoralGuardian full of CondescendingCompassion for the masses at their charge when [[ThePrankster a noble]] makes a PracticalJoke with an [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots enchanted head]]. However, [[FridgeLogic the book would never have been published if the institution was shown in a worse light]].
* The subject of "White Hammer" by Music/VanDerGraafGenerator.
* In ''TrueBlood'', the Inquisition is the work of vampires and was primarily used to eliminate witches. The BigBad of series 4 is the vengeful spirit of one such witch who was burned at the stake 400 years previously.
* ''MutantChronicles'': The Brotherhood's Second Directorate is the Inquisition. The Inquisition is pretty much the common view of the Spanish one taken UpToEleven. However the GrimDark nature of the world makes the Inquisition come off as [[TheExtremistWasRight harsh but justified]] more than anything else. Inquisitors not only conduct interrogations and torture heretics, but also investigate heresy-related crime and fight heretics and demons in the field, and are generally (though not without exception) heroic figures.
* In the {{Nasuverse}} a number of characters work are Executors of the Church, and actually work for the Assembly of the Eight Sacrament, a department of the Inquisition dedicated to supervise supernatural phenomena and holy relics and eradicate vampires, with the Burial Agency as a further sub-department dedicated specifically to eradicate the worst and most dangerous vampires. [[ShownTheirWork The date of foundation of the Assembly of the Eight Sacrament and the Burial Agency coincide with the foundation of the Episcopal Inquisitions]].
* In the Italian remake of ''FanFic/BattleFantasiaProject'' the Assembly of the Eight Sacrament department of the {{Nasuverse}} of the Inquisition features prominently, with the Inquisition at large eventually taking back the historical name of "Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition".
* In the first episode of ''Series/{{Ultraviolet}}'', the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is assumed by a vampire to be behind the secret VampireHunter squad. It turns out to be the [[GovernmentConspiracy British Government instead]].
''[[Film/HistoryOfTheWorldPartI What a show!]]''