To recognize a war, it is not always necessary to establish the definition of two enemy nations or the conquest of a territory. Over time, we can see that conflict situations developed for different reasons. From this perspective, we can understand the Catholic Inquisition as a situation of conflict in which an institution religious disagrees with behaviors and religious experiences that threatened its hegemony between the Middle Ages and the Modern age.
Interested in winning this confrontation, the Church set up a series of courts that investigated those accused of committing so-called “crimes of faith”. After the assessment, the suspect was subjected to a series of tortures aimed at extracting the due confession from the accused. In some cases, depending on the seriousness of the crime, killing in public was used as a means of inhibiting other residents of a region from committing a similar offense.
One of the first weapons imposed against the accused was the so-called “inquisitorial chair”. In it, the suspect was subjected to a series of questions related to the crime he allegedly committed. The chair was stuffed with thick metal nails that lacerated its victim's flesh as the clerics' questioning took place. Often, this type of instrument was enough for many to confess to any kind of fault.
In some more extreme situations, the so-called “Cradle of Judas” was also used by the inquisitors. In this instrument, the accused had his arms tied by chains located on the ceiling and his body attached to a pointed chair. As the chain was released, the weight of the victim's body caused the entire anal region to be torn apart. The discomfort of the position and the injuries were capable of tearing out even the sins that were not committed by the victim.
Even the slightest accusations and sins had a kind of instrument of reproof. The use of “masks of shame” and the binding of the neck and wrists were widely applied in the punishment of minor offences. Gambling addicts, drinkers and smokers were also punished with a barrel with passage for their limbs and head. In this type of punishment, the convict was forced to wander around the city dressed in the uncomfortable barrel.
When death was applied as punishment, we can see that the refinements of cruelty were even greater against the sinner. Some defendants were imprisoned in hollow cages shaped like a human body. Trapped in the metallic structure, the convict was hung on a public road until he died and his body decomposed. In the "Bull of Falaris" the sinner was inserted into a metal bull that carried a fire underneath. As the temperature rose, the audience heard the roar of the person trapped in the bull.
No doubt, on noting the variety of resources that were applied in the Inquisition, we can see that the brutality employed against sinners was devastating. It is worth remembering that, in those times, the idea of individual rights and religious freedom were far from being defended. In this way, many considered the Church's action as something inherent to its religious functions.
By Rainer Sousa
Master in History
Brazil School Team
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/as-armas-inquisicao.htm