Frontiers of Heresy
The Spanish Inquisition from the Basque Lands to Sicily

A significant reappraisal of the Spanish Inquisition, focusing on the lands beyond Castile.

E. William Monter (Author)

9780521522595, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 November 2003

364 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.53 kg

Frontiers of Heresy is among the first major English-language contributions to the history of the Spanish Inquisition since Henry Charles Lea completed his classic curvey eighty years ago. Focusing on the lands beyond Castile, Professor Monter analyzes the activities of the Holy Office during an 'Aragonese Century' (1530–1630) when these frontier tribunals were its most active elements. This 'other' Spanish Inquisition virtually ignored converted Jews and their descendants, but brutally harassed Moriscos and immigrant workers from France; it executed nearly as many people for sodomy as for heresy. Despite opposition from local elites, the Inquisition performed many services for the king, sending thousands of heretics to the galleys and even capturing horse-smugglers along the Pyrenees. Frontiers of Heresy is based upon an immense variety of archival sources, and represents a significant reappraisal of one of the most important yet misunderstood institutions of early modern Europe.

List of maps and figures
List of tables
Preface
Part I. The Holy Office outside Castile: 1. The Castilian Inquisition in the Crown of Aragon, 1484–1530
2. The Aragonese century of the Spanish Inquisition, 1530–1630
3. The Aragonese Secretariat: public and private faces
Part II. Aragonese Tribunals: 4. Saragossa: a royal fortress
5. Barcelona: inquisitors with short arms
6. Valencia: taming the magnates
7. Navarre: the four conspiracies
8. Sicily: Italian wine in Spanish bottles
Part III. Aragonese Heresies: 9. Patterns of Morisco persecution in northern Spain
10. The survival of Morisco culture in Aragon
11. Protestants, Frenchmen, and toleration
Part IV. 'Mixed Crimes' in Aragon: 12. Witchcraft: the forgotten offense
13. Sodomy: the fateful accident
Part V. Recessional: 14. The eclipse of Aragon, 1630–1730
Conclusion
Appendices
Glossary
Index.

Subject Areas: Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]