Inquisition, The
November 2nd, 2000 by Eshin
The book begins with a fascinating look at the origins and reasons for the Inquisition, which was an institution quite broader than just the Spanish variety. It’s an eye-opener and it helps put a perspective on how the Papacy dominated and influenced the course of politics in the Middle Ages. The Inquisition was perhaps the first institution that used the mass public as a political tool, if only through fear.
While it makes interesting bedside reading, and I criticize not the validity of their work, the book is not a piece of academic work. Nor does it reveal anything too gory or too shocking that challenges the reader to think.
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This text presents a full history of the inquisition, beginning with St Dominic crossing the Pyrenees into Spain and the persecution of the villagers of South-West France that followed, right through to the holy index of forbidden books in the 20th century. The book gives a full account of how the church has as tried to ring-fence its beliefs over the centuries - from full-scale violent persecution to the more subtle censorships of recent years.
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