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Booktype: Non-Fiction
Title: THE SPANISH INQUISITION
Author:
Henry Kamen
Recommend: YES
This book proves to a degree some well-known theories, that anti-Semitism over history’s ages was caused by the sometimes domination and control or infiltration by the Jews of the “purse” of some of the European countries. In many European cities and towns, the Jewish ghetto was conveniently placed beside the Cathedral of that city. The Church placed great dependence upon the financial knowledge of the Jews. And slowly, this is how they acquired power.
The book of which we speak is called The Spanish Inquisition by Henry Kamen, an Oxford graduate, with a specialty in Spanish 18th century history. During the 60s Kamen was on staff of the History Department at the University of Edinburgh, the New American Library, Inc., 1965.
The first chapter goes into detail about the Jews, and their relation to the Inquisition, their marriages into nobility, and what is called the Conversos, i.e., Jews or members of other religious groups, who converted to Catholicism to save themselves, but many of the Jewish Conversos also secretly performed Jewish rituals and worship. Even then, Jews refused to perform heavy labor, but desired to be the bankers or to be in professions in which they would not use their hands, such as farming. As a class amongst themselves, to some degree, they created their own anti-Semitism by their strict separation. The Muslims, also, who converted so that they could remain in Spain, were called Conversos. Both groups were cruelly and unfairly treated then finally ousted from Spain.
When Spain was cleared of Jews, this caused a terrible economic fall in some areas of Spain, as the Jews had been financial specialists and had commerce with the higher classes, and to secure their positions, had married into the Spanish nobility. After they were driven out of Spain, some leaders tried, without success, to have the Jewish people return so that they could reinstate healthy financial practices so as to regain their former economy.
Kamen gives good credit to the scholar, Henry Charles Lea, who is recognized for having written, A History of the Inquisition of Spain, (4 vols), NY, 1906-08.
There is mention of Erasmus who was a 1500s Dutch scholar. He wrote satire against ecclesiastical abuses. There is also mention of a famous Catholic saint: St. Ignatius Loyola of the Jesuit Society (Society of Jesus) - there was enmity between the Jesuits and the Dominican-controlled Inquisition.
So strict were the lines between Conversos and the Old Christians (deemed pure of blood), that if a Converso or any Spaniard wanted an important position, they had to prove purity of blood back five generations! Discrimination continued up to the end of the 19th century! Those found guilty had to wear special clothing called Sanbenitos, and after death these garments were placed on display in the Church. Guilt and shame were extended to the remainder of the family. Those guilty of secretly practicing Jewish rites, were called “Judaizers.” The doctrine of Limpieza meant “pure blood.” (Pure Spanish)
The Beginnings of the Inquisition were instituted by Ferdinand and Isabella (King & Queen of Spain) who planned to have it under their control and not under the Pope. This did change. Torquemada was the first and Chief Inquisitor. His cruelty is very well known in history books.
The Auto-da-fe was a public announcement of sentences and then the execution of those sentences. It was an “act of faith” done by those accused of practicing other beliefs or aided those accused. If the person confessed and his confession accepted, a few would be freed, but to a great degree, others were only to be strangled (!) instead of being burned alive at the auto-da-fe.
Even though a horrible event, for aficionados of the macabre, the auto-da-fe was great theater. Preparations were overly expensive and demanded much time. A great area in the midst of town was sought out, very large scaffolds for the people accused and then burned, were erected for this occasion. A balcony was made for the King, and an amphitheatre was built. Councils and the Grand Inquisitor would be there, also other persons of distinction and from well known groups. There was a dramatic procession, including the carrying of a green cross. There were people carrying images. Quite a colorful sight. The men and women accused of Witchcraft, criminality, and heresy, followed on at the end of the procession..
Of course the Crown and Inquisition and the Church received the financial properties of each family, and the families were often very rich, so these funds could be used for these happenings. Even though the auto-da-fe’s were finally; discontinued, prejudice against “others” continued even into the early decades of the 20th century.
Many of the most famous philosophers and scientists from all over Europe were added to the Index, and especially in Spain. The Index was the list created by the Catholic Church of books that Catholics were not to read. This continued into the 20 century, and the writer is not certain if it has been discontinued.
Of course, to a great extent, this intolerance finally diminished the riches and culture of an earlier Spain. After 1700, the Bourbon monarchic family from France came into power, and change came about. French dissident literature was “sneaked” into Spain. Before that time the Kings were from the Hapsburg family.
Jansenism, the theological principles of one theologian, Cornelius Jansen, 1585-1638, came into play at this time. Formerly forbidden in Spain, Jansenism did enter the country. This practice was condemned as heretical by the Catholic Church for its widespread belief in predestination, the denial of free will, and the fact that Jansen and his followers stated that human nature is incapable of good. --- Reviewed by Carol Rae Bradford, M.Ed.
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THE TRANSCENDENTALISTS
Through July and part of August, 2001, I spent a little while reading about this
earnest and rather well known group, the Transcendentalists. Books that I picked
up at the Athol Public library were:
Woman in the 19th Century, by Margaret Fuller
Brook Farm by Lindsay Swift, Corinth Books: NY, 1961.
Bronson Alcott’s Fruitlands, compiled by Clara Endicott Sears,
Boston & NY:
Houghton Mifflin, Riverside Press, Cambridge, 1915.
Books from my own Library:
The Peabody Sisters of Salem by Louise Hall Tharp, Pyramid Books: NY,
1950, 1968.
Selected Essays, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Greystone Press: NY, 1951
English Eccentrics, Edith Sitwell, Penguin Press: Middlesex, Engl,, 1958.
BROOK FARM: At Brook Farm no buildings remain. The last surviving one burned
down sometime during the latter part of the 20th century. The land is situated
about a quarter of a mile from Spring St., West Roxbury, MA. Many members of the
group instituting Brook Farm notably did not work. The Reverend George Ripley
stepped out of his 15-year role as Minister of the Unitarian Purchase Street
Church in Boston to coordinate this huge effort. This community was set up for
the benefit of writers, artists, philosophers, ministers and their families in
order that they might create more time for the finer things in life. Farming,
using their physical skills, was a must, and part of the necessary combination.
Most of these talented people were not bred for farming, so there appeared at
some point to be a lackluster for physical work. This is the foremost reason
that the Utopian idea did not carry. In the beginning, it did work very well,
and there were multitudes of carpenters and people of the trades willing to
help. Plays were performed, and there was much education and activities for the
children. It was a thriving community. Lots of donated money abounded. But, this
did not last. The group met there during the 1840s.
FRUITLANDS MUSEUM, very well related to Brook Farm, is situated in the town of
Harvard, MA. There are several buildings in the complex, all organized by Clara
Endicott Sears. There is one building dedicated to the American Indian, and
also, I believe, a building containing some of the Shakers’ work. It is an
extremely worthwhile trip. There is much in the Transcendentalists’ "building"
at Fruitlands to say that that group, including Emerson, read and owned books on
Eastern thought, Buddhism, Confucius and studied astrology, the Cabala, and more
(well before the Hippies’ time!). But, visiting the Concord Museum and Emerson’s
home nearby in Concord, MA, one does not see any books of this ilk. Where did
they go? Was the collection donated to Harvard? Quite recently, a friend who is
a librarian at the Concord Library, tells us that the books sought are housed at
the Library. The Appendix to Fruitlands in the book by Sears shows a worthy
collection of studies on saints and noted anchorites, also studies by Swedenborg
and Roger Bacon. I’ve perused the Harvard Divinity School Library; downstairs,
in the stacks, many books abound on reading matter pertaining to mysticism, etc.
I suspect much of the collection to be housed there. One will recall that
Emerson wrote essays on the Over-Soul. Emerson was Unitarian and studied at the
Harvard Divinity School.
The Harbinger and the Dial were two publications written by and about the
Transcendentalists.
MARGARET FULLER: Margaret was an intellectual, and at the center of the
movement. Elizabeth Peabody of Salem, also a teacher, had a bookstore in Concord
where, on Wednesday evenings, Fuller ran an exciting and stimulating discussion
group. People of her generation thought her to be conceited and somewhat
pompous. There was a Margaret Fuller Cottage as part of the premises of Brook
Farm. The main building was called the Hive.
ELIZABETH PEABODY. Bookstore owner, librarian and teacher. The Elizabeth Peabody
House on Chambers St., in Boston is named after her. Peabody was the original of
Miss Birdseye in Henry James’ The Bostonians. Totally blind in later years, she
was "mentally unblemished". She died in 1894 nearly 90 years old. (Brook Farm,
p. 259)
A small coincidence occurred when I borrowed MARGARET FULLER’s book, Woman in
the 19th Century. I took it out on July 3, began to read it on July 4, and
discovered that Margaret was on a ship with her Italian husband and her baby
son, when the ship sank. Though women and children could leave first, as was the
custom, she opted to stay on board with her husband. The date of the sinking is
July 4, and Fuller of course died on that date.
EDITH SITWELL, Editor of Wheels, Visiting Professor at the Institute of
Contemporary Arts, belonged to many other elite groups. She died in 1964:
English Eccentrics is interesting bathroom reading if you have the time! A
paragraph is enough to lighten up your day. Sitwell was an eccentric herself,
along with her brother Sacheverell. Picking up the little paperback, I
discovered the name Margaret Fuller mentioned. I mused, "Wonder if this is the
same Fuller, the Transcendentalist?" Indeed she was. In the chapter, ‘Portrait
of a Learned Lady," we find that at a dinner party hosted by Thomas Carlyle,
Fuller was the guest of honor.
This chaste, passionate, and high-principled woman, at once splendid and
ridiculous, was the direct outcome of the movement towards the Emancipation of
Women, a movement in which learned, trousered and vivacious ladies like George
Sand made presents of themselves with the same frequency, cheapness and
indiscrimination as that with which other ladies present Christmas cards.
Sitwell’s sarcasm and dislike is very evident here.
In the same chapter of the Sitwell book, Mr. Emerson, yes, Ralph Waldo, although
her friend, notes after Fuller’s death,
Her extreme plainness, a trick of incessantly opening and shutting her eyelids,
the nasal tone of her voice, all repelled. It is to be said that Margaret made a
disagreeable first impression on most persons, including those who afterwards
became her friends, to such an extent that they did not wish to remain in the
same room with her. This was partly the effect of her manners, which expressed
an overweening sense of power and slight esteem of others.
Yet Emerson did really admire her for some of her more positive attributes.
In Sitwell’s book we also we read strong and negative gossip about Wordsworth,
Coleridge’s son, and DeQuincey, author of Confessions of an Opium Eater.
Sitwell mentions Fuller’s journey to Europe, thereby falling in love with James
Nathan, who had long hair, played the guitar, and talked about the Soul. Sitwell
states:
…between them developed one of those innocently incestuous brother-and-sister
relationships …so grateful and convenient to the gentleman, so shattering to the
nerves and dignity of the lady.’
The writer begins to wonder: Did the Lady Sitwell and her brother have anything
of the sort, also?
The story goes on, and Nathan tells Fuller that they had a spiritual affinity.
The relationship began to break down under this kind of stress. For of course
Margaret is deeply in love. Eventually, Nathan became very irritated and
Margaret despaired. Though they communicated by letter, those letters became
rare, and Nathan married a younger woman.
Fuller:
,,, found there was much to be said for the symbolism of precious stones, and
she became a firm believer in talismans and omens…..she…was a stone of the
masculine gender, a living carbuncle - for carbuncles were divided into two
sexes. The female casts out light, the male has light within itself. ‘Mine is
the male.’ (pp. 160-177, Sitwell).
Of course, later on, Fuller married and became the Marchesa d’Ossoli, or rather,
perhaps, married and happily became the Marchesa d’Ossoli!.
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE: Nathaniel Hawthorne, the noted New England writer, married
Sophia Peabody, an artist (Peabody Sisters of Salem). He had contempt for the
"high priestess" as Fuller was called, of Transcendentalism. Hawthorne’s
Blithedale Romance was the epic writing of Brook Farm.
GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, an instrumental character who lived at Brook Farm, had
lived for a while in one of the Arab countries, wrote one or two books on the
Arabs, Nile Notes of a Howadji, 1851 (p. 90, Swift), and Howadji in Syria, These
books brought censure, being about an occidental’s feelings about the East.
Curtis was Editor of Harper’s Weekly. I have perused these books, but sense, as
do many others, that the book brought forth common, but untruthful and extremely
slanted opinions about the Arabs (this negative belief called Orientalism),
these writings the beginnings of anti-Arab racism in the United Kingdom and now,
since 9/11, very strongly, in the United States. (Howadji, 3 vols., Harper,
1852)
FATHER ISAAC HECKER, living at Brook Farm, began the Paulist movement, and was
their first leader. He was very much into mysticism, but suffered from poor
health. (pp. 94-109, Swift)
DR. JOHN THOMAS CODMAN wrote a book called Brook Farm: Historic & Personal
Memoirs.
A good combination: Ripleys and Bradford’s! SARAH BRADFORD, daughter of the
well-known revolutionary soldier, Gamaliel Bradford of Duxbury, married the
Reverend SAMUEL RIPLEY, who never took a parish. He taught school in Plymouth.
One can still visit the Gamaliel Bradford home in Duxbury run by the Duxbury
Rural & Historical Society. Sarah was a genuine Transcendentalist, and Emerson
gave her one of the 3 copies of the famous Sartor Resartus which Carlyle sent to
America. Her brother, GEORGE PARTRIDGE BRADFORD, was another clergyman active
at Brook Farm.
The Transcendentalists studied and followed a kind of philosophy called
FOURIERISM, named after Francois Marie Charles Fourier, 1772-1837, a French
utopian socialist. Fourierism, according to The American Heritage Dictionary, is
the system for social reform advised by Charles Fourier in the early 19th
century, proposing that society be organized into small self-sustaining communal
groups.
This short paper tells the writer that she must do much more research in order
to gather more detailed facts about the Transcendentalists in order to give a
more complete and accurate accounting of their circumstances, their hopes,
dreams and desires, and whether the movement would or could be carried on
through and into other centuries. There were about sixty other utopian groups
started during the 1840s, and in Massachusetts, Brook Farm was the first.
Studying each of these contemporaries’ biographies and writings would be a great
benefit in knowing more about mid-nineteenth century American history and
literature. Many of those writers who were into the Transcendentalist movement
are included within course offerings at high schools and colleges at present.
Other recommended readings on this subject:
Lindsay Swift: Brook Farm: Its Members, Scholars and Visitors, published
more than a century ago.
Sterling F. Delano: Brook Farm: The Dark Side of Utopia, Belknap Press,
2004.
Carol Rae Bradford
Written, 11:30 am, August 16, 2001
Added notes: 6:00 am, May 31, 2004
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