The History of the Inquisition of Spain from the Time of its Establishment to the Reign of Ferdinand Part 33

Explanation of the Articles of the Faith, by Fray Dominic de Roxas.

Opinions on the Interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, by Juan Valdes, secretary to Charles V., who became a Lutheran.

Treatise on Prayer and Meditation, which appears to have been written by some other Lutheran author.

Explanation of the Book of Job, of which Carranza only wrote the notes, which refute the text in several places.

Explanation of the verse _Audi filia_, explanatory notes only by Carranza.

Several papers which Fray Dominic de Roxas and Christopher de Padilla had distributed, maliciously attributing them to Don Bartholomew, although they belonged to Fray Dominic, and other Lutherans.

As to the _Exposition of the Canonical Epistle of St. John_, the archbishop declared that, in the state in which it was, he did not acknowledge it as his work; that he had only given it verbally to his pupils, and that, doubtless, one of them had written it from memory; that although the foundation of it was what he had taught, the errors which it contained could not be imputed to him.

The grand-inquisitor was at first only acquainted with the Catechism of Carranza, the censure of which was confided to Cano and others. Cano, whose heart was full of hatred, wanted no incitements to condemn it; of the inclinations of the others we may judge by letters, in which Fray Dominic de Soto speaks of his embarra.s.sment at being obliged to censure some propositions which he considered very orthodox. Of all the works of Carranza, those only were marked with the theological censure which are numbered 3, 4, 13, 27, 28, 29, and 30. The Master Carlos, and afterwards Cano and Cuevas, were employed in this work.

As there were among the Lutherans many persons intimate with the archbishop, and even some who had been his pupils, he wished to be informed of the state of their affairs. Fray Juan de la Pena, Fray Francis de Tordesillas, and Fray Louis de la Cruz, sent the details to Flanders to Fray Juan de Villagarcia, the companion of the Archbishop, and by this means he learnt that his Catechism was to be condemned for two reasons: first, on the pretext that it contained several heretical propositions; and secondly, because the principle which caused the Bible in the vulgar tongue to be prohibited in Spain in the present state of the kingdom, would not admit of the permission of a work on _justification_, and other points of controversy with the Lutherans, in the same language. The archbishop first commissioned Villagarcia, and afterwards the Jesuit Gil Gonzalez, to translate his Catechism into Latin, with notes on the obscure pa.s.sages: they began, but never finished the work.

The archbishop, however, was far from suspecting that he would be attacked for his personal profession of faith, when he received a letter from Fray Louis de la Cruz, dated Valladolid, May 21, 1558, in which he informed him that the Lutherans declared he partook their opinions.

Carranza replied, that he was more grieved for their misfortune in having embraced heresy than for their false testimony against him. As he was perfectly convinced of the purity of his faith, and believed that he had given sufficient proofs of it in combating the opinions of the heretics, he persuaded himself that only the sense of his _Commentaries_ was to be dismissed. He therefore returned to Spain, expecting to arrange the affair on a few conferences with the grand inquisitor; and in order to facilitate the attainment of his object, he obtained approbations of his work from some of the most famous theologians in Spain,--Don Pedro Guerrero, archbishop of Granada; Don Francis Blanco, archbishop of Santiago; Don Francis Delgado, bishop of Lugo and Jaen; Don Andrea Cuesta, bishop of Leon; Don Antonio Gorrionero, bishop of Almeria; Don Diego Sobanos, rector of the university of Alcala; Fray Pedro de Soto, confessor to Charles V.; Fray Dominic Soto, professor of Salamanca; Don Hernando de Barriovero, canon, magistrate, and professor of Toledo; and Fray Mancio del Corpus, professor of Alcala; besides many other Doctors of Salamanca, Valladolid, and Alcala.

While the archbishop was at Valladolid in 1558, he demanded that the theological censures of his works should be communicated to him, that he might reply to them, and give any satisfaction required of him. He thought he had a right to this concession, for several reasons: first, as he was the author; secondly, as the primate of Spain; and thirdly, as a man who might expect such an act of deference from the holy office, in consideration of his labours in its cause. But the grand-inquisitor Valdes (who was his enemy, though he pretended to be his friend) would not grant his request, alleging that it was not the custom to hear an author on the qualification of his works. Carranza then endeavoured to avail himself of the approbations he had obtained from the ill.u.s.trious theologians already mentioned, who were almost all of them fathers of the council of Trent; but they were not received, and he experienced the same rejection from the Supreme Council. The mystery which shrouded all the proceedings of that body was impenetrable, and he departed from Valladolid in ignorance of the causes of his trial.

He, however, afterwards obtained information, that some witnesses had been examined on his personal faith, and that the censurers of his work noted it, as containing _heresies, propositions savouring of heresy, fomenting heresy, tending to heresy, and capable of causing it_. Some idea may be formed of the state of his mind from his application to the king and the pope, to whom he sent an account of all that had pa.s.sed between him and the grand-inquisitor, and implored their protection; the minutes of this account, and the letters which accompanied it, were afterwards found among his papers.

On the 20th of September, he arrived at Yuste, in Estremadura. His misfortune, it may be presumed, rendered him prudent in his exhortations to Charles V.; it is not likely that he would use the phrases attributed to him by Fray Juan de Regla, without adding expressions to limit the absolute sense which the denouncer imputed to him. On the 5th of October he again wrote to the king, on the occasion of the death of the emperor, and also to Ruy Gomez de Sylva, and to Don Antonio de Toledo, grand-prior of the order of St. John, both high in favour with his majesty, and with whom he was intimate, but more particularly with Don Antonio, who always endeavoured to be useful to him. His letters and those of many others at Rome, who wished to serve him, were found among his papers. The papal nuncio in Spain had already informed his court of what was pa.s.sing at Madrid, and it was believed that the grand-inquisitor acted in concert with the king; this circ.u.mstance prevented Paul IV. (though he esteemed Carranza) from interfering in the affair, until he clearly perceived what was to be thought of it.

Philip II., who then resided at Brussels, was far from being capable of arresting the progress of a trial undertaken by the inquisitors for a matter of faith; he contented himself with promising to protect Carranza, as long as it was compatible with the Catholic religion. The demand of being heard in his defence, before the condemnation of his Catechism, might have been granted, if the depositions concerning his personal faith had not presented an obstacle. Don Ferdinand Valdes represented to the princess Jane, governess of the kingdom, the declarations of the witnesses, which, read by a person without discrimination, and with the intention of injuring, made the archbishop appear to be a real heretic. The princess communicated this to the king, her brother, who being naturally suspicious, and knowing that Valdes was inimical to Carranza, resolved to take the cowardly part of remaining inactive, and waiting until the affair should be elucidated. It is not true that Philip repented of having elevated Carranza to the see of Toledo; the proof of this exists in the procedure: he was favourably disposed towards the archbishop, till Valdes and the counsellors of the Inquisition persuaded him that Carranza was an hypocritical heretic. The absolute inactivity of this prince's character, and the formidable and continual activity of Valdes, were the cause of the misfortunes of Carranza.

The archbishop now thought it would be better to submit in order to avoid the infamy, and without waiting for replies from Brussels and Rome, on the 21st of September, 1558, he addressed a pet.i.tion to Don Sancho Lopez de Otalora, counsellor of the Inquisition, in which he consented that his Catechism should be placed in the Index, provided his name was not mentioned, and that the prohibition did not extend beyond Spain, because the work was in the Spanish language. He hoped by these means to preserve the reputation of being a Catholic author, the only fame of which he was ambitious. In November, he sent letters to the grand-inquisitor and others, and remitted pet.i.tions to the Supreme Council, earnestly requesting, that in order to terminate all difficulties as soon as possible, his Catechism might be printed in Spanish, and given to him to be revised, corrected, and translated into Latin. His efforts were unsuccessful; the grand-inquisitor, far from wis.h.i.+ng to serve him, obtained from the Pope the brief which completed his disgrace. He perceived that he ought to have followed the advice which had been given to him in Flanders, to repair to Rome, instead of Spain. The Bishop of Orense gave him to understand that there were in his case some things savouring of heresy, when he made the following reply:--_Unless this crime entered by the sleeve of my habit, I am, thank G.o.d, innocent of any thing of the kind. I shall therefore allow the affair to take the common course._

On the 7th of June, 1558, Paul IV. declared in full consistory, "that being informed that the heresies of Luther, and some others, had been propagated in Spain, he had reason to suspect that several prelates had adopted them; and in consequence he authorized the grand-inquisitor _for two years from that day_, to make inquests concerning all the bishops, archbishops, patriarchs, and primates, of that kingdom: to commence their trials, and, in case that an _attempt to escape_ was suspected, to arrest them and lodge them in a place of security, and that the inquisitor should _immediately_ report the same to the sovereign pontiff, and send the criminals to Rome as soon as possible, with their process sealed up." The archbishop received notice of the expedition of this brief, in a letter from Cardinal Theatire, on the 18th of January.

Valdes also demanded of the king, his permission to put it in execution.

A letter from Don Antonio de Toledo to Carranza, dated Brussels, 27th of February, informed him, that his majesty had commanded the grand-inquisitor to suspend the proceedings till he arrived in Spain; adding, that his majesty was quite convinced of the wickedness with which the archbishop was treated. Valdes renewed his demand in March, representing the inconveniences of delay, and at last obtained permission to execute the brief.

During this period, the inquisitors of Valladolid continued to receive every possible deposition unfavourable to the archbishop, to justify the proceedings against him.

On the 20th of February, 1559, Fray Gaspard Tamayo, a Franciscan, voluntarily denounced the Catechism: he said, he thought it wrong in the author, to exhort the faithful to read the Scriptures, and not to address to the saints the prayers beginning _Pater-Noster_ and _Ave-Maria_.

On the 11th of April, Don Juan de Acuna, count de Buendia, deposed that the archbishop had recommended him to renounce that practice, and to pray to the saints in the manner he had taught in his book; that he and all his family, and Donna Francisca de Cordova, had followed his advice, until the Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo had persuaded them to the contrary: the deponent added, that he knew that Carranza had given the same advice to several other persons employed in the palace. This deposition was followed by those of the countess his wife, their chaplain, and seven of their servants.

On the same day, Fray Dominic de Roxas deposed, that the Marquis de Roza, his father, asked Carranza if he should cause a thousand ma.s.ses to be said for his soul during his life, or after his death, and that the archbishop replied, "_If my lord the marquis will believe me, he will say the ma.s.ses during his life_." The deponent further said, that the archbishop, in going to Trent to attend the second convocation of the council, was in company with some Lutherans who were with the King of Bohemia; that he disputed with one of them in the presence of the Bishop of Segovia, and though he appeared to have the advantage in the argument, he afterwards said privately to the deponent, "_I was never so much embarra.s.sed as to-day; although I am a master of theology, yet I am not so learned in the Scriptures as this Lutheran, who is only a layman._" The witness also said, that the archbishop had read and approved his _explanation of the articles of the faith_, and that he had even inserted part of it in his Catechism. It has been also stated, that Fray Dominic recanted all his depositions before his death.

On the 5th of May, Donna Catherine de Castilla, who was a prisoner of the holy office, declared that she believed the archbishop to be a Lutheran; but repenting, she retracted her declaration, and said that she knew that Carranza had maintained to Don Carlos de Seso, her husband, that he committed a fatal error in denying the existence of purgatory. She persisted in her recantation.

I appeal to my readers, if the state of the trial and the depositions of the witnesses were sufficient allegation: Canino the fiscal, reserving to himself the right of accusing him with more formality hereafter, demanded that the person of the archbishop should be seized, that he should be imprisoned, and his goods and revenues sequestrated, to be at the disposal of the grand-inquisitor. Valdes, after consulting the Supreme Council, commanded the fiscal to present the papers of which he had spoken in his requisition: these were the Catechism with the qualifications of Cano, Cuevas, Soto, and Ybarra; two MSS. bound, containing the articles of faith by Fray Dominic de Roxas, and the other works of Carranza mentioned under the numbers 3, 4, 13, 27, 28, 29, and 30, with their qualifications; two sermons sent by Carranza to the licentiate Herrera, judge of the trials for smuggling, who was under arrest for Lutheranism; the depositions of the witnesses, with a summary of them, and to cause the archbishop to be p.r.o.nounced attainted of heresy. Valdes, having drawn up, on the 8th of April, a verbal process of the reception of the powers granted by the Pope, the licentiate Canino, fiscal of the council of the Inquisition, on the 6th of May, presented to the grand-inquisitor a requisition, in which he demanded the execution of the brief, and declared that he would designate, in time and place, the person which it was to strike. Valdes remitted a declaration, in which he announced that he was ready to do justice whenever he was required. On the same day, the fiscal presented another requisition, in which he stated that Don Bartholomew Carranza, archbishop of Toledo, had preached, insinuated, written, and taught, in his conferences, his sermons, and his catechism, and in other books and writings, several heresies of Luther, according to the depositions of witnesses, and the books and writings which he presented to support his charges: the letters were those of the Bishop of Cuenza, Don Pedro de Castro; a letter from the archbishop to Doctor Cazalla, dated Brussels, 18th of February, 1558, in reply to compliments on his elevation to the see of Toledo; (in this letter he begs Cazalla to "_pray that he may have the light necessary to govern his diocese well_;" adding, "_that it was more needful to ask it then than before, for those who formed part of the church of G.o.d_;") two letters of Juan Sanchez, a Lutheran, in which he says _that he was going to Flanders, because he hoped to be well received by Carranza_.

As these formalities were all fulfilled in one day, it is not to be doubted that it was a concerted scheme between the grand-inquisitor, some members of the council, and the fiscal: if this had not been the case, three days would have been necessary for these ceremonies. On the 13th of May, the grand-inquisitor and the council determined that Carranza should be cited to appear, and reply to the accusations of the fiscal.

When the king had given his consent that the archbishop should be prosecuted, he required that he should be treated _with the respect due to his dignity_: this he repeated in a letter to Cardinal Pacheco, who informed him that Carranza had demanded that his affair should be judged at Rome. The king also wrote two letters to Carranza on the 30th of March, and the 4th April, in which he promised to protect him. The letter to Cardinal Pacheco induced the grand-inquisitor to write to the king on the 19th of May, when he informed him of the measure which had been decreed, adding, that he thought a citation to appear more moderate, less humiliating, and more private than an arrest by alguazils. The king, however, had still some regard for Carranza, since he did not approve of what had been done. At this period Don Antonio de Toledo, who continued to correspond with Carranza, informed him, that though he did not think the affair had taken so favourable a turn as might be wished, yet he thought he still perceived some marks of attachment for him in the king, in spite of the evil report made of him.

At last, on the 26th of June, the king sent an answer to the inquisitor-general, in which he gives his consent to what had been resolved upon; adding, that he hoped the execution of this measure would be attended _with all the consideration due to the merit of Carranza, and the dignity with which he was invested_. The prelate was informed of this event, in a letter written by Don Antonio de Toledo, the next day.

The approbation of the king was received on the 10th of July, and on the 15th the fiscal presented a second requisition, in which he insisted on the execution of the demand contained in the first, that Carranza should be arrested, and his goods seized. He represented that the instruction of the process furnished proofs which ought to have been considered sufficient on the 13th of May; that nevertheless he would add to them the deposition of Donna Louisa de Mendoza, wife of Don Juan Vasquez de Molina, secretary to the king. This lady deposed, that the Marchioness d'Alcanices told her, that, _according to the instructions of the archbishop, it was not meritorious in the sight of G.o.d to deprive ourselves of pleasures, and that it was not necessary to wear haircloth_. The marchioness, who was examined, declared that she had never said anything of the kind, but only that all these things were less meritorious; that she had been intimate with the archbishop for more than twenty years, and had been his penitent, but during all that time she had never heard him say any thing against the faith.

On the 1st of August, the grand-inquisitor, in concert with the Supreme Council, and several consultors, issued the order for the arrest of the archbishop. At this juncture, Philip II. wrote to his sister, the governess of the kingdom, saying, that in order to avoid the scandal and inconveniences arising from the measures decreed by the holy office, it would be proper to send for the archbishop to court upon some decent pretext. Don Antonio de Toledo having heard some hints of this, hastened to communicate it to Carranza, on the 19th of July: this was the last letter that faithful friend wrote to him. Among the papers of the archbishop, were found letters from persons, who afterwards, from want of courage, joined his enemies. There was also found the minutes of a representation in Latin, addressed to the Pope, in the name of the chapter of Toledo, entreating his holiness not to allow the cause of Carranza to be judged by the holy office of Spain, alleging that its members were swayed by human motives, and not from zeal to religion: it is not certain if this pet.i.tion reached the Court of Rome, but the chapter behaved to the prelate with great generosity.

The regent wrote a letter to the archbishop on the 3rd of August, in which she says, that before the arrival of the king, which would soon take place, she wished to communicate some affairs to him, and therefore begged him to repair immediately to Valladolid, adding, that as the least delay might occasion very disagreeable consequences, she should be pleased if he came as soon as possible, even if without ceremony or equipage, and that she sent Don Rodrigo de Castro that he might not lose time, and might inform her of his arrival.

This Don Rodrigo de Castro was the nephew of the Bishop of Cuenca, the first denouncer of Carranza: he departed from Valladolid on the 4th of August; on the 6th he delivered the letter to the archbishop, who, on the next day, replied to the princess that he would obey her orders. He immediately sent his equipages and part of his household to Valladolid, but followed slowly, that he might visit the towns and villages of his diocese, which he was to pa.s.s through.

During this interval, Don Rodrigo wrote several letters to Valdes, one dated the 4th of August, from Arevalo, and four from Alcala de Henares, dated the 7th, 9th, 10th, and 14th, from which the inquisitor-general concluded that the delay of eight days was too long, and concealed some bad design: he pretended to think that Carranza intended to make his escape to Rome, yet Don Rodrigo de Castro lodged in the same house, and never lost sight of him. This pretext, futile as it was, gave Valdes the opportunity of issuing a mandate on the 17th, appointing Don Rodrigo and Don Diego Ramirez de Sedeno inquisitors of the districts of Toledo and Valladolid. He commissioned them and the chief alguazil of Valladolid to seize the person of the archbishop, to sequestrate his goods, and draw up an inventory of them.

This order was executed at Torre-Laguna, on the 22nd, before day, and while the archbishop was still in bed. When he was told that he was under arrest, he demanded to know by whose order he was made prisoner; that of the inquisitor-general, and the brief of the Pope, were shown to him. He replied that the brief was general, and that it ought to be a special commission expedited with a knowledge of the cause, which was out of the jurisdiction of the inquisitor-general: that even supposing him to be competent, the conditions prescribed in the brief were not observed in his case, since nothing but malice could inspire the fear that he should attempt to escape; that, from all these considerations, he protested against the order of the grand-inquisitor, and the violence of his measures, and demanded satisfaction of the Pope for the insult he had received. Not being able at that moment to put his intentions into execution, the archbishop desired Juan de Ledesma, the notary of the holy office, who was present at his arrest, to write down his replies to the inquisitors, and that he obeyed the order only to avoid ill-treatment.

The archbishop requested that great care might be taken of his papers, some of which belonged to trials concerning the archiepiscopal see, and were of great importance. All that he requested was complied with on this subject.

On the 23rd of August he left Torre-Laguna, and arrived at Valladolid on the 28th; he was imprisoned in the house of Don Pedro Gonzalez de Leon: his portfolio, and a box containing papers, were sent to the inquisitor-general, who immediately caused them to be opened, and an inventory taken of their contents. On the 6th of September he addressed a letter to the king, giving an account, in his manner, of the arrest, and alleging his pretended fear of the flight of Carranza, as the motive for it. He added, that the archbishop appeared to be informed of his proceedings; an insinuation which might have injured Don Antonio de Toledo, whose correspondence he had read.

CHAPTER x.x.xIII.

CONTINUATION OF THE TRIAL UNTIL THE ARCHBISHOP WENT TO ROME.

The enemies of Carranza procured new witnesses, in order to justify their conduct. Valdes and his coadjutors feared that public opinion would be against them, if, when they p.r.o.nounced the definitive sentence, the archbishop was not proved, to all Europe, to be guilty of heresy.

To attain this end, the inquisitors examined ninety-six witnesses, who, most of them, unfortunately, added nothing to what had been already deposed; some of them attested the purity of Carranza's faith, and the few who were against him deposed only what they had heard from other persons, who either did not confirm, or denied the facts. It is worthy of remark, that the greatest number of the witnesses who spoke in favour of the archbishop were in the dungeons of the Inquisition, and made their depositions during or after the torture, and when they were liable to have it renewed, and to be subject to the cruel treatment of the judges, whose schemes they frustrated. While these miserable people showed so much courage, the bishops, archbishops, and theologians, who aspired to the episcopacy, basely retracted their first and true opinion, and qualified, as _violently suspected of Lutheranism_, the man whom they had before considered almost as an apostle, and that in the same trial and for the same work.

On the 26th of August, the grand-inquisitor delegated his powers to the counsellors Valtodano and Simancas, reserving to himself the right of p.r.o.nouncing the definitive sentence; at the same time he appointed Baca, Riego, and Gonzalez, inquisitors of Valladolid, to take the proper measures to guard the archbishop, and sequestrate his property.

When the prelate arrived at the house intended for his prison, he was asked what domestics he wished to have; he named six, but only two were permitted to attend him. He begged Valtodano and Simancas not to allow any person to see certain papers and letters from the Pope, Fray Ferdinand de St. Ambrose, and the licentiate Cespedes, because they related to a trial for the lords.h.i.+p of Cazorla: he asked the same favour for a bundle of letters from the king, on some affairs which it had been improper to make public. He demanded the original of his consultations, and some approbations of his book, because he wished to present them to the Pope, who was the only competent judge of his trial; and lastly, some other writings relative to conferences which took place at the Council of Trent, in England, and in Flanders, and which were so many proofs of his efforts in the cause of the Catholic religion.

On the 1st of September, Valtodano and Simancas summoned the archbishop to take an oath to speak the truth. The prelate replied that he would do so when he received an order from the Pope or the king; that he protested against all that had been done, because they were not competent; that he did not acknowledge the grand-inquisitor as his judge, until he was furnished with special powers for that purpose; that, supposing him to have sufficient authority, he did not believe that he could delegate it; that he should prove his a.s.sertions much better if he had the brief, of which he demanded a copy. His request was granted the next day; on the 3rd, the grand-inquisitor, after a consultation with the Council, declared that he was a competent judge, and that he could delegate his powers; he announced that he should attend with the Council at the sessions of the tribunal: he attended on the 4th, and required Carranza to take the oath to speak the truth, either against himself or any other person, informing him that if he confessed all he knew, he would be treated with clemency, but in the contrary case he would be used with all the rigour of justice: he also told him that if he was reluctant to reply in the presence of the Council, he would be permitted to do so before two counsellors, or the inquisitors of Valladolid. Carranza made the same reply as on the preceding day, adding, that he was not certain that truth had been spoken in soliciting the brief from the Pope; since at that time there were no Spanish prelates suspected of heresy; that, if they had him in view, he was not in Spain at the time, but in Flanders, occupied in labouring for the defence of the Catholic religion, and converting heretics; that he exerted himself to destroy all the heresies, and for that purpose informed the king that heretical books were sold even at his palace-gates, and that the king, in consequence, gave the necessary orders to prevent the evil, which would be proved by the testimony of the king and the n.o.blemen of his court.

Not satisfied with these arguments, the archbishop challenged the grand-inquisitor for reasons which he explained at the same session, and in his presence: on the 5th and the following days he continued to give the motives for his challenge in writing; his charges against Valdes were numerous, and very serious. He mentions persons, times, subjects, and reasons, which authorized him to represent Valdes as a perfidious, envious, vindictive man; to maintain that he continually abused his authority in order to satisfy his vengeance, which could be proved by some writings which were registered: he particularly applied himself to show that Valdes concealed his hatred to him, under the mask of an hypocritical zeal for religion; that this enmity was caused by his spite and envy after he (Carranza) was elevated to the see of Toledo, and had published his work on the Residence of Bishops;--in short, he filled eight folio sheets in a small hand, with the motives which induced him to challenge Valdes, and added those concerning the counsellors Perez and Cobos, promising to establish the proofs.

The archbishop chose for his advocates those men whom he considered most able to defend him; but they were, by different intrigues, induced to refuse their a.s.sistance: this plan was pursued with all the others whom he chose in case of their default, so that he was obliged to apply to some advocates who defended in the chancery his right to the lords.h.i.+p of some villages, although they knew nothing of the affairs of the holy office. Don Juan Sarmiento de Mendoza, counsellor of the Indies, for Valdes, and the licentiate Isunza, judge of the civil court of Valladolid, for the fiscal, were appointed arbitrators, to decide on the validity of the challenge. On the 23rd of February, 1560, they p.r.o.nounced that the allegations were just, reasonable, and well proved.

The fiscal not being satisfied with the decision, intended to appeal to Rome, but soon renounced the measure; in fact, how could the inquisitor-general think of sending a trial to Rome, which, if made public, would cover him and many others, who afterwards attained the highest dignities of the church, with eternal infamy? However, this appeal took place at a later period, after a thousand intrigues, but Valdes was not the inquisitor-general at that time.

The lodgings a.s.signed to the archbishop were neither commodious, agreeable, nor airy; he was allowed only two rooms for himself, a monk, and his page. He complained of the inconvenience, but the fiscal presented a verbal process, stating that the house was large, convenient, and healthy: this was true, for he spoke of it in general, and did not mention the place where Carranza was confined. The rooms were very remote from all communication; in 1561 there was a great fire at Valladolid, which consumed four hundred houses in the quarter nearest to the prison of the archbishop, yet he heard neither the cries of the people, nor the noise which must have been occasioned by such an event, and only learnt that it had happened, a long time after, when he was at Rome. This privation of air and exercise produced in the archbishop a tertian fever, which weakened him considerably, but the inquisitors had not sufficient humanity to remove him to a more suitable place. They dreaded that he would appeal to the Pope, or the king, on whom however it would not have had any effect, as Valdes had contrived to persuade him, in some private conversations, that Carranza was really an heretic, and that all that he had done in England and Flanders was intended to conceal his opinions.

Although Valdes persisted in maintaining that he had the right of delegating his powers to prosecute the archbishop, yet as several counsellors, and particularly Baco de Castro, held a contrary opinion, he was obliged to appeal to the Pope. Paul IV. was dead, and had been succeeded by Pius IV., who, on the 23rd of February, confirmed to Valdes the powers granted to him by his predecessor, and that of delegating confidential persons to proceed in the trial of the Archbishop of Toledo. This brief was of no use, because the arbitrators had declared on the same day that the motives for the challenge were just and valid; his holiness, in consequence, expedited another special brief, confirming all that had pa.s.sed, provided that the proceedings had been lawful, and authorizing Philip II. to choose judges in his own name, to whom he gave from that moment the power of continuing the trial until it was in a state to be terminated, for the s.p.a.ce of two years, beginning from the 7th of January, 1561. This brief was interpreted at Madrid to be a permission to pa.s.s a definitive sentence. The Pope being informed of this circ.u.mstance, on the 3rd of July issued a fourth brief, in which he disapproved of the interpretation of that preceding it, and commanded that the trial should be remitted to him, _instructed_ but not judged, within a certain time.

Philip II. appointed Don Gaspard de Zuniga y Avellanada, archbishop of Santiago, to be the judge, with the power of delegating his authority.

This choice was pleasing to Carranza, because that prelate was one of the persons he had proposed for the see of Toledo; in fact, he derived some advantage from the change of his guards, and other measures. But Zuniga appointed Valtodano and Simancas, who had begun the trial, to be the judges. Carranza intended to challenge them, as having voted his arrest; but being told that the king had said that no person who had ordered the imprisonment of a criminal could afterwards be his judge, if this challenge was allowed, he abandoned his design. The right which the prelate had intended to make use of, is now recognised as a principle among civilized nations; to it we owe the establishment of _Juries_.

The trial having been commenced more than two years after the arrest of the archbishop, he was at last permitted, in consequence of an order from the king, to choose four advocates: these were Doctor Martin d'Alpizcueta, known by the name of _Doctor_ Navarro; Don Antonio Delgado, canon of Toledo; Doctor Santander, archdeacon of Valladolid; and Doctor Morales, an advocate of the Chancery. The two first of these lawyers were allowed to see the archbishop, but the writings of the trial were not communicated to any of them, consequently it was impossible for them to demonstrate the insufficiency of the proofs of the charges brought against him by the witnesses. It is true that the answers of Carranza were decided and conclusive.