Torquemada

Thomas de Torquemada (Torquemada; 1420-1498) - the creator of the Spanish Inquisition, the first Grand Inquisitor of Spain. He was the initiator of the persecution of the Moors and Jews in Spain.

There are many interesting facts in the biography of Torquemada, which we will talk about in this article.

So, before you is a short biography of Thomas de Torquemada.

Biography of Torquemada

Thomas de Torquemada was born on October 14, 1420 in the Spanish city of Valladolid. He grew up and was brought up in the family of Juan Torquemada, a minister of the Dominican order, who at one time participated in the Constance Cathedral.

By the way, the main task of the cathedral was to end the split of the Catholic Church. Over the next 4 years, the representatives of the clergy managed to solve many issues related to the renewal of the church and church doctrine. It adopted 2 important documents.

The first stated that the council, representing the entire universal church, has the highest authority given to it by Christ, and absolutely everyone is obliged to submit to this authority. In the second, it was reported that the council would be held on an ongoing basis after a certain period.

Thomas's uncle was the famous theologian and cardinal Juan de Torquemada, whose ancestors were baptized Jews. After the young man received a theological education, he entered the Dominican order.

When Torquemada reached the age of 39, he was entrusted with the position of abbot of the monastery of Santa Cruz la Real. It is worth noting that the man was distinguished by an ascetic lifestyle.

Later, Thomas Torquemada became the spiritual mentor of the future Queen Isabella 1 of Castile. He made a lot of efforts to ensure that Isabella ascended the throne and married Ferdinand 2 of Aragon, on whom the inquisitor also had a significant influence.

It is fair to say that Torquemada was an excellent scholar in the field of theology. He possessed a tough and unyielding disposition, and was also a fanatical adherent of Catholicism. Thanks to all these qualities, he managed to influence even the Pope.

In 1478, at the request of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Pope established in Spain the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Five years later, he appointed Thomas as Grand Inquisitor.

Torquemada was tasked with uniting political and religious leaders. For this reason, he carried out a series of reforms and increased the activities of the Inquisition.

One of the historians of the time, named Sebastian de Olmedo, spoke of Thomas Torquemada as the "hammer of the heretics" and the savior of Spain. However, today the inquisitor's name has become a household name for a ruthless religious fanatic.

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To eradicate heretical propaganda, Torquemada, like other European clergy, called for the burning of non-Catholic books, especially Jewish and Arab authors, at the stake. Thus, he tried not to “litter” the minds of his compatriots with heresy.

The first historian of the Inquisition, Juan Antonio Llorente, claims that while Tomás Torquemada was the head of the Holy Chancellery, 8,800 people were burned alive in Spain and about 27,000 were tortured. It is worth noting that some experts consider these figures to be overstated.

One way or another, thanks to the efforts of Torquemada, it was possible to reunite the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon into one kingdom - Spain. As a result, the newly formed state became one of the most influential in Europe.

Death

After 15 years of service as Grand Inquisitor, Thomas Torquemada passed away on September 16, 1498 at the age of 77. His grave was looted in 1832, just a couple of years before the Inquisition was finally disbanded.

According to some sources, the bones of the man were allegedly stolen and burned at the stake.