Records of the Spanish Inquisition, Translated from the Original Manuscripts

Andrew Dickson WhiteProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.3
Word count
395K words
Chapters
40

Tags

English Originals World HistoryReligion Historical ReappraisalPower OppressionSocial CritiqueDocumentary NarrativeCultural Change

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Records of the Spanish Inquisition, Translated from the Original ManuscriptsAuthor: White, Andrew Dickson, 1832-1918,Language: English, Class: BX: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: Churches, Church movements, Release Date: Dec 29, 2012

Editor's review

This book is a compilation of records from the Spanish Inquisition, translated by Andrew Dickson White from original manuscripts, and constitutes primary source material for religious and institutional history. Its value lies not in narrative fluency but in giving readers direct access to trial procedures, testimonies, and verdict documents, showing how the institution operated through paperwork. White himself was a nineteenth-century American educator and diplomat, and his selection reflects the concerns of his era; readers may approach it either as historical source material or as a sample of nineteenth-century historiographical taste. Reading requires patience: the text follows an archival format, with dense names and events and little continuous plot. It is best read in focused segments in a quiet setting, ideally alongside background knowledge of Reformation history or Spanish history. Those seeking a thrilling story may find it dry, but for researchers in institutional, legal, and religious history it offers irreplaceable primary material.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Begin with the translator's preface and introduction to understand the selection criteria and historical context, then proceed to the main text.
  2. Read by topic rather than straight through; start with the sections on trial procedure and testimony.
  3. Keep paper and pen to note recurring names, institutions, and legal terms, reducing reading friction.
  4. Read alongside a general history of early modern Spain to place the documents in historical context.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40

FAQ

Is this book a complete narrative history of the Inquisition? No. It is a compilation of records translated and edited by White from original manuscripts, focused on presenting trial documents and procedural material rather than a general history. Readers need background knowledge to connect the scattered records into a historical thread.
Can I read this book without a background in religious history? Yes, but it will be difficult. It is advisable to acquire some basic knowledge of early modern Spanish history and the inquisitorial tribunal first; the documents will then be easier to understand in terms of procedure and terminology. If entirely unfamiliar, start with the introduction and conclusion.
How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for non-native readers? The text is a nineteenth-century English academic translation with long sentences and many legal and religious terms. Non-native readers need strong reading stamina; read in sections with a dictionary and background materials, and do not aim for speed.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Andrew Dickson White Author · American · 1832–1918

Andrew Dickson White (1832–1918) was an American historian and educator, co-founder and first president of Cornell University, and later U.S. ambassador to Germany and Russia. Committed to scientific reason and academic freedom, he is best known for History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom, a wide-ranging study of the long tension between science and theology, and for The Warfare of Science. Six of his works are held here, including Fiat Money Inflation in France: How it Came, What it Brought, and How it Ended, a two-volume autobiography, and Records of the Spanish Inquisition, Translated from the Original Manuscripts. These works reflect his command of institutional, economic, and religious history, his rigorous style, and his reliance on primary sources. He was also the first president of the American Historical Association.