Strengthening the State, 1500 - 1516 (part 3)

Strengthening the State, 1500 - 1516

Les Reyes Catolicos:

• Ferdinand + Isabella known for = piety 
• As Los Reyes Catolicos or the Catholic Monarchs of Spain
• They were determined to bring reform to a church which, in common with other European states, had become corrupt
• Clergy had to be requested "to refrain from gambling or singing or dancing in public"
• Isabella complained to a bishop in 1500 about the misdemeanours of the clergy in his diocese + that "greater part of the clergy are said to be and are in concubinage publicly, and, if our justice intervenes to punish them, they revolt"
• To encourage reform, the Catholic monarchs set up colleges to educate the clergy
• Men of non-noble origin were encouraged to train in the hope that they would be less likely to get involved in politics and conflict with members of the nobility
• 1508 = Cisneros had set up a university in Alcala, near Madrid, although its first students did not arrive until 1518
• University became important centre for theological training
• The Polyglot bible was published
• Bible = landmark event, it presented the scriptures in 3 languages in a format that allowed for comparison, encouraging debate and greater understanding
• Rawlings "It set the seal on the reputation of the university in terms of humanist scholarship"
• Inquisition was allowed + encouraged to continue to work towards uniformity
• 1502 = all non-baptised Muslims (Moors) from Granada, who had not converted to Chrisitianity, were ordered to leave Castile and Leon
• The majority of Muslims remained despite the inquistion
• The number of persecutions fell in this period but there were clear attempts to change the culture of the Morrish inhabitants
• Talavera, the Archbishop of Granada, advised that they must conform 
• More important target for the Inquisition was the Jews
• More than a thousand of Jews were arrested by 1505
• Even Archbishop Talavera became a victim
• Many were burned; in Cordoba alone in 1504, up to 134 conversos suffered this fate
• 1518 the Cortes of Valladoil reported that "many innocent and guiltless have suffered death, harm, oppression, injury and infamy"
• Conversos who formed part of the Communeros Revolt 1520 - 1521, were also victims
• Monastic reforms = on agenda = involving the Benedictins, Cistercians and Augustinians
• Commissioners were sent out to reform the monasteries
• Pope agreed that appeals to Rome to allow exceptions t their Rule could no longer be lodged by the monasteries
• Commissioners were sent out to reform the monasteries
• Pope agreed that appeals to Rome to allow exceptions to their Rule could no longer be lodged by the monasteries
• The Rule identified the specific discipline of the Order, e.g. when r whether they were allowed to speak
• Changes revived the strict observance of monastic life as originally intended by the Rules of each Order
• Policies hit hard, but had some success in promoting the Christian faith
• There were still complaints as late as 1511 about clergy who had clearly not achieved their positions on merit
• Financial issues = significant = one…