Auto de fe

The phrase auto de fe refers to the ritual of public penance of condemned heretics and apostates that took place when the Spanish Inquisition or the Portuguese Inquisition had decided their punishment (that is, after the trial). "Auto de fé" in medieval Spanish (and in Portuguese) means "act of faith". The phrase also commonly occurs in English in its alternative Portuguese form auto-da-fé (meaning "act of the faith").

In the popular imagination "auto-da-fé" has come to refer to burning at the stake for heresy.

History

The "auto de fé" involved a Catholic Mass; prayer; a public procession of those found guilty; and a reading of their sentences (Peters 1988: 93-94). They took place in public squares or esplanades and lasted several hours: ecclesiastical and civil authorities attended. [Many of the public "autos" were described in contemporary published works listing the dignitaries in attendance, the condemned and their sentences. See for example, Matias de Bocanegra, "Auto general de la fee...", Mexico: 1649] Artistic representations of the "auto de fé" usually depict torture and the burning at the stake. However, this type of activity never took place during an "auto de fé", which was in essence a religious act. Torture was not administered after a trial concluded, and executions were always held after and separate from the "auto de fe" (Kamen 1997: 192-213), though in the minds and experiences of observers and those undergoing the confession and execution, the separation of the two might be experienced as merely a technicality.

The first recorded "auto de fé" was held in Paris in 1242, under Louis IX. [Stavans 2005:xxxiv] The first Spanish "auto de fé" took place in Seville, Spain, in 1481; six of the men and women who participated in this first religious ritual were later executed. The Inquisition enjoyed limited power in Portugal, having been established in 1536 and officially lasting until 1821, although its influence was much weakened with the government of the Marquis of Pombal, in the second half of the 18th century. "Autos de fé" also took place in Mexico, Brazil and Peru: contemporary historians of the Conquistadors such as Bernal Díaz del Castillo record them. They also occurred in the Portuguese colony of Goa, India, following the establishment of Inquisition there in 1562-1563.

Cultural references

Auto da fé as burning a heretic at the stake is a symbol used widely throughout the arts. The Portuguese form, auto-da-fé, is in the eponymous line from Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire. “I recall seeing [John Shade] from my porch, on a brilliant morning, burning a whole stack of [his drafts] in the pale fire of the incinerator before which he stood with bent head like an official mourner among the wind-borne black butterflies of that backyard auto-da-fé.” [Nabokov:15]

"Miss Morgan nearly screamed with relief. She walked a little unsteadily toward the stake. The free man turned and saw her. For a second he seemed surprised, but immediately recovering, he bowed. Coming from a man with torn overalls and a matted beard, the bow was ridiculous and charming.“I’m the teacher,” Miss Morgan explained breathlessly. “I was just out for a walk, and I saw this house. For a moment I thought this auto-da-fé was serious.”Junius smiled. “But it is serious. It’s more serious than you think. For a moment I thought you were the rescue. The relief is due at ten o’clock, you know.” [Steinbeck]

In the Spanish Inquisition segment of Mel Brooks' movie "History of the World, Part I", Torquemada (Brooks) has the following musical exchange with his monks:"Auto Da Fé, what's an Auto Da Fé?""It's what you oughtn't to do but you do anyway!"

In chapter six of "Candide", by Voltaire, there is an auto-da-fé performed by the Portuguese Inquisition after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Leonard Bernstein's musical adaptation features a song called "Auto-da-Fé".

Auto-da-Fé is also mentioned in the song "Televators" by the band The Mars Volta.

Auto-da-Fé is the name of a Tennessee Williams one-act play.

Notes

References

* Arouet, Francois-Marie (Voltaire) (1758). "Candide"
* Kamen, Henry. (1997) "The Spanish Inquisition : A Historical Revision". London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
* Lea, Henry Charles (1906–1907). "A History of the Inquisition of Spain" (4 volumes). New York and London.
* Nabokov, Vladimir. (1989) "Pale Fire." First Vintage International Edition. Random House. New York.
* Peters, Edward. (1988) "Inquisition". New York: The Free Press.
* Stavans, Ilan. (2005) "The Schocken Book of Modern Sephardic Literature". Random House, Inc. New York
* Steinbeck, John. (1932) "The Pastures of Heaven". Penguin.
* Whitechapel, Simon (2003). "Flesh Inferno: Atrocities of Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition". Creation Books. ISBN 1-84068-105-5

External links

* [http://bible.tmtm.com/wiki/AUTO_DA_F%C3%89_(Jewish_Encyclopedia) Jewish Encyclopedia]
* [http://www.gabrielbernat.es/espana/inquisicion/index.html La Inquisición Española: origen, desarrollo, organización, administración, métodos y proceso inquisitorial]