Religion Flashcards
Priests at the start of the reign
Priests
Absenteeism and Pluralism a problem
Priests were often in charge of more than one parish without even seeing them
In Barcelona, 6 out of 67 Parish Priests are residents of their parish
Huge inequalities in wages (Annual wage for lower clergymen is low at 30 ducats compared to Archbishop of Toledo who receives 200,000 ducats annually
- Poverty of lower clergymen encouraged pluralism and absenteeism
Dioceses at the start of he reign
Dioceses
In need of reform
E.g. Alava has over 400 parishes with overlapping jurisdiction (Inefficient, logistical problems, feuds over ownership)
Relationship between the Church and the crown at the start of the reign
Relationship with the crown
Philip held excessive patronage of highest ecclesiastical offices
He collects 50% of total clerical revenues including vacancies
Philip was able to reject papal decrees and deny appeals to Rome
Philip was essential an Erastian monarch (control of Country and Church)
Heresy and the Inquisition at the start of the reign
Lack of heresy
Protestantism not a threat- European reforms did not reach Spain
Still lots of Moriscos and Conversos in Spain
The vigour of the Inquisition had neglected the re-education of Catholics, who still clung on to paganistic rituals
2 quotes on religion in 1598
Differing views
Woodward: “The condition of the Spanish Church appears to have been largely unreformed at the end of the Century”
Kamen: “The Council of Trent revolutionised Spanish Catholicism”
Threat from heresy in 1556
The threat of Heresy:
Philip’s reign began with the persecution of Lutheran heretics discovered by the Church of Valladolid and Seville in 1557 and from 1559 the autos-de-fe (ritualised trials) were created and became very popular
Philip was concerned with the threat of Moriscos and Conversos and therefore in the 1560s the ‘Limpieza’ was reintroduced
Protestant panic (Falsified?)
Few protestants in Spain
Moriscos
Seen as ‘the enemy within’ as Spain was fighting the Islamic forces of the Ottoman Turks whilst these converted Muslims resided in Spain
1502: All Muslims are forced to convert (Moriscos) or emigrate
The threat of the Inquisition alone ensured that most Catholics would not come into contact with heretical ideas, which was helped through the General Church Council
The Inquisitor-General Valdes composed Spain’s own Index (List of censored writings) in 1559
670 prohibited works, including 14 editions of the bible and 16 works by Erasmus
The reforms of Ximenes de Cisneros meant that Protestant heresy did not touch spain
Equally, the fact that the execution rate of the Inquisition was only 1.83% indicates that the number of heretics in Spain were decidedly minute
By 1562, Protestantism in Spain had been effectively eradicated
The problems in Priesthood and religious orders in 1556
The problems in Priesthood and religious orders:
Much more significant problem: many cases of pluralism and absenteeism
The education of the priests were “amongst the lowest in Europe” and there were significant numbers of vacant offices
Sunday preaching was irregular: “this has never been done” - San Vincente, San Sebastian
Bishops were sometimes in charge of several dioceses and priests of several parishes, and some were so poor that there were not enough clergy
Many did not wear proper vestments (e.g. Mallorca)
Only 20 dioceses had seminaries thus the clergy was incredibly uneducated
Only 40% in Toledo could recite the Lord’s Prayer
Which of the following was a more serious problem in the Spanish Church in 1556?
i) The threat of Heresy
ii) The problems in Priesthood and religious orders
Conclusion
Conclusion:
Heresy was not really an issue at the start of the reign, Protestantism had not really reached spain and the presence of the Inquisition ensure that Catholics did not come into contact with heresy
Priesthood much bigger issue
Reforms to the Clergy
Clergy (Para 1)
Philip addressed the issue of Priests religiosity by creating a new generation of energetic bishops and raised standards of discipline and piety within the order.
Especially effective in places such as Valencia and Toledo due to these being central Catholic cities in Spain
The publication of the Tridentine Decrees in 1565 took a while to improve the education of the clergy but in time the education, behaviour and dress of the clergy was up to Tridentine standards through the introduction of new seminaries.
Bishops were told to preach regularly
Priests were required to preach every Sunday- As a result they became more dedicated to their parishes
Literacy at 80% for Clergy in Toledo
BUT: Only around 20% at the maximum in rural areas
BUT: However, it could be argued that this religious reform was not a full revolution of Spanish Catholicism due to many reforms not being fully enforced
Sunday preaching was sporadic and regularly reports were made of preaching not being carried through in places such as Mallorca where resistance was high.
In 1573, many letters were sent from Granada to Philip explaining that people are unwilling to change their traditional practices and in 1578 many clergymen refused to wear the new vestments.
Reforms to the Laity
Laity (Para 1)
Def: A member of a religious group, but you are not an ordained minister or priest
Banning of May festivals and St. John’s bonfires to improve the religiosity of the Laity
Philip improved spirituality by banning the use of Churches for recreational uses such as theatres and games.
BUT: He is unable to achieve nationwide compliance
The walls inside were whitewashed as to improve their uniformity and pictures were censored
BUT: Lack of resources for the Inquisition to ensure these reforms were maintained or even put into effect across the country
Tridentine Decrees
Tridentine Decrees (Para 2)
Agreed at the Council of Trent in 1562/63 and enforced in 1564
Tridentine Decrees of 1565 aimed to renew the corrupt administration in the running of the church. Being the only European King to accept these Decrees it emphasises the desperate need for them.
Passed by the Council of Trent, these Decrees aimed to improve the services and uniformity of Catholicism and according to Kaman they “revolutionised Spanish Catholicism”.
Philip accepts these Decrees after writing to his lawyers in 1564, instructing them to ensure the Decrees do not infringe on his political authority before their publication.
These Decrees were taking into effect by some Clergymen such as the Archbishop of Gaspar de Quiroga who set out codes of conduct enforcing Tridentine standards upon Parish Clergy.
Reforms to Doctrine
Doctrine (Para 2)
Philip defined what was meant by religious uniformity by establishing 1 Bible called ‘Latin Vulgate’
The new Bible was confirmed to be accepted by all dioceses in a Papal Nuncio is 1571 which reported 11 dioceses had accepted the new liturgy, yet this could be argued as fake news due to not all dioceses even agreeing on changing the bible in the first place
BUT: New Decrees and reforms were generally unpopular as in 1586 in Mondonedo all old prayer books had to be rounded up and burnt to prevent their usage.
BUT: Resistance to new reforms prevalent throughout his monarquia
BUT: Greatest example of resistance in the Iconoclastic Fury of 1566 which led to the detachment of the provinces of Netherlands from the Spanish empire.
BUT: Passive resistance closer to home for Philip when in 1588 it was found that less than 1/3 of the Clergy were using the new liturgy in Mallorca
Reforms to Heresy
Heresy (Para 3)
Spanish Inquisition was set up in 1480 by his Grandparents Isabella and Ferdinand
Inquisition caused many Conversos to leave Spain out of fear of the spreading rumours of the Barbaric methods of torture used which were again largely falsified but to Philip’s advantage.
An estimated 100,000 cases were dealt with from the period of 1540 to 1700 and of this there was an average of 5 executions per year and only 2% of 7,000 cases in Valencia actually received torturous methods.
Success as it spread fear but did not lead to any revolts directly
Removed inappropriate images from the Chuches
BUT: However the Inquisition was slightly ineffective as it had few inquisitors for the vast land that it spanned over.
BUT: There was around 60 inquisitors across the whole of Spain and what’s more is that 4 out of 5 people living in the Spain at the time lived in the countryside which made it impossibly difficult to locate all the parishes and heretical groups.
Reforms to Religious Order
Religious Order (Para 2) Council of Trent caused the Inquisition to focus its energies into reforming the Church rather than the persecution of heretics Philip did encourage efficiency by dissolving any monasteries that were inefficient as well as closing down 300 monastic houses which had foreign links. This was an attempt to define Catholicism in Spain to purely Spanish Catholicism which illustrates his micromanaging personality.
Reforms to Organisation
Organisation (Para 2)
Philip also created new bishoprics in Spain as well as in the Netherlands where 13 new bishoprics were established in the 1560’s funded by the reallocation of revenues from the existing 4
BUT: The project alienated the nobility and spread fear of the Inquisition
Bishops have to live in the bishoprics and should visit their dioceses regularly
6 synods (meetings of bishops and Archbishops to decide Church policy) held in 1565
