Spanish Inquisition

Thursday, 31 January 2013

The Spanish Inquisition | History Channel Documentary

Monty Python - Spanish Inquisition Torture Scene

Timewatch - The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition (BBC 1994)

Monty Python's Flying Circus - The Spanish Inquisition (whole episode)

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Aragon
Aragon ( /ˈærəɡɒn/ or /ˈærəɡən/), also known in Spanish and Aragonese as Aragón ([aɾaˈɣon]) and in Catalan as Aragó ([əɾəˈɣo] or [aɾaˈɣo]), is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to south): Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza (also called Saragossa in English). The current Statute of Autonomy declares Aragon a nationality of Spain.
Aragon's northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees. Within Spain, the community is flanked by Catalonia on the east, Valencia and Castile–La Mancha to the south, and Castile and León, La Rioja, and Navarre to the west.
Covering an area of 47,719 km² (18,424 sq mi), the region's terrain ranges diversely from permanent glaciers to verdant valleys, rich pasture lands and orchards, through to the arid steppe plains of the central lowlands. Aragon is home to many rivers—most notably, the river Ebro, Spain's largest river in volume, which runs west-east across the entire region through the province of Zaragoza. It is also home to the Aneto, the highest mountain in the Pyrenees.

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Barcelona
Barcelona (English /bɑrsɨˈloʊnə/, Catalan: [bərsəˈɫonə], Spanish: [barθeˈlona]) is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of 101.4 km² (39 sq mi). The urban area of Barcelona extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of between 4,200,000 and 4,500,000 within an area of 803 km² (310 sq mi), being the sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, the Ruhr, Madrid and Milan. About five million people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is also Europe's largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the main component of an administrative area of Greater Barcelona, with a population of 3,218,071 in an area of 636 km² (density 5,060 hab/km²). It is located on the Mediterranean coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs and is bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola ridge (512 m/1,680 ft).
Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona became one of the most important cities of the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions, including the 1888 Exposición Universal de Barcelona, the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition (Expo 1929), the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures, and the 2004 World Urban Forum.

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Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (English /kəˈnɛəri ˈaɪləndz/; Spanish: Islas Canarias [ˈizlas kaˈnaɾjas, ˈihlah kaˈnaɾjas]), also known as the Canaries (Spanish: Canarias), is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union. The islands include (from largest to smallest): Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste. The Canary Islands are legally recognized as a nationality of Spain. Geographically it is a part of the African Continent.^{[citation needed]}
The archipelago's beaches, climate and important natural attractions, especially Teide National Park and Mount Teide (the third tallest volcano in the world measured from its base on the ocean floor), make it a major tourist destination, with over 12 million visitors per year, especially Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. The islands have a subtropical climate, with long warm summers and moderately warm winters. Due to their location above the temperature inversion layer, these islands are ideal for astronomical observation. For this reason, two professional observatories, Teide Observatory on the island of Tenerife and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, have been built on the islands.

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Castile and León
Castile and León (English /kæˈstiːl ən leɪˈoʊn/; Spanish: Castilla y León [kasˈtiʎa i leˈon] ( listen); Leonese: Castiella y Llión [kasˈtjeʎa i ʎiˈoŋ]; Galician: Castela e León [kasˈtɛla e leˈoŋ]) is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile (Spanish: Castilla la Vieja). It is the largest autonomous community in Spain, covering an area of 94,223 square kilometres (36,380 sq mi) with an official population of around 2.5 million (2005).
The organic law of Castile and León, under the Spanish Constitution of 1978, is the region's Statute of Autonomy. The statute lays out the basic laws of the region and defines a series of essential values and symbols of the inhabitants of Castile and León, such as their linguistic patrimony (the Castilian language, which English speakers commonly refer to simply as Spanish, as well as Leonese and Galician), as well as their historic, artistic, and natural patrimony. Other symbols alluded to are the coat of arms, flag, and banner; there is also allusion to a regional anthem, though as of 2009 none has been adopted. April 23 is designated Castile and León Day, commemorating the defeat of the comuneros at the Battle of Villalar during the Revolt of the Comuneros, in 1521.

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Catalonia
Catalonia (English /kætəˈloʊniə/, /kætəˈloʊnjə/; Catalan: Catalunya [kətəˈɫuɲə] or [kataˈluɲa]; Spanish: Cataluña [kataˈluɲa]; Occitan: Catalonha [kataˈluɲɔ]) is an autonomous region of Spain in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula, with the official status of a "nationality". Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona which is the second largest Spanish city by population after Madrid. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,535,251. Its borders essentially reflect those of the former Principality of Catalonia. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east (580 km coastline). The official languages are Catalan, Spanish and Aranese (Occitan).
The name Catalunya (Catalonia) began to be used in the late 11th century in reference to the group of counties that comprised the Marca Hispanica. The origin of the term is subject to diverse interpretations. A theory suggests that Catalunya derives from the term "Land of Castles", having evolved from the term castlà, the ruler of a castle (see castellan). This theory therefore suggests that the names Castile and Catalonia have the same etymology.

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Colombia
Colombia ( /kəˈlʌmbiə/ kə-LUM-biə, or /kəˈlɒmbiə/ kə-LOM-biə), officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia [reˈpuβlika ðe koˈlombja]), is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the northwest by Panama; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia has maritime borders with Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Colombia is the 26th largest country by area and the fourth largest in South America after Brazil, Argentina and Peru. With over 46 million people, Colombia is the 27th largest country in the world by population and has the second largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico. Colombia is a middle power, with the fourth largest economy in Latin America, and the third largest in South America. Colombia is famous for the production of coffee, flowers, emeralds, coal, and oil. All of these products make up the primary sector of economy.

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Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne. It continued to exist as a separate entity after the personal union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon with the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs in 1469 and wasn't formally abolished until the unification policies of Philip V of Spain in the early 18th century. During its existence, the Spanish colonies in the Americas and the Philippines were also considered part of the Crown of Castile.
The Kingdom of León arose out of the Kingdom of Asturias. The Kingdom of Castile appeared initially as a county of the Kingdom of León. From the second half of the 10th century to the first half of the 11th century it changed hands between León and the Kingdom of Navarre. In the 11th century it became a kingdom in its own right.

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Emirate of Granada
The Emirate of Granada (Arabic: إمارة غرﻧﺎﻃﺔ‎, trans. Imarat Gharnāṭah), also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada (Spanish: Reino nazarí de Granada), was an emirate established in 1238 following the defeat of Muhammad an-Nasir of the Almohad dynasty by an alliance of Christian kingdoms at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. After prince Idris left Iberia to take the Almohad leadership, the ambitious Mohammed I ibn Nasr established the last Muslim dynasty on the Iberian peninsula - the Nasrids. The Nasrid emirs were responsible for building the Alhambra palace complex. Arabic was the official language and mother tongue of the majority of the population.
With the Reconquista in full swing after the conquest of Córdoba in June 1236, Mohammed I ibn Nasr aligned Granada with Ferdinand III of Castile in 1238, thereby creating a tributary state, or taifa, under the Crown of Castile. Granada remained a tributary state for the next 250 years, with Nasrid emirs paying tribute to Castilian kings mostly in the form of gold from present-day Mali and Burkina Faso that was carried to Iberia through the merchant routes in the Sahara. The Nasrids also provided military assistance to Castile for its conquest of areas under Muslim control, most notably Seville in November 1248 and the Taifa of Niebla in 1262.

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Extremadura
Extremadura (English /ˌɛkstrɨməˈdʊrə/; Spanish: [e(k)stɾemaˈðuɾa]; Extremaduran: Estremaura [estɾemaˈuɾa]) is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west. To the north it borders Castile and León (provinces of Salamanca and Ávila); to the south, it borders Andalusia (provinces of Huelva, Seville, and Córdoba); and to the east, it borders Castile–La Mancha (provinces of Toledo and Ciudad Real)
It is an important area for wildlife, particularly with the major reserve at Monfragüe, which was designated a National Park in 2007, and the project of the International Tagus River Natural Park (Terreno Natural Río Tajo Internacional). The government of Extremadura is called Junta de Extremadura. Extremadura is known because many of the conquerors of the New World were born there. Francisco Pizarro and Hernán Cortes were second cousins and both were born in Extremadura. Pizarro conquered the Incan Empire and Cortes conquered Mexico. Many other conquistadors were born in Extremadura.

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Granada
Granada (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡɾaˈnaða]) is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalucia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea level, yet is only one hour from the Mediterranean coast, the Costa Tropical. Nearby is the Sierra Nevada Ski Station, where the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996 were held.
In the 2005 national census, the population of the city of Granada proper was 236,982, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 472,638, ranking as the 13th-largest urban area of Spain. About 3.3% of the population did not hold Spanish citizenship, the largest number of these people (31%) coming from South America. Its nearest airport is Federico García Lorca Airport Granada-Jaén Airport.
The Alhambra, a Moorish citadel and palace, is in Granada. It is the most renowned building of the Andalusian Islamic historical legacy with its many cultural attractions that make Granada a popular destination among the touristic cities of Spain. The Almohad influence on architecture is preserved in the area of the city called the Albaicín with its fine examples of Moorish and Morisco construction. Granada is also well-known within Spain for the prestigious University of Granada which has about 80,000 students spread over five different campuses in the city. The pomegranate (in Spanish, granada) is the heraldic device of Granada.

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Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (Asturian, Galician, Leonese, Mirandese, Portuguese and Spanish: Península Ibérica, Catalan: Península Ibèrica, Aragonese and Occitan: Peninsula Iberica, French: Péninsule Ibérique, Basque: Iberiar Penintsula), sometimes called Iberia, is a peninsula located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is the westernmost of the three major southern European peninsulas—the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas. It is bordered on the southeast and east by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the north, west and southwest by the Atlantic Ocean. The Pyrenees form the northeast edge of the peninsula, separating it from the rest of Europe. In the south, it approaches the northern coast of Africa. It is the second-largest peninsula in Europe, with an area of approximately 582,000 km² (225,000 sq mi).
The English word Iberia was adapted from the use of the Ancient Greek word Ιβηρία (Ibēría) by the Greek geographers under the Roman Empire to refer to what is known today in English as the Iberian Peninsula. At that time the name did not describe a single political entity or a distinct population of people. Strabo's Iberia was delineated from Keltikē by the Pyrenees and included the entire land mass south-west (he named it "west") of there.

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Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon (Aragonese: Reino d'Aragón, Catalan: Regne d'Aragó, Latin: Regnum Aragonum, Spanish: Reino de Aragón) was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It should not be confused with the larger Crown of Aragon, of which the Kingdom of Aragon became a member along with other territories such as the Kingdom of Valencia or the County of Provence, all of them under the rule of the King of Aragon.
This kingdom was originally a Frankish feudal county around the city of Jaca, which in the first half of the 8th century became a vassal state of the kingdom of Pamplona (later Navarre), its own dynasty of counts ending without male heir in 922.
On the death of Sancho III of Navarre in 1035, the Kingdom of Navarre was divided in to three parts: (1) Navarre with some Basque lands, (2) Castile and (3) Sobrarbe, Ribagorza and Aragon. As the most important Christian monarch in Iberia and the King of All Spain, each of his three lands were converted into a Kingdom. Sancho's son Gonzalo inherited Sobrarbe and Ribargorza, but Gonzalo was killed soon after and all the land he owned went to his illegitimate brother Ramiro, creating the future Kingdom of Aragon.

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Las Palmas
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spanish pronunciation: [las ˈpalmaz ðe ɣɾaŋ kaˈnaɾja]) commonly known as Las Palmas (English /ləs ˈpɑːlməs/, Spanish: [las ˈpalmas]) is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz), the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half (45.9%) of the people of the island and 18.35% of all inhabitants of the Canary Islands live in this city. It is also the fifth most populous urban area in Spain with a population of around 700,000 and (depending on sources) ninth or tenth most populous metropolitan area in Spain with a population of 625,892, 640,000 or 741,826. Las Palmas is the largest city of the European Union outside Europe. It is located in the northeast part of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, about 150 kilometers (~93 miles) off the northwestern coast of Africa within the Atlantic Ocean.
Las Palmas enjoy a subtropical climate, with mild to warm temperatures throughout the year. According to a study carried out by Thomas Whitmore, director of research on climatology at Syracuse University in the United States, Las Palmas enjoys "the best climate in the world".

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Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima Metropolitan Area. With a population approaching 9 million, Lima is the fifth largest city in Latin America, behind Mexico City, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. Lima is home to one of the largest financial hubs in Latin America. It has been defined as a beta world city by GaWC international ranking.
Lima was founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535, as la Ciudad de los Reyes, or "the City of Kings". It became the capital and most important city in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru. Following the Peruvian War of Independence, it became the capital of the Republic of Peru. Today, around one-third of the Peruvian population lives in the metropolitan area.
Lima is home to one of the oldest higher learning institutions in the New World. The National University of San Marcos, founded on May 12, 1551 during Spanish colonial regime, is the oldest continuously functioning university in the Americas.

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Logroño
Logroño is a city in northern Spain, on the Ebro River. It is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja, formerly known as La Rioja Province.
The population of Logroño in 2008 was 153,736 and a metropolitan population of nearly 197,000 inhabitants. The city is a centre of the trade in Rioja wine, for which the area is noted, and also produces wood, metal, and textile products.
Logroño is located in the northern region of La Rioja, on the river Ebro, 384 m (1,259.84 ft) above sea level. The Camino de Santiago passes through the city. The geographical coordinates of the city are: 42° 27´ N, 2° 29´ W.
The city lies 152 kilometres (94 mi) from Bilbao, 172 kilometres (107 mi) from Zaragoza, 336 kilometres (209 mi) from Madrid and 468 kilometres (291 mi) from Barcelona.
The city's weather is moderated by its location in the valley of the river Ebro, and its weather conditions are typical of the continental Mediterranean climate. The average annual temperature is 13.5 °C (56 °F). The temperature in winter can drop to about five degrees below zero, while in summer it can exceed thirty-five degrees. The average annual precipitation is 400 mm (15.75 in). The winds that affect the city are as follows: the northerly Cierzo, the southerly Ábrego, the easterly Solano, and the westerly Castellano. Intermediate winds are the northeasterly Navarrico, the northwesterly Regañón, the southwesterly Burgalés and the southeasterly Soriano.

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Madrid
Madrid (English /məˈdrɪd/, Spanish: [ma'ðrid]) is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third largest in the European Union after London and Paris. The city spans a total of 604.3 km² (233.3 sq mi).
The city is located on the Manzanares river in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid (which comprises the city of Madrid, its conurbation and extended suburbs and villages); this community is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political centre of Spain. The current mayor is Ana Botella from the People's Party (PP).
Madrid urban agglomeration has the 3rd largest GDP in the European Union and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, environment, media, fashion, science, culture, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. Due to its economic output, high standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial centre of Southern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula; it hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Spanish companies, such as Telefónica, Iberia or Repsol. Madrid is the most touristic city of Spain, the fourth-most touristic of the continent, and is the 10th most livable city in the world according to Monocle magazine, in its 2010 index. Madrid also ranks among the 12 greenest European cities in 2010. Madrid is currently a Candidate City for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

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Medina del Campo
Medina del Campo is a town located in the middle of the Spanish Meseta Central, in the province of Valladolid, Castile-Leon autonomous region, 45 km from Valladolid. It is the capital of a farming area, far away from the great economic centres.
Medina del Campo gained much importance for its Fairs during the 15th century and 16th century. The main purpose of the early fairs was banking, wool and textile sales, the book market and an enormous variety of goods and trades. As the population grew, the town was developed towards the plain of Zapardiel brook. Since then, the Padilla Street became the business centre of Medina.
In 1489 a great trade agreement, that would last for 96 years, united the kingdoms of Spain and England with the reduction of trade tariffs, the recognition of France as a common enemy, and the marriage of Catherine of Aragon to King Henry VII's son, Prince Arthur (and later to King Henry VIII) - this was known as the Treaty of Medina del Campo (1489).
Between the 17th century and the 19th century decline set in; but the town took off again at the end of the 19th century, thanks to the arrival of the railway, the opening of the military district (the quarter of Marques de la Ensenada), and the opening of the hydrothermal establishment of Las Salinas. Also adding to the growth were the strong commercial sector, such as the furniture trade or the opening of shops on Sundays (which is not customary in Spain), and finally proximity of quality wines with the Denominación de Origen of Rueda.

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Mexico
Mexico (ⁱ/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México, IPA: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the thirteenth largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory from its base in México-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony's independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War and territorial cession to the United States, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

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Mexico City
Mexico City ( /ˈmɛksɨkoʊ ˈsɪti/; Spanish: Ciudad de México [sjuˈðað ðe ˈmexiko], also known as México D.F., or simply D.F.) is the Federal District (Distrito Federal), capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole. Mexico City is the country's largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center.
As an "alpha" global city Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in North America. It is located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 ft). The city consists of sixteen boroughs.
The 2009 estimated population for the city proper was around 8.84 million people, and has a land area of 1,485 square kilometres (573 sq mi). According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments, the Mexico City metropolitan area population is 21.2 million people, making it the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere and the fifth largest agglomeration in the world.

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Murcia
Murcia (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmurθja]), a major city in south-eastern Spain, is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country, with a population of 442,573 inhabitants in 2009 (about one third of the total population of the Region). The population of the metropolitan area was 689,591 in 2010. It is located on the Segura River, in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, noted by a mild climate with hot summers, tepid winters and scarce precipitation.
Murcia was founded by the emir of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman II in 825 AD with the name Mursiya مورسيا and is now mainly a services city and a university town. Highlights for visitors include the Cathedral of Murcia and a number of baroque buildings, renowned local cuisine, Holy Week processions, works of art by the famous Murcia sculptor Francisco Salzillo, and the Fiestas de Primavera (Spring Festival).
The city, as the capital of the comarca Huerta de Murcia is called Europe’s orchard due to its long agricultural tradition and as a fruits, vegetables and flowers producer and exporter.

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Navarre
Navarre (English /nəˈvɑr/; Spanish: Navarra; Basque: Nafarroa), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre (Spanish: Comunidad Foral de Navarra [komuniˈðað foˈɾal de naˈβara]; Basque: Nafarroako Foru Erkidegoa [nafaroako foɾu erkidegoa]), is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France. The capital is the city of Pamplona (or Iruña in Basque).
During the time of the Roman Empire, the territory of the province was inhabited by the Vascones, a pre-Roman tribe who populated the southern slopes of the Pyrenees. In the northern, mountaineous areas the Vascones escaped large-scale Roman settlement but not so in the flatter areas to the south which were amenable to large-scale Roman farming.
The area was never fully subjugated either by the Visigoths or by the Moors. In AD 778, the Basques defeated a Frankish army in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. Two generations later, in 824, the chieftain Iñigo Arista was chosen King of Pamplona, laying a foundation for the later Kingdom of Navarre. That kingdom reached its zenith during the reign of Sancho III of Navarre and covered the area of the present-day Navarre, Basque country, and La Rioja, together with parts of modern Cantabria, Castile and León, and Aragon.

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Palermo
Palermo (Italian: [paˈlɛrmo] ( listen), Sicilian: Palermu, Latin: Panormus, from Greek: Πάνορμος, Panormos, Arabic: بَلَرْم‎, Balarm; Phoenician: זִיז, Ziz) is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old. Palermo is located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The city was founded by the Phoenicians, but named by the Ancient Greeks as Panormus meaning 'always fit for landing in.' Palermo became part of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire, for over a thousand years. From 827 to 1071 it was under Arab rule during the Emirate of Sicily when it first became a capital. Following the Norman reconquest, Palermo became capital of a new kingdom (from 1130 to 1816), the Kingdom of Sicily. Eventually it would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860.

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Poland
Poland ⁱ/ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska; Kashubian: Pòlskô Repùblika; Silesian: Polsko Republika), is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, being its most populous post-communist member. Poland is a unitary state made up of 16 voivodeships. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle and Schengen Agreement.

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Sardinia
Sardinia ( /sɑrˈdɪniə/, Italian: Sardegna [sarˈdeɲɲa], Sardinian: Sardigna [sarˈdinja]) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and before Cyprus). It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are (clockwise from north) the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.
The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[], romanised as sardus (feminine sarda); that the name had a religious connotation is suggested from its use also as the adjective for the ancient Sardinian mythological hero-god Sardus Pater "Sardinian Father" (misunderstood by many modern Sardinians/Italians as being "Father Sardus"), as well as being the stem of the adjective "sardonic". Sardinia was called Ichnusa (the Latinised form of the Greek Hyknousa), Sandalion, Sardinia and Sardo by the ancient Greeks and the Romans.
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 23,821 km². It is situated between 38° 51' and 41° 15' latitude north and 8° 8' and 9° 50' east longitude. To the west of Sardinia is the Sea of Sardinia, a unit of the Mediterranean Sea; to Sardinia's east is the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is also an element of the Mediterranean Sea.

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Sassari
Sassari (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsassari] ( listen); Sassarese: Sassari; Sardinian: Tàtari) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with over 130,000 inhabitants, or about 275,000 including the metropolitan area. Being one of the oldest cities on the island, it contains a considerable collection of art.
From his birth at the turn of the 12th century, Sassari has been ruled by the decaying Giudicato of Torres, the Pisans, the Sassaresi themselves in alliance with Genoa, the Catalan-Aragonese and the Spanish, all of whom have contributed to Sassari's historical and artistic heritage. Sassari is a city rich in art, culture and history, and is well known for its beautiful palazzi, the Fountain of the Rosello, and its elegant neoclassical architecture, such as Piazza d'Italia (Italy Square) and the Teatro Civico (Civic Theatre).
As Sardinia's second most populated city, and the fifth largest municipality in Italy (546 km²), it has a considerable amount of cultural, touristic, commercial and political importance in the island. The city's economy mainly relies on tourism and services, however also partially on research, construction, pharmaceuticals and the petroleum industry.

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Scotland
Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba ([ˈalˠ̪apə] listen (help·info))) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.

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Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.
The name of Segovia is of Celtiberian origin. The first inhabitants named the city Segobriga." This name comes from two terms of celtiberian origin, language of the celtic Indo-European branch. Comes from the term Sego, which means «victory» (prefix also present in other cities such as Segeda and Segontia) and the suffix -briga, which would mean «city» or «strength». So it might be translated as "City of the victory" or "Victorious city".
Under the Romans and Arabs, the city was called Segovia (Σεγουβία, Ptolomeo ii. 6. § 56) and Šiqūbiyyah (Arabic شقوبية) respectively.
Segovia is located within the Iberian Peninsula, near Valladolid and the Spanish capital, Madrid.
The province of Segovia is one of nine cities that make up the Autonomous Community of Castile and León. It is neighbored by Burgos and Valladolid to the north, Ávila to the west, Madrid and Guadalajara to the south and Soria to the east. The altitude of the province varies from 750 meters in the extreme northwest to a maximum of 2,430 meters at Peñalara peak.

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Seville
Seville ( /səˈvɪl/; Spanish: Sevilla, IPA: [seˈβiʎa], locally: [seˈβiʝa]; see also different names) is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville, Spain. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos (feminine form: sevillanas) or hispalenses, following the Roman name of the city, Hispalis.
Seville is the fourth largest city of Spain with a municipal population of about 703 thousand as of 2011, and a metropolitan population (including satellite towns) of about 1.5 million, making it the 31st most populous municipality in the European Union. Its old town is the largest in Spain (covering almost four square kilometers), and is one of the three largest in Europe along with Venice and Genoa. The Seville harbor, located about 80 km from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain.
The University of Seville was founded in 1505. Recently ranked the third university in Spain (and 190th in the world), it currently has over 50,000 students.^{[citation needed]}

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Sicily
Sicily (Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia, [siˈtʃiːlja]; [sɪˈɕilja]) is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea; along with surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana (Sicilian Autonomous Region).
Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean. It extends from the tip of the Apennine peninsula from which it is separated only by the narrow Strait of Messina, towards the North African coast. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, which is at 3,320 m (10,890 ft) the tallest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world. The island has a typical Mediterranean climate.
The earliest archeological evidence of human dwelling on the island dates from 8000 BC. At around 750 BC, Sicily became a Greek colony and for the next 600 years it was the site of the Greek-Punic and Roman-Punic wars, which ended with the Roman destruction of Carthage. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, Sicily often changed hands, and during the early Middle Ages it was ruled in turn by the Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Arabs and Normans. Later on, the Kingdom of Sicily lasted between 1130 and 1816, subordinated to the crowns of Aragon, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and finally the Bourbons, as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It was united with the rest of Italy in 1860, but a subsequent economic collapse led to a wave of emigration, separatism, and the emergence of the Mafia, whose criminal activities pose problems to this day. After the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region.

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Sigüenza
Sigüenza is a city in the province of Guadalajara in Spain.
The site of the ancient Segontia ("dominating over the valley") of the Celtiberian Arevaci, now called Villavieja (“old town”), is half a league distant from the present Sigüenza. Livy mentions the town in his discussion of the wars of Cato with the Celtiberians.
The city fell under Roman, Visigothic, Moorish and Castilian rule.
Around 1123 it was taken by Bernard of Agen, its first bishop. Sigüenza played a large part in the civil wars of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The fortress palace of the bishops, an earlier Moorish qasbah, was captured in 1297 by the partisans of the Infantes de la Cerda, and in 1355 it was the prison of Blanche of Bourbon, consort of Peter of Castile. In 1465 Diego López of Madrid, having usurped the miter, fortified himself there.
The last bishop-lord, known as the "mason-bishop", built a neighborhood below the level of the old town in a Neo-Classical style, before renouncing to the temporal lordship.

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Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire (Spanish: Imperio Español) comprised territories and colonies administered by Spain in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its political and economic power when it became the foremost global power. Its establishment in the 15th century ushered in the modern global era and five centuries of European dominance of global affairs. Spain's territorial reach beyond Europe spanned six centuries, from the first voyages to the Americas in 1492 until the independence of its last African colonies in the 1970s.
After the War of the Castilian Succession (1475–1479), Spain had emerged with a personally unified monarchy, with the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs or los Reyes Catolicos between the Queen of Castile and the King of Aragon: the internal and foreign policy was coordinated although the rule was separate. In 1492, the Spanish monarchs completed the Reconquista with the incorporation of Granada to the Kingdom of Castile. That same year Christopher Columbus commanded the first Spanish exploratory voyage west across the Atlantic Ocean, leading to the Discovery of America and Europe's eventual colonial engagement in the New World. The Americas thereby became the focus of Spanish exploration and colonization.

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Teruel
Teruel (Spanish pronunciation: [teˈɾwel]) is a town in Aragon, eastern Spain, and the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 34,240 in 2006 making it one of the least populated provincial capitals in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate (hot in summer and very cold in winter), its renowned jamón serrano (cured ham), its pottery, its surrounding archaeological sites with some of the oldest dinosaur remains of the Iberian Peninsula, and its famous Fiestas (La vaquilla del ángel during the second weekend of July and "Bodas de Isabel de Segura" around the third weekend of February). Teruel is regarded as the "town of mudéjar" due to numerous buildings designed in this style. All of them are comprised in the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon which is a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.
Teruel's remote and mountainous location (it is 915 metres above sea level) and its low population has led to relative isolation within Spain. A campaign group with the slogan Teruel existe ("Teruel exists") was founded in 1999 to press for greater recognition and investment in the town and the province. Due in part to the campaign, transport connections to Teruel are being greatly improved with the construction of a motorway between Zaragoza and Sagunto, large parts of which are now open. However, Teruel remains the only provincial capital in Spain without a direct railway link to the capital, Madrid.

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Valladolid
Valladolid (Spanish: [baʎaðoˈlið] ( listen)) is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales. It is the capital of the province of Valladolid.
One line of etymological argument suggests that the modern name "Valladolid" derives from a Celtiberian language expression, Vallis Tolitum ("Waters Valley"), due to the confluence of rivers. Another, more generally accepted derivation is from the demonym Vallisoletano, which was, in fact, the Spanish demonym of the city, and means "from sunny valley". Supporting this are texts from the Middle Ages, which use Vallisoletum, a word which continued to be used as late as the 16th century (see painting by Braun and Hogenberg).
It is also popularly called Pucela, a nickname whose origin is not clear, but probably refers to a few knights who accompanied Joan of Arc, known as La Pucelle. Another theory is that Pucela comes from the fact that Puzzeli's cement was sold there, the only city in Spain that sold it.

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Zaragoza
Zaragoza (Spanish pronunciation: [θaɾaˈɣoθa]), also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It is situated on the Ebro river and its tributaries, the Huerva and the Gállego, near the centre of the region, in a valley with a variety of landscapes, ranging from desert (Los Monegros) to thick forest, meadows and mountains.
On 1 September 2010 the population of the city of Zaragoza was 701,090, within its administrative limits on a land area of 1,062.64 km2 (410.29 sq mi), ranking fifth in Spain. It is the 35th most populous municipality in the European Union. The population of the metropolitan area was estimated in 2006 at 783,763 inhabitants. The municipality is home to more than 50 percent of the Aragonese population. The city lies at an elevation of 199 metres.
Zaragoza hosted Expo 2008 in the summer of 2008, a world's fair on water and sustainable development. It was also candidate for the European Capital of Culture in 2016.

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Zugarramurdi
Zugarramurdi is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. It passed into history as the setting of the infamous Basque witch trials. Every year in spectacular caves near Zugarramundi the town celebrate the ‘day of the witch’.
Coordinates: 43°16′N 1°32′W / 43.267°N 1.533°W / 43.267; -1.533

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Abiathar Crescas
Abiathar Crescas (Aragonese: [aβiaˈtar ˈkɾeskas], Catalan: [əβiəˈtar ˈkɾeskəs]) was a 15th-century Jewish physician and astrologer from the Crown of Aragon (now part of Spain). He was head astrologer to King John of Aragon, father of King Ferdinand of Aragon.
Crescas was a very prominent Jewish figure in Aragon. He could remove cataracts by a surgical procedure known as couching, and was most famous for restoring the eyesight of King John in two simple operations.

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Andrés Laguna
Andrés Laguna de Segovia (1499–1559) was a Spanish humanist physician, pharmacologist, and botanist.
Laguna was born in Segovia, according to Diego de Colmenares and other historians, to a converted Jewish doctor. He studied the arts for two years in Salamanca, then moved to Paris in 1530, where he graduated from the arts and went on to study medicine. He also learned classical languages such as Greek and Latin with such fluency as to be able to read Dioscorides in his original language. He was also influenced by Erasmus. Laguna returned to Spain in 1536, then travelled to England, lived some years in the Netherlands and collected herbal remedies in all the places he stayed to verify Dioscorides's prescriptions. Between 1540 and 1545 he resided in Metz, becoming a doctor of the city, and from 1545 to 1554 he stayed in Italy, where he received a doctorate from the University of Bologne and was honored by the Popes Paul III and Julius III, becoming doctor to the latter pontiff. He was provided with accommodations in Venice by the Spanish ambassador Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, a preeminent humanist and proprietor of a nutritional library. Laguna finally returned to Spain in 1557, after another extended stay in the Netherlands lasting three years; he served as doctor to Charles V and Philip II. Lastly, he created the Botanical Garden of Aranjuez. He died, probably in Guadalajara, Spain, in 1559. His remains were interred in the church of San Miguel, in Segovia.

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Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury (Aosta c. 1033 – Canterbury 21 April 1109), also called of Aosta for his birthplace, and of Bec for his home monastery, was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the Church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. Called the founder of scholasticism, he is famous as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God.
Born into the House of Candia, he entered the Benedictine order at the Abbey of Bec at the age of 27, where he became abbot in 1079. He became Archbishop of Canterbury under William II of England, and was exiled from England from 1097 to 1100, and again from 1105 to 1107 under Henry I of England as a result of the investiture controversy, the most significant conflict between Church and state in Medieval Europe.
Anselm was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1720 by a Papal Bull of Pope Clement XI.
Anselm was born under the name "Anselmus Candiae Genavae" (Italian: Anselmo di Candia Ginevra, French: Anselme de Candie Genève) at or nearAosta in the Kingdom of Arles (currently the capital of the Aosta Valley region in Northern Italy) around 1033. His family was noble (they were related by blood to the ascendant House of Savoy) and owned considerable property. His parents were from a noble lineage and holders of fiefdoms within the Burgundian territories. His father, Gundulf de Candia, was by birth a Lombard of the House of Candia; he seems to have been harsh. His mother, Ermenberga of Geneva, was regarded as prudent and virtuous; she was related to Otto, Count of Savoy.

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Antonio Puigblanch
Antoni Puig i Blanch (Catalan pronunciation: [ənˈtɔni ˈpudʒ i ˈβɫaŋ], also known as Antoni Puigblanch) (Mataró, Spain 1775 - Somers Town, London 1840) was a Catalan Spanish philologist and politician. He was living in London during 1815-1820 and 1823-1840. There he published The Inquisition unmasked (1816), translation of the book that had caused his exile from Spain.
Puigblanch was born in Mataró (Barcelona, Spain) on February 3, 1775; son of Antoni Puig Bunyol and Cecília Blanch. Being a child he studied in the School of Santa Ana of the Escolapios (Mataró). Later, he was in the carthusian monastery of Montalegre, but for a short time. In 1799 he travelled to Madrid to continue his studies: Philosophy in the College of Santo Tomás de Aquino and ecclesiastic discipline in the Reales Estudios de San Isidro.
In 1807 he won the post of professor of Hebrew in the University of Alcalá de Henares. At this time he publishes Elementos de lengua hebrea (Elements of Hebrew language), where he gathers Francesc Orchell's theories.

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Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( /ɒˈɡʌstɨn/ or /ˈɔːɡəstɪn/;Latin: Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; November 13, 354 – August 28, 430), also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin,St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius (present-day Annaba, Algeria). He was a Latin philosopher and theologian from Roman Africa. His writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity.
According to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine "established anew the ancient Faith." In his early years he was heavily influenced by Manichaeism and afterward by the Neo-Platonism of Plotinus. After his conversion to Christianity and baptism in AD 387, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, and he framed the concepts of original sin and just war.
When the Western Roman Empire was starting to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Catholic Church as a spiritual City of God (in a book of the same name), distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. Augustine's City of God was closely identified with the Church, the community that worshipped God.

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Benzion Netanyahu
Benzion Netanyahu (Hebrew: בנציון נתניהו‎, IPA: [ˈbentsijon netanˈjahu]) (March 25, 1910 – April 30, 2012) was an Israeli historian. His field of expertise was the History of the Jews in Spain. Netanyahu's son is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Benzion Mileikowsky (later Netanyahu) was born in Warsaw, Poland, to Sarah (Lurie) and the writer and Zionist activist Nathan Mileikowsky. In 1920 the family immigrated to Mandate Palestine. After living in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, and Safed, the family settled in Jerusalem. Netanyahu studied in the David Yellin teachers seminary and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His younger brother, mathematician Elisha Netanyahu, became Dean of Sciences at the Technion. Netanyahu's father signed some of his articles with the name Netanyahu, the Hebrew translation of his first name (Hebrew for "God's gift"). It was a common practice for Israelis at the time to adopt a Hebrew name and his son adopted this family name. He also used the pen name "Nitay."
In 1944, Netanyahu married Tzila Segal, whom he met during his studies in Palestine. The couple had three sons—Yonatan (b. 1946), former commander of Sayeret Matkal, who was killed in action leading Operation Entebbe in 1976; Benjamin, (b. 1949), Israeli Prime Minister (1996–99, 2009–present); and Iddo (b. 1952), an Israeli physician, author and playwright. Netanyahu became a widower in 2000, when Tzila died. He died on the morning of April 30, 2012 in his Jerusalem home at the age of 102.

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Bernard Gui
Bernard Gui (1261 or 1262 – 30 December 1331), also known as Bernardo Gui or Bernardus Guidonis, was an inquisitor of the Dominican Order in the Late Middle Ages during the Medieval Inquisition, Bishop of Lodève, and one of the most prolific writers of the Middle Ages. He is known for his tenure as Inquisitor of Toulouse against the Albigenses at the behest of Pope Clement V between 1307 and 1323.
He was born at Royères, in the Limousin, in 1261.
He entered the Dominican Convent at Limoges, and made his profession in 1280. Ten Years later he was made Prior of Albi, and subsequently at Carcassonne, at Castres, and at Limoges.
Working in the area of Toulouse (in modern France), his inquisition of those examined as suspected, known, reputed, or accused of the crime of heresy or support to heretics, led to over 900 guilty verdicts in fifteen years of office. People convicted of heresy during the time of the Inquisition were turned over to the secular arm (Nobles and city leaders) for punishment. Out of all those convicted during examination by Gui, 42 were executed. The four sects of Christian heretics Gui wrote about in his Inquisitor’s Guide were the Manicheans, the sect of the Waldensians, the sect of False Apostles, and the Béguin sect. Other groups which were not considered Christian but were cited in Gui’s Inquisitor’s Guide as “treacherous” were Jews, as well as Sorcerers, Fortune-tellers, and those who Summon Demons.

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Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist (1090 – August 20, 1153) was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.
After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val d'Absinthe, about 15 km southeast of Bar-sur-Aube. According to tradition, Bernard founded the monastery on 25 June 1115, naming it Claire Vallée, which evolved into Clairvaux. There Bernard would preach an immediate faith, in which the intercessor was the Virgin Mary.^{[citation needed]} In the year 1128, Bernard assisted at the Council of Troyes, at which he traced the outlines of the Rule of the Knights Templar, who soon became the ideal of Christian nobility.

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Bonaventure
Saint Bonaventure, O.F.M., (Italian: San Bonaventura; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born John of Fidanza (Italian: Giovanni di Fidanza), was an Italian medieval scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, he was also a Cardinal Bishop of Albano. He was canonized on 14 April 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the Church in the year 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. He is known as the "Seraphic Doctor" (Latin: Doctor Seraphicus). Many writings believed in the Middle Ages to be his are now collected under the name Pseudo-Bonaventura.
He was born at Bagnoregio in Latium, not far from Viterbo. Almost nothing is known of his childhood, other than the names of his parents, Giovanni di Fidanza and Maria Ritella.
He entered the Franciscan Order in 1243 and studied at the University of Paris, possibly under Alexander of Hales, and certainly under Alexander's successor, John of Rochelle. In 1253 he held the Franciscan chair at Paris and was proceeded as Master of Theology. Unfortunately for Bonaventure, a dispute between seculars and mendicants delayed his reception as Master until 1257, where his degree was taken in company with Thomas Aquinas. Three years earlier his fame had earned him the position of lecturer on the The Four Books of Sentences—a book of theology written by Peter Lombard in the twelfth century—and in 1255 he received the degree of master, the medieval equivalent of doctor.

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Carme Riera
Carme Riera Guilera (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkarmə riˈeɾə], born in Palma, 1948) is a novelist and essayist. She has also written short stories, scripts for radio and television, and works of literary criticism. She holds a doctorate in Hispanic Philology and is a professor of Spanish literature at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
She attended the Sacred Heart primary school and the Joan Alcover Institute in Palma, where she met Majorcan writers and fell in love with a teacher, Francisco Llinás.
In 1968 she moved to Barcelona to study Hispanic Philology in the Department of Philosophy and Letters of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She graduated in 1973 and the following year married Francisco Llinás and was hired by Manuel Blecua to give classes in the Department.
That year her son Ferran was born, and she began her literary career. She writes in Catalan and Spanish. Her self-translations are often published at the same time. She currently lives in Barcelona.
Her best-known work is the historical novel "Dins el darrer blau" (1994), winner of several prizes (see below) and the first novel in Catalan to win the Premio Nacional de Narrativa (National Prize for Narrative), awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. An English translation by Kathleen McNerney, "Blue Horizons of no Return: Sephardic Journeys", is awaiting publication.

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Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs (Spanish: Reyes Católicos) is the joint title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with consanguinity by Sixtus IV. The title of "Catholic King and Queen" was bestowed on them by the Pope Alexander VI in 1496, for defending Catholic dogmas within their realms. They married on October 19, 1469, in the city of Valladolid; Isabella was eighteen years old and Ferdinand a year younger. Their marriage united both crowns under the same family. John Elliot and many other historians consider that the unification of Spain can essentially be traced back to the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, but newer historical opinions recognize that under their rule Spain was still a composite monarchy. Castile and Aragon remained largely separate entities for decades to come. The court of Ferdinand and Isabella was constantly on the move, in order to bolster local support for the crown from local feudal lords.

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Cayetano Ripoll
Cayetano Ripoll (allegedly from Solsona 1778 - Valencia 1826), was a schoolmaster in Valencia, Spain, who was hanged to death on 26 July 1826 for allegedly teaching Deist principles. Ripoll was a soldier in the Spanish army during the Peninsular War (1807-1814). He was captured by French forces and was a prisoner of war. While being held by the French he was taken to France and there he became aware of Deism. He soon became a Deist. Upon returning to Spain, he used his position as a school master to teach others about Deism. He was accused by the Spanish inquisition (1478-1834) of being a Deist and of teaching his students about Deism. He was arrested for heresy and held in jail for close to two years. The clergymen of the Spanish Inquisition demanded Ripoll be burned at the stake for his heresy, however, the civil authorities chose to hang him instead. Allegedly, the church authorities, upset that Ripoll had not been burned at the stake, placed his dead body into a barrel, painted flames on the barrel and buried it in unconsecrated ground. Other reports state that the church authorities placed his body into a barrel and burned the barrel, throwing the ashes into a river Ripoll has the dubious honor of being the last of the many people known to have been executed for having committed the act of heresy, under sentence from a 'Church authority,' specifically the Spanish Inquisition. His last words were, "I die reconciled to God and to man."

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Cecil Roth
Cecil Roth (London, 1899–1970), was a British Jewish historian.
He was educated at Merton College, Oxford (Ph.D., 1924) and returned to Oxford as reader in Jewish Studies from 1939 to 1964. Thereafter he was visiting professor at Bar-Ilan University, Israel (1964–1965), and at the City University of New York (1966–1969).
His brother, Leon (Haim Yehuda) Roth (1896–1963) was a philosopher, translator, author of several books, and served as Rector of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1940–43) and later Dean of Humanities (1949–51). He initiated a series of translation of philosophical classics into Hebrew, and established what later became Magnes Press.
He was editor of Encyclopaedia Judaica from 1965 until his death.
His works number over 600 items, including:

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Charles III of Spain
Charles III (Spanish: Carlos III; Italian: Carlo III; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese. In 1731, the fifteen-year-old Charles became the Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I, at the death of his childless great uncle Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma.
In 1734, as the Duke of Parma, he conquered the kingdoms of Naples and of Sicily, and was crowned as the King of Naples and Sicily on 3 July 1735, reigning as Charles VII of Naples and Charles V of Sicily. In 1738 he married the Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony, an educated, cultured woman who gave birth to thirteen children, eight of whom reached adulthood. Charles and Maria Amalia resided in Naples for nineteen years; she died in 1760.
Upon succeeding to the Spanish throne on 10 August 1759, Charles, a proponent of enlightened absolutism, on 6 October 1759 abdicated the Neapolitan and Sicilian thrones in favour of Ferdinand, his third surviving son, who became Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, or Ferdinand IV of Naples and III of Sicily. Charles III's descendants ruled the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until 1861.

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Charles IV of Spain
Charles IV (Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno Jose Januario Serafin Diego; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.
Charles was the second son of Charles III and his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. He was born at Naples (11 November 1748), while his father was king of the Two Sicilies. His elder brother Don Felipe was passed over for the two thrones as mentally retarded and epileptic. In Naples and Sicily he was styled as the Prince of Taranto.
Charles had inherited a great frame and immense physical strength from the Saxon line of his mother, granddaughter of August the Strong. When young he was fond of wrestling with the strongest countrymen he could find. While he was considered by many to be intellectually sluggish and quite credulous he was also known for his acts of kindness.
In 1788, Charles III died and Charles IV succeeded to the throne. Even though he had a profound belief in the sanctity of his office and kept up the appearance of an absolute, powerful monarch, he never took more than a passive part in the direction of his own government, occupying himself with hunting. The affairs of government he left to his wife and his prime minister. In 1792, Maria Luisa finally succeeded in ousting the Count of Floridablanca from office and had him replaced with Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda, the chief of the Aragonese party. However, in the wake of the war against Republican France, the liberal-leaning Count of Aranda was replaced by Manuel de Godoy, a favourite of the Queen and allegedly her lover, who thenceforth enjoyed the lasting favour of the King.

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Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (before 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in what is today northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents. Those voyages, and his efforts to establish permanent settlements in the island of Hispaniola, initiated the process of Spanish colonization, which foreshadowed the general European colonization of what became known as the "New World".
In the context of emerging western imperialism and economic competition between European kingdoms seeking wealth through the establishment of trade routes and colonies, Columbus's speculative proposal to reach the East Indies by sailing westward received the support of the Spanish crown, which saw in it a promise, however remote, of gaining the upper hand over rival powers in the contest for the lucrative spice trade with Asia. During his first voyage in 1492, instead of reaching Japan as he had intended, Columbus landed in the Bahamas archipelago, at a locale he named San Salvador. Over the course of three more voyages, Columbus visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America, claiming them for the Spanish Empire.

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Conrad Grebel
Conrad Grebel (c. 1498–1526), son of a prominent Swiss merchant and councilman, was a co-founder of the Swiss Brethren movement and is often called the "Father of Anabaptists".
Conrad Grebel was born, probably in Grüningen in the Canton of Zurich, about 1498 to Junker Jakob and Dorothea (Fries) Grebel, the second of six children. He spent his early life in Grüningen, and then came to Zurich with his family around 1513. He spent several years abroad in study, worked as a proofreader in Basel, married in 1522, and became a Christian minister around 1523.
Conrad Grebel is thought to have studied for six years at the Carolina, the Latin school of the Grossmünster Church in Zürich. He enrolled at the University of Basel in October 1514. While there he studied under Heinrich Loriti, a noted humanist scholar. His father acquired a stipend from Emperor Maximilian for Conrad to study at the University of Vienna. In 1515 he began attending there and remained until 1518. While there, Grebel became close friends with Joachim Vadian, an eminent Swiss humanist professor from St. Gall. After spending three years in Vienna he returned to Zürich for about three months. His father acquired a scholarship for Conrad from the King of France to attend the University in Paris. He spent two years in study there, and joined the boarding academy of his former teacher in Basel, Loriti. In Paris Grebel engaged in a loose lifestyle, and was involved in several brawls with other students. When Grebel's father received word of his son's demeanor, he cut off Conrad's funds and demanded that he return to Zurich. Conrad Grebel spent about six years in three universities, but without finishing his education or receiving a degree.

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Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He attended Harvard University to study film theory and the American Film Institute to study both live-action and animation filmmaking. He won several film awards after completing his senior thesis film, "Supermarket Sweep", which went on to become a National Student Academy Award finalist. Aronofsky has received acclaim for his often surreal, disturbing films and has been noted for frequent collaborations with cinematographer Matthew Libatique and composer Clint Mansell. His films have generated controversy and are well known for their often violent, bleak subject matter.
Aronofsky's feature debut, Pi, was shot in November 1997. The low-budget, $60,000 production, starring Sean Gullette, was sold to Artisan Entertainment for $1 million, and grossed over $3 million; Aronofsky won the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and an Independent Spirit Award for best first screenplay. Aronofsky's followup, Requiem for a Dream, was based on the novel of the same name written by Hubert Selby, Jr. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Ellen Burstyn's performance. After turning down an opportunity to direct Batman Begins and writing the World War II horror film Below, Aronofsky began production on his third film, The Fountain. The film received mixed reviews and performed poorly at the box-office, but has since garnered a cult following.

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Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (October 28, 1466? – July 12, 1536), known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian.
Erasmus was a classical scholar who wrote in a pure Latin style. He was an early proponent of religious toleration, and enjoyed the sobriquet "Prince of the Humanists"; he has been called "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists." Using humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament. These raised questions that would be influential in the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. He also wrote The Praise of Folly, Handbook of a Christian Knight, On Civility in Children, Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style, Julius Exclusus, and many other works.
Erasmus lived through the Reformation period, but while he was critical of the Church, he did not join the cause of the Reformers. In relation to clerical abuses in the Church, Erasmus remained committed to reforming the Church from within. He also held to Catholic doctrines such as that of free will, which some Reformers rejected in favor of the doctrine of predestination. His middle road approach disappointed and even angered scholars in both camps.

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Diego de Valera
Diego de Valera (1412 - 1488) was a Spanish writer and historian.

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Don Quixote
Don Quixote ( /ˌdɒn kiːˈhoʊtiː/; Spanish: [ˈdoŋ kiˈxote] ( listen)), fully titled The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha (Spanish: El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha), is a novel written by Miguel de Cervantes. The novel follows the adventures of Alonso Quijano, who reads too many chivalric novels, and sets out to revive chivalry under the name of Don Quixote. He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, who frequently deals with Don Quixote's rhetorical orations on antiquated knighthood with a unique Earthy wit. He is met by the world as it is, initiating themes like Intertextuality, Realism, Metatheatre and Literary Representation.
Published in two volumes a decade apart, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature, and one of the earliest canonical novels, it regularly appears high on lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published. In one such list, Don Quixote was cited as the "best literary work ever written".

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Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (born Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.
He was born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts; he was orphaned young when his mother died shortly after his father abandoned the family. Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia, but they never formally adopted him. He attended the University of Virginia for one semester but left due to lack of money. After enlisting in the Army and later failing as an officer's cadet at West Point, Poe parted ways with the Allans. His publishing career began humbly, with an anonymous collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), credited only to "a Bostonian".

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Ferrand Martinez
Ferrand Martinez (fl. 14th Century) Spanish cleric, Archdeacon of Écija. An antisemitic agitator whom historians cite as the prime mover behind the series of pogroms against the Spanish Jews in 1391 beginning in the city of Seville.
Little is known of Martinez's early life (the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia has no article on him). Before taking up the position at Écija, he was the confessor of the queen mother of Aragon. Beginning in 1378, he began preaching sermons against the Jews. Although Juan I commanded him to crease his rabble-rousing, he ignored the royal order, as well commands from Barroso, archbishop of Toledo, the primate of Spain. For more than a decade, Martinez continued his verbal assaults, telling Catholics to "expel the Jews...and to demolish their synagogues.". Though put on trial in 1388, his activities were not checked by the king, though the latter stated that the Jews must not be maltreated.
The tipping point occurred when both Juan I and Borroso died in 1390, leaving his 11 year old son,Henry III to rule under the regency of his mother. Martinez continued his campaign against the Jews of Seville, calling on clergy and people to destroy synagogues and seize their Holy Books and other accoutrements. These events led to a further royal order deposing Martinez from his office and ordering damaged synagogues be repaired at Church expense. Declaring that neither the state nor the local church authorities had power over him, he ignored the commands.

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First Carlist War
The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833-1839.
At the beginning of the 18th century, Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain, promulgated the Salic Law, which declared illegal the inheritance of the Spanish crown by women. His purpose was to thwart the Habsburgs' regaining the throne by way of the female dynastic line.
A century later, King Ferdinand VII of Spain had no male descendant, but only two daughters, Isabella (later known as Isabella II of Spain) and Luisa Fernanda. So he promulgated the Pragmatic Sanction, to allow Isabella to become Queen after his death. The Infante Carlos, the king's brother, would have normally become king without the Pragmática Sanción. He and his followers, such as Secretary of Justice Francisco Tadeo Calomarde, pressed Ferdinand to change his mind. But the ill Ferdinand kept his decision and when he died on 29 September 1833, Isabella became the legitimate queen. As she was only a child, a regent was needed: her mother, Queen Consort Maria Christina.

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Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi (born Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone; 1181/1182 – October 3, 1226) was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St. Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in history.
Francis was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi, and he lived the high-spirited life typical of a wealthy young man, even fighting as a soldier for Assisi. While going off to war in 1204, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for his worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome, he begged with the beggars at St. Peter's. The experience moved him to live in poverty. Francis returned home, began preaching on the streets, and soon amassed a following. His order was endorsed by Pope Innocent III in 1210. He then founded the Order of Poor Clares, which was an enclosed order for women, as well as the Third Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance. In 1219, he went to Egypt in an attempt to convert the Sultan. By this point, the Franciscan Order had grown to such an extent that its primitive organizational structure was no longer sufficient. He returned to Italy to organize the order. Once his organization was endorsed by the Pope, he withdrew increasingly from external affairs. In 1223, Francis arranged for the first Christmas manger scene. In 1224, he received the stigmata, making him the first recorded person to bear the wounds of Christ's Passion. He died in 1226 while preaching Psalm 141.

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Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta (7 April 1506 – 3 December 1552) was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre (now part of Spain) and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534. He led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly in the Portuguese Empire of the time. He was influential in the spreading and upkeep of Catholicism most notably in India, but also ventured into Japan, Borneo, the Moluccas, and other areas which had thus far not been visited by Christian missionaries. In these areas, being a pioneer and struggling to learn the local languages in the face of opposition, he had less success than he had enjoyed in India. It was a goal of Xavier to one day reach China. However, the government in China disliked most missionaries and many were killed.
Francis Xavier was born in the family castle of Xavier (Xabier, toponymic name whose origin comes from "etxaberri" meaning "new house" in the Basque language) in the Kingdom of Navarre on April 7, 1506 according to a family register. He was born to an aristocratic family of the Kingdom of Navarre, the youngest son of Juan de Jaso, privy counsellor to King John III of Navarre (Jean d'Albret), and Doña Maria de Azpilcueta y Aznárez, sole heiress of two noble Navarrese families. He was thus related to the great theologian and philosopher Martín de Azpilcueta. Notwithstanding different interpretations on his first language, no evidence suggests that Xavier's mother tongue was other than Basque, as stated by himself and confirmed by the sociolinguistic environment of the time.

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Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller [ˈjoːhan ˈkʁɪstɔf ˈfʁiːdʁɪç fɔn ˈʃɪlɐ] (10 November 1759 – 9 May 1805) was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. They frequently discussed issues concerning aesthetics, and Schiller encouraged Goethe to finish works he left as sketches. This relationship and these discussions led to a period now referred to as Weimar Classicism. They also worked together on Xenien, a collection of short satirical poems in which both Schiller and Goethe challenge opponents to their philosophical vision.
Friedrich Schiller was born on 10 November 1759, in Marbach, Württemberg as the only son of military doctor Johann Kaspar Schiller (1733–96), and Elisabeth Dorothea Kodweiß (1732–1802). They also had five daughters. His father was away in the Seven Years' War when Friedrich was born. He was named after king Frederick the Great, but he was called Fritz by nearly everyone. Kaspar Schiller was rarely home during the war, but he did manage to visit the family once in a while. His wife and children also visited him occasionally wherever he happened to be stationed. When the war ended in 1763, Schiller's father became a recruiting officer and was stationed in Schwäbisch Gmünd. The family moved with him. Due to the high cost of living—especially the rent—the family moved to nearby Lorch.

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Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (Russian: Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский; IPA: [ˈfʲodər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj] ( listen); 11 November 1821 – 9 February 1881) sometimes translated as Dostoevsky, was a Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. Dostoyevsky's literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social and spiritual context of 19th-century Russian society. A Slavophile, nationalist and monarchist, he criticised the bourgeois, pre-materialist West and nihilism in many of his works. Although Dostoyevsky wrote books in the mid-1850s which were influenced by realist and romanticist writers, most notably by Dickens, Gogol and Balzac, his best remembered work was done in his last years, including such masterpieces as Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov. Dostoyevsky overall wrote 11 complete novels, 3 novellas, 17 short novels and 3 essays. He is often acknowledged by critics as one of the greatest and most prominent psychologists in world literature.

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Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Italian pronunciation: [dʒuˈzɛppe ˈverdi]; 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century. His works are frequently performed in opera houses throughout the world and, transcending the boundaries of the genre, some of his themes have long since taken root in popular culture – such as "La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto, "Va, pensiero" (The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) from Nabucco, "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" (The Drinking Song) from La traviata and the "Grand March" from Aida.
Verdi’s masterworks dominate the standard opera repertoire a century and a half after their composition.
Verdi was born the son of Carlo Giuseppe Verdi and Luigia Uttini in Le Roncole, a village near Busseto, then in the Département Taro which was a part of the First French Empire after the annexation of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. The baptismal register, on 11 October lists him as being "born yesterday", but since days were often considered to begin at sunset, this could have meant either 9 or 10 October. The next day, he was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church in Latin as Joseph Fortuninus Franciscus. The day after that (Tuesday), Verdi's father took his newborn the three miles to Busseto, where the baby was recorded as Joseph Fortunin François; the clerk wrote in French. "So it happened that for the civil and temporal world Verdi was born a Frenchman."

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Henry Charles Lea
Henry Charles Lea (September 19, 1825 – October 24, 1909) was an American historian, civic reformer, and political activist. Lea was born and lived in Philadelphia.
His father, Isaac Lea (1792–1886) was a distinguished naturalist and a member of the American Philosophical Society, and was by profession a publisher. Isaac Lea was descended from a Philadelphia Quaker family, and was born in Wilmington, Delaware. On March 8, 1821, Isaac married Frances Anne Carey (1799–1873), daughter of Mathew Carey, the Philadelphia publisher. Mathew Carey, born in Ireland in 1760, came to the United States in 1784, escaping prosecution by the British government for his outspoken criticism of Britain's Irish policy. During a period of exile in Paris, Carey had met Benjamin Franklin, for whose print shop he worked. When Carey arrived in Philadelphia, he began to publish a periodical, The Pennsylvania Evening Herald. From this beginning Carey went on to develop a highly successful publishing house, which printed the works of Thomas Jefferson, Parson Weems, Walter Scott, James Fenimore Cooper, and the first quarto Bible of American manufacture, in both the Douay version and the Authorized version. Upon his marriage in 1821, Isaac Lea entered this firm, then called Mathew Carey and Sons.

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Henry Kamen
Henry A. Kamen (born 4 October 1936 in Rangoon) is a British historian.
He studied at the University of Oxford, earning his doctorate at St Antony's College. He subsequently taught at the University of Warwick and various universities in Spain. In 1970, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. In 1984 he was appointed Herbert F. Johnson Professor at the Institute for Research in the Humanities, University of Wisconsin - Madison. He was a Professor of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) in Barcelona from 1993 until his retirement in 2002. Since then he has continued lecturing and writing, and lives currently in Spain and in the United States. He is an influential contributor to the pages of the Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo. He considers the most stimulating points of his career to have been when he was received by Pope John Paul II during a private conference in the Vatican, and when Queen Sofia of Spain slipped into one of his classes as a student and took notes during a lecture he was giving at a summer conference in Santander, Spain.

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Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch (Ancient Greek: Ἰγνάτιος, also known as Theophorus from Greek Θεοφόρος "God-bearer") (ca. 35 or 50-between 98 and 117) was among the Apostolic Fathers, was the third Bishop of Antioch, and was a student of John the Apostle. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of very early Christian theology. Important topics addressed in these letters include ecclesiology, the sacraments, and the role of bishops.
Ignatius' feast day is observed on 20 December in the Eastern Orthodox Church. In the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, he is commemorated, according to its Synaxarium, on the 24th of the Coptic Month of Kiahk (which currently falls on January 2, but is equivalent to December 20 in the Gregorian Calendar due to the current 13-day Julian-Gregorian Calendar offset). His celebration is on 1 February in the General Roman Calendar of 1962. Today Western Christianity follows the Syriac churches in keeping his feast on 17 October.

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Irenaeus
St. Irenaeus ( /aɪrəˈniːəs/; Ancient Greek: Εἰρηναῖος), (2nd century AD – c. 202) was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire (now Lyon, France). He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. He was a hearer of Polycarp, who in turn was a disciple of John the Evangelist.
Irenaeus' best-known book, Adversus Haereses or Against Heresies (c. 180) is a detailed attack on Gnosticism, which was then a serious threat to the Church, and especially on the system of the Gnostic Valentinus. As one of the first great Christian theologians, he emphasized the traditional elements in the Church, especially the episcopate, Scripture, and tradition. "Caesar and Christ"(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972)</ref> Against the Gnostics, who said that they possessed a secret oral tradition from Jesus himself, Irenaeus maintained that the bishops in different cities are known as far back as the Apostles — and none of them was a Gnostic — and that the bishops provided the only safe guide to the interpretation of Scripture. His writings, with those of Clement and Ignatius, are taken to hint at papal primacy. Irenaeus is the earliest witness to recognition of the canonical character of all four gospels.

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Isabella II of Spain
Isabella II (Spanish: Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 10 April 1904) was the only Queen regnant of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1868, and formally abdicated in 1870. Her son Alfonso XII became king in 1874.
Isabella was born in Madrid in 1830, the eldest daughter of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and of his fourth wife and niece, Maria Christina, who was a Neapolitan Bourbon. Maria Christina became regent on 29 September 1833, when her three-year old daughter Isabella was proclaimed queen regnant on the death of the king.
Isabella succeeded to the throne because Ferdinand VII had induced the Cortes Generales to help him set aside the Salic law, introduced by the Bourbons in the early 18th century, and to re-establish the older succession law of Spain. The first pretender, Ferdinand's brother Carlos, fought seven years during the minority of Isabella to dispute her title. Carlos' and his descendants' supporters were known as Carlists, and the fight over the succession was the subject of a number of Carlist Wars in the 19th century.

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Jan Hus
Jan Hus (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjan ˈɦus] ( listen); c. 1369 – 6 July 1415), often referred to in English as John Hus or John Huss, was a Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague. After John Wycliffe, the theorist of ecclesiastical Reformation, Hus is considered the first Church reformer (living prior to Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli).
He is famed for having been burned at the stake for heresy against the doctrines of the Catholic Church, including those on ecclesiology, the Eucharist, and other theological topics. Hus was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century, and his teachings had a strong influence on the states of Europe, most immediately in the approval for the existence of a reformist Bohemian religious denomination, and, more than a century later, on Martin Luther himself.
Between 1420 and 1431, the Hussite forces defeated five consecutive papal crusades against followers of Hus. Their defence and rebellion against Roman Catholics became known as the Hussite Wars. A century later, as many as 90% of inhabitants of the Czech lands were non-Catholic and followed the teachings of Hus and his successors.

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Jan Potocki
Count Jan Nepomucen Potocki (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjan pɔˈtɔt͡skʲi]; March 8, 1761 – December 1815) was a Polish nobleman, Polish Army Captain of Engineers, ethnologist, Egyptologist, linguist, traveler, adventurer and popular author of the Enlightenment period, whose life and exploits made him a legendary figure in his homeland. Outside Poland he is known chiefly for his novel, The Manuscript Found in Saragossa.
Jan Nepomucen Potocki was born into the Potocki aristocratic family, that owned vast estates across Poland. He was educated in Geneva and Lausanne, served twice in the Polish Army as a captain of engineers, and spent some time on a galley as novice to the Knights of Malta. His colorful life took him across Europe, Asia and North Africa, where he embroiled himself in political intrigues, flirted with secret societies, contributed to the birth of ethnology — he was one of the first to study the precursors of the Slavic peoples from a linguistic and historical standpoint.
In 1790 he became the first person in Poland to fly in a hot air balloon when he made an ascent over Warsaw with the aeronaut Jean-Pierre Blanchard, an exploit that earned him great public acclaim. He spend some time in France, and upon his return to Poland, he became a known publicist, publishing newspapers and pamphlets, in which he argued for various reforms. He also established in 1788 in Warsaw a publishing house named Drukarnia Wolna (Free Press) as well as the city's first free reading room. His relation with the King Stanisław II August was thorny, as Potocki, while often supportive of the King, on occasion did not shy from his critique. He was highly critical of the Russian ambassador, Otto Magnus von Stackelberg.

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Jean Bodin
Jean Bodin (1530–1596) was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is best known for his theory of sovereignty; he was also an influential writer on demonology.
Bodin lived during the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation, and wrote against the background of religious conflict in France. He remained a nominal Catholic throughout his life, but was critical of papal authority over governments, favouring the strong central control of a national monarchy as an antidote to factional strife. Towards the end of his life he wrote, but did not publish, a dialogue between different religions, including representatives of Judaism, Islam and natural theology, in which all agreed to coexist in concord.
Bodin was successively a monk, academic, professional lawyer and political adviser. An excursion as a politician having proved a failure, he lived out his life as a provincial magistrate.
Bodin was born near Angers (perhaps the son of a master tailor), with modestly prosperous middle-class background. He received a decent education, apparently in the Carmelite monastery of Angers, where he became a novice monk. Some claims made about his early life remain obscure. There is some evidence of a visit to Geneva in 1547/48 in which he became involved in a heresy trial. The records of this episode, however, are murky and perhaps refer to another person.

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Jerome
Saint Jerome (c. 347 – 30 September 420; (also Hierom or Jerom) (Latin: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; Ancient Greek: Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος) was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia. He is best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), and his list of writings is extensive.
He is recognised by the Catholic Church as a saint and Doctor of the Church, and the Vulgate is still an important text in Catholicism. He is also recognized as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, where he is known as St. Jerome of Stridonium or Blessed Jerome.
Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus was born at Stridon around 347. He was not baptized until about 360 or 366, when he had gone to Rome with his friend Bonosus (who may or may not have been the same Bonosus whom Jerome identifies as his friend who went to live as a hermit on an island in the Adriatic) to pursue rhetorical and philosophical studies. He studied under the grammarian Aelius Donatus. There Jerome learned Latin and at least some Greek, though probably not the familiarity with Greek literature he would later claim to have acquired as a schoolboy.

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Jesus
Jesus ( /ˈdʒiːzəs/; Greek: Ἰησοῦς; 7–2 BC/BCE to 30–36 AD/CE), also referred to as Jesus Christ or simply Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and most Christian denominations venerate him as God the Son incarnated. In Islam, Jesus (in Arabic: عيسى‎ in Islamic usage, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's important prophets.
Most modern historians agree that Jesus existed and was a Jewish teacher from Galilee in Roman Judaea, who was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate. Scholars have offered competing descriptions and portraits of Jesus, which at times share a number of overlapping attributes, such as a rabbi, a charismatic healer, the leader of an apocalyptic movement, a self-described Messiah, a sage and philosopher, or a social reformer who preached of the "Kingdom of God" as a means for personal and egalitarian social transformation. Scholars have correlated the New Testament accounts with non-Christian historical records to arrive at an estimated chronology of Jesus' life.

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John Calvin
John Calvin (French: Jean Calvin, born Jehan Cauvin: 10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530. After religious tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestants in France, Calvin fled to Basel, Switzerland, where he published the first edition of his seminal work The Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536.
In that year, Calvin was recruited by William Farel to help reform the church in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of Calvin and Farel's ideas, and both men were expelled. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg, where he became the minister of a church of French refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and was eventually invited back to lead its church.

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John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom (c. 347–407, Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος), Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities. After his death in 407 (or, according to some sources, during his life) he was given the Greek epithet chrysostomos, meaning "golden mouthed" in English, and Anglicized to Chrysostom.
The Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches honor him as a saint and count him among the Three Holy Hierarchs, together with Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzus. He is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church as a saint and as a Doctor of the Church. Churches of the Western tradition, including the Roman Catholic Church, some Anglican provinces, and parts of the Lutheran Church, commemorate him on 13 September. Some Lutheran and many Anglican provinces commemorate him on the traditional Eastern feast day of 27 January. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria also recognizes John Chrysostom as a saint (with feast days on 16 Thout and 17 Hathor).

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John II of Castile
John II (6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile from 1406 to 1454.
He was the son of Henry III of Castile and his wife Catherine of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster by Constance of Castile, daughter of King Peter of Castile.
He succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, at the age of a year and ten months, and united in his person the claims of Peter the Cruel and of Henry II. His mother Catherine and his uncle, Ferdinand, were co-regents during his minority. When Ferdinand died in 1416, his mother was sole regent until she died as well, in 1418.
It was one of the many misfortunes of Castile that the long reign of John II—forty-nine years—should have been granted to one of the least capable of its kings. John was amiable, weak, and dependent on those about him. He had no taste except for ornament and no serious interest except in amusements such as verse-making, hunting, and tournaments.
He was entirely under the influence of his favourite, Álvaro de Luna, until his second wife, Isabella of Portugal, obtained control of his feeble will. At her instigation, he dismissed his faithful and able favorite, an act which is said to have caused him much remorse. He died on 20 July 1454, at Valladolid.

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John Knox
John Knox (c. 1514 – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536. Influenced by early church reformers such as George Wishart, he joined the movement to reform the Scottish church. He was caught up in the ecclesiastical and political events that involved the murder of Cardinal Beaton in 1546 and the intervention of the regent of Scotland, Mary of Guise. He was taken prisoner by French forces the following year and exiled to England on his release in 1549.
While in exile, The Rev. John Knox was licensed to work in the Church of England, where he quickly rose in the ranks to serve King Edward VI of England as a royal chaplain. In this position, he exerted a reforming influence on the text of the Book of Common Prayer. In England he met and married his first wife, Marjorie. When Mary Tudor ascended the throne and re-established Roman Catholicism, Knox was forced to resign his position and leave the country.

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John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe ( /ˈwɪklɪf/; also spelled Wyclif, Wycliff, Wiclef, Wicliffe, or Wickliffe) (c. 1328 – December 31, 1384) was an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher,translator, reformer and university teacher at Oxford in England, who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. His followers were known as Lollards, a somewhat rebellious movement, which preached anticlerical and biblically-centered reforms. The Lollard movement was a precursor to the Protestant Reformation (for this reason, Wycliffe is sometimes called "The Morning Star of the Reformation"). He was one of the earliest opponents of papal authority influencing secular power.
Wycliffe was also an early advocate for translation of the Bible into the common language. He completed his translation directly from the Vulgate into vernacular English in the year 1382, now known as Wycliffe's Bible. It is probable that he personally translated the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; and it is possible he translated the entire New Testament, while his associates translated the Old Testament.Wycliffe's Bible appears to have been completed by 1384, with additional updated versions being done by Wycliffe's assistant John Purvey and others in 1388 and 1395.

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Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph-Napoleon Bonaparte (7 January 1768 – 28 July 1844) was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily (1806–1808), and later King of Spain (1808–1813, as José I). After the fall of Napoleon, Joseph styled himself Comte de Survilliers.
Joseph was born Giuseppe Buonaparte in 1768 to Carlo Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino at Corte, the capital of the Corsican Republic. In the year of his birth, Corsica was invaded by France and conquered the following year. His father was originally a follower of the Corsican Patriot leader, Pasquale Paoli, but later became a supporter of French rule. As a lawyer, politician, and diplomat, Joseph served in the Cinq-Cents and was the French ambassador to Rome. He married Marie Julie Clary (26 December 1771, Marseille, France – 7 April 1845, Florence, Italy) on 1 August 1794 in Cuges-les-Pins, France. They had three daughters:
He claimed the surviving two daughters as his heirs. He also sired two children with Maria Giulia, the Countess of Atri:

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Joseph de Maistre
Joseph-Marie, comte de Maistre (French pronunciation: [də mɛstʁ] 1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a French-speaking Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat. He defended hierarchical societies and a monarchical State in the period immediately following the French Revolution. Despite his close ties with France, Maistre was a subject of the King of Piedmont-Sardinia, whom he served as member of the Savoy Senate (1787–1792), ambassador to Russia (1803–1817), and minister of state to the court in Turin (1817–1821).
Maistre, a key figure of the Counter-Enlightenment, saw monarchy both as a divinely sanctioned institution and as the only stable form of government. He called for the restoration of the House of Bourbon to the throne of France and argued that the Pope should have ultimate authority in temporal matters. Maistre also claimed that it was the rationalist rejection of Christianity which was directly responsible for the disorder and bloodshed which followed the French Revolution of 1789.

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Juan de Mariana
Juan de Mariana, also known as Father Mariana (1536 – 17 February 1624), was a Spanish Jesuit priest, Scholastic, historian, and member of the Monarchomachs.
Juan de Mariana was born in Talavera, Toledo, Spain. He studied at the Complutense University of Alcalá de Henares, and was admitted at the age of seventeen into the Society of Jesus. In 1561 he went to teach theology in Rome, reckoning among his pupils Robert Bellarmine, afterwards cardinal; then passed into Sicily; and in 1569 he was sent to Paris, where his expositions of the writings of Thomas Aquinas attracted large audiences. In 1574, owing to ill health, he obtained permission to return to Spain; the rest of his life being passed at the Jesuits' house in Toledo in vigorous literary activity. He died in Madrid.
Mariana's great work, Historiae de rebus Hispaniae, first appeared in twenty books at Toledo in 1592; ten books were subsequently added (1605), bringing the work down to the accession of Charles V in 1519, and in a still later abstract of events the author completed it to the accession of Philip IV in 1621. It was so well received that Mariana was induced to translate it into Spanish (the first part in 1601; completed, 1609; English translation by J. Stevens, 1699).

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Juan de Mena
Juan de Mena (1411–1456) was one of the most significant Spanish poets of the fifteenth century. He was highly regarded at the court of Juan II de Castilla, who appointed him veinticuatro (one of twenty-four aldermen) of Córdoba, secretario de cartas latinas (secretary of Latin letters) and cronista real (royal chronicler). His works show the influence of Renaissance humanism and place him in the period of transition in Spain from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

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Juan de Ribera
Saint Juan de Ribera was born in the city of Seville, Spain, on March 20, 1532, and died in Valencia on January 6, 1611. Ribera was one of the most influential figures of his times, holding appointments as Archbishop and Viceroy of Valencia, patriarch of Antioch, Commander in Chief, president of the Audiencia, and Chancellor of the University of Valencia. He was beatified in 1796 and canonized by Pope John XXIII in 1960.
His father was Pedro de Ribera, Viceroy of Naples and Duke of Alcala. He became an orphan from mother's side at a very young age.
Juan de Ribera studied at the University of Salamanca. Ordained as priest in 1557, Pope Pius IV appointed him Bishop of Badajoz on May 27, 1562, at the age of 30. There he dedicated himself to teaching the catechism to Roman Catholics and counteracting Protestantism. He was appointed as the Archbishop of Valencia on December 3, 1568. King Philip III of Spain later appointed him Viceroy of Valencia in 1602, and thus he became both the religious and the civil authority. In this role he founded the Museum of the Patriarch, known among Valencians as College of Saint John, entrusted to the formation of priests according to the spirit and the dispositions of the Council of Trent.

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Juan de Valdés
Juan de Valdés (c. 1509 - 1541) was a Spanish religious writer.
He was the younger of twin sons of Fernando de Valdés, hereditary regidor of Cuenca in Castile, where Valdés was born. He has been confused with his twin brother Alfonso (a courtier of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who attended Charles's coronation in Aachen in 1520 and was Latin secretary of state from 1524). Alfonso died in 1532 at Vienna.
Juan, who probably studied at the University of Alcalá, first appears as the anonymous author of a politico-religious Diálogo de Mercurio y Carón, written and published about 1528. A passage in this work may have suggested Don Quixote's advice to Sancho Panza on appointment to his governorship. The Diálogo attacked the corruptions of the Roman Church; hence Valdés, in fear of the Spanish Inquisition, left Spain for Naples in 1530.
In 1531 he removed to Rome, where his criticisms of papal policy were condoned, since in his Diálogo he had upheld the validity of Henry VIII's marriage with Catherine of Aragon. On 12 January 1533 he writes from Bologna, in attendance upon Pope Clement VII From the autumn of 1533 he made Naples his permanent residence, his name being Italianized as Valdésso and Val d'Esso. Confusion with his brother may account for the statement (without evidence) of his appointment by Charles V as secretary to the viceroy at Naples, Don Pedro de Toledo; there is no proof of his holding any official position, though Curione (in 1544) writes of him as "cavalliere di Cesare." His house on the Chiaja was the centre of a literary and religious circle; his conversations and writings (circulated in manuscript) stimulated the desire for a spiritual reformation of the church.

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Judaizers
Judaizers is predominantly a Christian term, derived from the Greek verb ioudaïzō (ἰουδαΐζω "live according to Jewish customs", see ioudaioi). This term is most widely known from the single use in the New Testament (Galatians 2:14) where Paul publicly challenges Peter for compelling Gentile believers to "judaize", also known as the Incident at Antioch.
According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1977) this term includes groups such as Jewish Christians, Quartodecimans, Ethiopian Christians, descendants of English Puritanism such as the Seventh-day Adventist Church and others, who claim the necessity of obedience to the Mosaic Laws which are found in the first five books of the Christian Old Testament. Though this is something likely disputed by members belonging to these groups, notably the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as term Judaizers is typically used as a pejorative.
The issue of the Old Covenant in Christianity is complex and controversial, however, most traditional Christians believe much of it has been superseded while some modern Protestants believe it has been completely abrogated and replaced with the Law of Christ. Thus, "one who has Judaized", refers to a Christian who has accepted the necessity of adhering to the Mosaic Laws or to specific laws that are believed to be superseded, such as circumcision, Sabbath observance, or observation of the Passover. The ongoing Christian debate over "Judaizing in Christianity" began in the lifetime of the apostles, notably at the Council of Jerusalem and Incident at Antioch, and parallels the ongoing debate about Paul of Tarsus and Judaism, Protestant views of the Ten Commandments, and Christian ethics.

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Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin (AD 100–165), was an early Christian apologist, and is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Most of what is known about the life of Justin Martyr comes from his own writings. He was born at Flavia Neapolis (today Nablus) in Palestine into a pagan family, and defined himself as a Gentile. His grandfather, Bacchius, had a Greek name, while his father, Priscus bore a Latin name, which has led to speculations that his ancestors may have settled in Neapolis soon after its establishment or that they may have descended from a Roman 'diplomatic' community that had been sent there. He received a Greek education. He tells us (Dialogue 2-8) that he tried first the school of a Stoic philosopher, who was unable to explain God's being to him. He then attended a Peripatetic philosopher but was put off because the philosopher was too eager for his fee. Then he went to hear a Pythagorean philosopher, who demanded that he first learn music, astronomy and geometry, which he did not wish to do. Subsequently, he adopted Platonism after encountering a Platonist thinker who had recently settled in his city. Some time afterwards, he chanced upon an old man, possibly a Palestinian or Syrian Christian, in the vicinity of the seashore, who engaged him in a dialogue about God, and spoke of the testimony of the prophets as more reliable than the reasoning of philosophers. It was this argument which, Justin avers, kindled in him a love of Christ, and led him to embrace the Christian faith. He was influenced in this by the fearless conduct of the Christians facing execution (Apol. 2:12). His conversion is commonly assumed to have taken place at Ephesus, though it may have occurred anywhere on the road from Palestine to Rome.

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Lope de Vega
Félix Arturo Lope de Vega y Carpio (25 November 1562 – 27 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright and poet. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century Baroque literature. His reputation in the world of Spanish literature is second only to that of Cervantes, while the sheer volume of his literary output is unequalled, making him one of the most prolific authors in the history of literature.
Nicknamed "The Phoenix of Wits" and "Monster of Nature" (because of the sheer volume of his work) by Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega renewed the Spanish theatre at a time when it was starting to become a mass cultural phenomenon. He defined the key characteristics of it, and along with Calderón de la Barca and Tirso de Molina, he took Spanish baroque theatre to its greater limits. Because of the insight, depth and ease of his plays, he is regarded among the best dramatists of Western literature, his plays still being represented worldwide. He was also one of the best lyric poets in the Spanish language, and author of various novels. Although not well known in the English-speaking world, his plays were presented in England as late as the 1660s, when diarist Samuel Pepys recorded having attended some adaptations and translations of them, although he omits mentioning the author.

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Ludwig von Pastor
Ludwig Pastor, later Ludwig von Pastor, Freiherr von Campersfelden (31 January 1854 – 30 September 1928), was a German historian and a diplomat for Austria. He became one of the most important Roman Catholic historians of his time and is most notable for his History of the Popes. He was raised to the nobility by the Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1908.
Born in Aachen, Pastor attended a Frankfurt gymnasium, where his teacher was Johannes Janssen. Pastor studied in 1875 at Leuven, in 1875/76 at Bonn, where he became a member of the student corporation Armininia, and in 1877/78 at Vienna.
Pastor taught at the University of Innsbruck, first as a lecturer (1881–87), then as professor of modern history (1887). His dissertation was titled "Die kirchlichen Reunionsbestrebungen während der Regierung Karls V" (The Church's Attempts at Reunion During the Reign of Charles V).
Pastor edited his mentor Janssen's eight-volume Geschichte des deutschen Volkes (History of the German People) and published it from 1893 to 1926.

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Marcos Aguinis
Marcos Aguinis (born 13 January 1935) is an Argentine writer that have received several prestigious international awards. Trained in medical studies, music and psychoanalysis, his work and his thoughts are focused on the notions of independence, democracy and rejection of authoritarianism. Active member of liberalism, participates in seminars and conferences from the Freedom Foundation organized by Mario Vargas Llosa.
Marcos Aguinis was born in Cordoba, Argentina on January 13, 1935. He is a writer who has gone through extensive training in international literature, medicine, psychoanalysis, art and history. He said: "I have traveled the world, but I've also traveled to various professions ".
He published his first book in 1963 and since then he has published eleven novels, sixteen books of essays, four books of short stories and two biographies that create excitement and controversy.
In recent years all his titles became best-sellers.
Aguinis is followed by thousands of fans who recommend, discuss and collect his works.

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Martin Luther
Martin Luther (help·info) (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German monk, priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Emperor.
Luther taught that salvation is not earned by good deeds but received only as a free gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood. Those who identify with Luther's teachings are called Lutherans.

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Mary I of England
Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558) was the Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death. Her Protestant political opponents gave her the sobriquet of "Bloody Mary".
She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547. By 1553, Edward was mortally ill and because of religious differences between them, he attempted to remove Mary from the line of succession. On his death, their cousin Lady Jane Grey was at first proclaimed queen. Mary assembled a force in East Anglia, and successfully deposed Jane, who was ultimately beheaded. In 1554, Mary married Philip of Spain, and as a result became queen consort of Habsburg Spain on his accession in 1556.
As the fourth crowned monarch of the Tudor dynasty, Mary is remembered for her restoration of Roman Catholicism after the short-lived Protestant reign of her half-brother. During her five year reign, she had over 280 religious dissenters burned at the stake in the Marian Persecutions. Her re-establishment of Roman Catholicism was reversed after her death in 1558 by her successor and younger half-sister, Elizabeth I.

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Menno Simons
Menno Simons (1496 – 31 January 1561) was an Anabaptist religious leader from the Friesland region of the Low Countries. Simons was a contemporary of the Protestant Reformers and his followers became known as Mennonites. "Menno Simons" (/ˈmɛnoː ˈsimɔns/) is a dutchification; his actual, Frisian name was Minne Simens (/ˈmɪnə ˈsimn̩s/).^{[citation needed]}
Menno Simons was born in 1496 in Witmarsum, Friesland, Holy Roman Empire. He grew up in a poor peasant environment, but very little is known concerning his childhood and family. His father's name must have been Simon, Simons being a patronym, while he had a brother named Pieter.
Simons grew up in a disillusioned war-torn country. Friesland was ravaged by war in the late 15th and early 16th century. Landsknecht soldiers haunted the Frisian lands in the 1490s to force the 'Free' Frisians to accept the duke of Saxony-Meissen as their head of state. The duke was the governor of the Netherlands for the Habsburg family. One of the archenemies of the Habsburgs, the Duke of Guelders, invaded Friesland in 1515 and conquered half of it. The other half was ceded by Saxony to the Habsburgs. The Frisians tried to regain their freedom but they were too weak and eventually accepted the imperial authority of the Habsburg emperor Charles V.^{[citation needed]}

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Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Spanish pronunciation: [miˈɣel de θerˈβantes saaˈβeðɾa]; (29 September 1547 – 23 April 1616) was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern European novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written. His influence on the Spanish language has been so great that the language is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). He was dubbed El Príncipe de los Ingenios ("The Prince of Wits").
In 1569, Cervantes moved to Rome, where he served as a valet to Giulio Acquaviva, a wealthy priest who was elevated to cardinal the next year. By then, Cervantes had enlisted as a soldier in a Spanish Navy infantry regiment and continued his military life until 1575, when he was captured by Algerian corsairs. After five years he was released on ransom from his captors by his parents and the Trinitarians, a Catholic religious order. He subsequently returned to his family in Madrid.

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Miguel Delibes
Miguel Delibes Setién (Spanish pronunciation: [miˈɣel deˈliβes]; 17 October 1920 – 12 March 2010) was a Spanish novelist, journalist and newspaper editor associated with the Generation of '36 movement. From 1975 until his death, he was a member of the Royal Spanish Academy, where he occupied chair "e". He studied commerce and law and began his career as a columnist and later journalist at the El Norte de Castilla. He would later head this newspaper before gradually devoting himself exclusively to the novel.
As a connoisseur of the fauna and flora of his geographical region and someone passionate about hunting and the rural world, he could give form in his works to all matters relating to Castile and hunting from the perspective of an urban person who had not lost touch with that world.
He was one of the leading figures of post-Civil War Spanish literature, for which he was recognized through many awards. However, his influence extends even further, since several of his works have been adapted for the theater or have been made into movies, which won awards at competitions such as the Cannes Film Festival, and television shows.

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Montesquieu
Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (/ˈmɒntɨskjuː/; French pronunciation: [mɔ̃tɛskjø]; 18 January 1689 – 10 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Enlightenment. He is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers, which is taken for granted in modern discussions of government and implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. He was largely responsible for the popularization of the terms feudalism and Byzantine Empire.
He was born at the Château de la Brède in the southwest of France. His father, Jacques de Secondat, was a soldier with a long noble ancestry. His mother, Marie Françoise de Pesnel who died when Charles de Secondat was seven, was a female inheritor of a large monetary inheritance who brought the title of barony of La Brède to the Secondat family.^{[citation needed]} After having studied at the Catholic College of Juilly, Charles-Louis de Secondat married. His wife, Jeanne de Lartigue, a Protestant, brought him a substantial dowry when he was 26. The next year, he inherited a fortune upon the death of his uncle, as well as the title Baron de Montesquieu and Président à Mortier in the Parliament of Bordeaux. By that time, England had declared itself a constitutional monarchy in the wake of its Glorious Revolution (1688–89), and had joined with Scotland in the Union of 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1715 the long-reigning Louis XIV died and was succeeded by the five-year-old Louis XV. These national transformations impacted Montesquieu greatly; he would later refer to them repeatedly in his work.

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Monty Python
Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) was a British surreal comedy group who created Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, spawning touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books and a stage musical as well as launching the members to individual stardom. The group's influence on comedy has been compared to The Beatles' influence on music.
The television series, broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974, was conceived, written and performed by members Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a sketch show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach (aided by Gilliam's animation), it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content. A self-contained comedy team responsible for both writing and performing their work, the Pythons' creative control allowed them to experiment with form and content, discarding rules of television comedy. Their influence on British comedy has been apparent for years, while in North America it has coloured the work of cult performers from the early editions of Saturday Night Live through to more recent absurdist trends in television comedy. "Pythonesque" has entered the English lexicon as a result.

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Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Berber, Black African and Arab descent from Northern Africa, who came to conquer, occupy and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years.^{[citation needed]} At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed other religions. They called the territory Al Andalus, comprising most of what is now Spain and Portugal.
" Moors" are not a distinct or self-defined people. Medieval and early modern Europeans applied the name primarily to Berbers, but also at various times to Arabs, Muslim Iberians and West Africans from Mali and Niger who had been absorbed into the Almoravid dynasty. Mainstream scholars observed in 1911 that "The term 'Moors' has no real ethnological value."
The Andalusian Moors of the late Medieval era inhabited the Iberian Peninsula after the Moorish conquests of the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates, and the final Umayyad conquest of Hispania.^{[citation needed]} The Moors' rule stretched at times as far as modern-day Mauritania, West African countries, and the Senegal River. Earlier, the Classical Romans interacted with (and later conquered) parts of Mauretania, a state that covered northern portions of modern Morocco and much of north western and central Algeria during the classical period. The people of the region were noted in Classical literature as the Mauri.

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Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (French: Napoléon Bonaparte [napoleɔ̃ bɔnɑpaʁt]) (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the French Revolution. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815. His legal reform, the Napoleonic Code, has been a major influence on many civil law jurisdictions worldwide, but he is best remembered for his role in the wars led against France by a series of coalitions, the so-called Napoleonic Wars. He established hegemony over most of continental Europe and sought to spread the ideals of the French Revolution, while consolidating an imperial monarchy which restored aspects of the deposed Ancien Régime. Due to his success in these wars, often against numerically superior enemies, he is generally regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time and his campaigns are studied at military academies throughout much of the world.
Napoleon was born in Corsica to parents of noble Genoese ancestry, and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France. He rose to prominence under the French First Republic and led successful campaigns against the First and Second Coalitions arrayed against France. In 1799, he staged a coup d'état and installed himself as First Consul; five years later the French Senate proclaimed him emperor. In the first decade of the 19th century, the French Empire under Napoleon engaged in a series of conflicts—the Napoleonic Wars—involving every major European power.

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Origen
Origen ( /ˈɒrɪdʒən/; Greek: Ὠριγένης Ōrigénēs), or Origen Adamantius (184/185 – 253/254), was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, largely because he believed in the pre-existence and apokatastasis, or universal reconciliation, ideas acknowledged to be beyond the pale of Christianity. Today he is generally regarded as one of the Church Fathers.
Origen excelled in multiple branches of theological scholarship, including textual criticism, biblical interpretation, philosophical theology, preaching, and spirituality. Some of his teachings, however, quickly became controversial. Notably, he frequently referred to his hypothesis of the pre-existence of souls. As in the beginning all intelligent beings were united to God, Origen also held out the possibility, though he did not assert so definitively, that in the end all beings, perhaps even the arch-fiend Satan, would be reconciled to God in what is called the apokatastasis ("restitution"). Origen's views on the Trinity, in which he saw the Son of God as subordinate to God the Father, became controversial during the Arian controversy of the fourth century, though a subordinationist view was common among the ante-Nicene Fathers. A group who came to be known as Origenists, and who firmly believed in the preexistence of souls and the apokatastasis, were declared anathema in the 6th century. This condemnation is attributed to the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, though it does not appear in the council's official minutes. Few scholars today believe that Origen should be blamed, as he commonly was in the past, for tentatively putting forward hypotheses, later judged heretical, on certain philosophical problems during a time when Christian doctrine was somewhat unclear on said problems.

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Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso (20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria, and of the Metamorphoses, a mythological hexameter poem. He is also well known for the Fasti, about the Roman calendar; and the Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto, two collections of poems written in exile on the Black Sea. Ovid was also the author of several smaller pieces, the Remedia Amoris, the Medicamina Faciei Femineae, and the long curse-poem Ibis. He also authored a lost tragedy, Medea. He is considered a master of the elegiac couplet, and is traditionally ranked alongside Virgil and Horace as one of the three canonic poets of Latin literature. The scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the canonical Latin love elegists. His poetry, much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, decisively influenced European art and literature and remains as one of the most important sources of classical mythology.

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Pablo de Olavide
Pablo de Olavide y Jáuregui (Lima, Peru, 1725 January 25 – Baeza, Spain, 1803, February 25) was a Spanish politician, lawyer and writer.
He was born in a rich and influential creole Liman family and studied at the San Marcos University of Lima. He hold the doctorate in Theology in 1740 and the degree of Law in 1742. He was appointed assistant of the Consulate Tribunal and oidor (judge) of the Audiency of Lima. In 1746, he was indicted for embezzlement and he had to go to Spain to be prosecuted by the Council of the Indies in 1750. He was imprisoned briefly in 1754, but he was finally condemned in 1757 just to temporary disqualification for public offices. In 1755 he got married a rich widow and traveled through Italy and France. He met the most outstanding European enlightened philosophers and writers, like Voltaire ("A Spaniard who thinks", he said of him) and his Madrid house was one of the most notable meeting point of the Spanish enlightened elites.
Thanks to his influential friends and to the new political climate after the Esquilache Riots (1766) he could resume his bureaucratic and political career. In 1767, he was appointed director of the San Fernando and Madrid Royal Hospices. He followed enthusiastically the reformist policies promoted by Campomanes and Aranda. That same year he was appointed intendent and asistente (corregidor) of Seville and he was the first superintendent of the newly established Nuevas Poblaciones (New Settlements) of Andalusia, that were intended to exploit vast portions of arable lands. He succeeded to establish forty new settlements. As Seville's asistente, he implemented enthusiastically enlightened and reformist policies. He improved Sevillian municipal treasury, public supplies, urbanism and public works. He reformed and secularised welfare assistance and planned a reform for the University of Seville. He wrote a report about the project for a new agrarian law (1768), which is one of the most important Spanish physiocrat writings.

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Paul the Apostle
Paul the Apostle (c. AD 5 – c. AD 67; variously referred to as the "Apostle Paul" or "Saint Paul"), also known as Saul of Tarsus, is perhaps the most influential early Christian missionary. The writings ascribed to him by the church form a considerable portion of the New Testament. The influence on Christian thinking of the epistles ascribed to him has been significant, due in part to his association as a prominent apostle of Christianity during the spreading of the Gospel through early Christian communities across the Roman Empire.
According to the writings in the New Testament, Paul was known as Saul prior to his conversion, and was dedicated to the persecution of the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem. While traveling from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to "bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem", the resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a great light. Saul was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus, and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God.

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Pedro Olea
Pedro Olea (30 June 1938, Bilbao) is a Spanish screenwriter, film producer and film director. His 1984 film Akelarre was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival.

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Peter Abelard
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Peter Abelard (English pronunciation: /ˈæb.ə.lɑːrd/, French pronunciation: [a.beˈlaːʁ], Latin: Petrus Abaelardus or Abailard; French: Pierre Abélard) (1079–21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, theologian and preeminent logician. The story of his affair with and love for Héloïse has become legendary. The Chambers Biographical Dictionary describes him as "the keenest thinker and boldest theologian of the 12th Century".
Abelard, originally called "Pierre le Pallet", was born in Le Pallet, about 10 miles (16 km) east of Nantes, in Brittany, the eldest son of a minor noble Breton family. As a boy, he learned quickly. His father, a wealthy lord called Berengar, encouraged Pierre to study the liberal arts, wherein he excelled at the art of dialectic (a branch of philosophy), which, at that time, consisted chiefly of the logic of Aristotle transmitted through Latin channels. Instead of entering a military career, as his father had done, Abelard became an academic. During his early academic pursuits, Abelard wandered throughout France, debating and learning, so as (in his own words) "he became such an one as the Peripatetics." The nominalist Roscellinus of Compiègne was his teacher during this period.

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Peter the Aleut
Cungagnaq (date of birth unknown - d. 1815) is venerated as a martyr and saint (as Peter the Aleut) by some jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was allegedly a native of Kodiak Island (Aleutian Islands), and is said to have received the Christian name of Peter when he was baptized into the Orthodox faith by the monks of St. Herman's missionaries operating in the north. He is purported to have been captured by Spanish soldiers near San Pedro (Pacifica, California) and tortured and killed at the instigation of Roman Catholic priests either there or at Mission Dolores, in San Francisco. At the time identified for his death, California was Spanish territory, and Spain was worried about Russian advances southwards from Alaska.Hubert Howe Bancroft, in his multi-volume History of California, only notes that, in connection with an incident wherein a Russian fur-hunting expedition was taken into custody after declining to leave San Pedro, one Russian source accused "the Spaniards of cruelty to the captives, stating that according to Kuskof’s report one Aleut who refused to become a Catholic died from ill-treatment received from the padre at San Francisco."

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Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain (Spanish: Felipe II; Portuguese: Filipe I ; 21 May 1527 – 13 September 1598) was the King of Castile, Aragon, and Portugal. He was also king of Sicily and Naples as Philip I. During his marriage to Mary I, he was King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count.
Also known as Philip the Prudent (Felipe el Prudente), he ruled one of the world's largest empires which included territories in every continent then known to Europeans.
Philip was born in Valladolid, the son of Charles I of Spain, and his consort, Isabella of Portugal. During his reign, Spain was the foremost Western European power. Under his rule, Spain reached the height of its influence and power, directing explorations all around the world and settling the colonization of territories in all the known continents. He was described by the Venetian ambassador Paolo Fagolo in 1563 as "slight of stature and round-faced, with pale blue eyes, somewhat prominent lip, and pink skin, but his overall appearance is very attractive." The Ambassador went on to say "He dresses very tastefully, and everything that he does is courteous and gracious."

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Philip III of Spain
Philip III of Spain (Spanish: Felipe III, Portuguese: Filipe II; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621), also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Castile, Aragon, and Portugal. He was also king of Naples and Sicily as Philip II. Born in Madrid, the son of Philip II of Spain and his fourth wife (and niece) Anna, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian II and Maria of Spain, he married Margaret of Austria, sister of Emperor Ferdinand II, and like her husband, a member of the House of Habsburg.
Although considered to be a congenial and pious ruler, Philip's political reputation has been negative – an 'undistinguished and insignificant man,' a 'miserable monarch,' whose 'only virtue appeared to reside in a total absence of vice,' to quote three major historians of the period. In particular, Philip's reliance on his corrupt chief minister the Duke of Lerma drew much criticism at the time and afterwards. For many, the decline of Spain can be dated to the economic difficulties that set in during the early years of his reign. Nonetheless, as the ruler of the Spanish Empire at its height, and as the king who achieved a temporary peace with the Dutch (1609–21) and brought Spain into the Thirty Years War (1618–48) through an initially extremely successful campaign within the Holy Roman Empire, Philip's reign remains a critical period in Spanish history.

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Philip V of Spain
Philip V (Spanish: Felipe V; French: Philippe de France; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.
Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a grandson of King Louis XIV. His father, Louis, the Grand Dauphin, had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain when it became vacant in 1700. However, since the Grand Dauphin and Philip's older brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, could not be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne, King Charles II of Spain named Philip as his heir in his will. It was well-known that the union of France and Spain under one monarch would upset the balance of power in Europe, such that other European powers would take steps to prevent it. Philip was the first member of the House of Bourbon to rule as king of Spain. The sum of his two reigns, 45 years and 21 days, is the longest in modern Spanish history.

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Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon (February 16, 1497 – April 19, 1560), born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems. He stands next to Luther and Calvin as a reformer, theologian, and molder of Protestantism. As much as Luther, he is the primary founder of Lutheranism. They both denounced what they claimed was the exaggerated cult of the saints, justification by works, and the coercion of the conscience in the sacrament of penance that nevertheless could not offer certainty of salvation. Melanchthon made the distinction between law and gospel the central formula for Lutheran evangelical insight. By the "law" he meant God's requirements both in Old and New Testament; the "gospel" meant the free gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
He was born Philipp Schwartzerdt (of which "Melanchthon" is a Greek translation) on 16 February 1497, at Bretten, near Karlsruhe, where his father Georg Schwarzerdt was armorer to Philip, Count Palatine of the Rhine. His birthplace was demolished in 1689 and the town's Melanchthonhaus built on its site in 1897.

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Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I (Latin: Gregorius I) (c. 540 – 12 March 604), better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death. Gregory is well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope.
Throughout the Middle Ages he was known as “the Father of Christian Worship” because of his exceptional efforts in revising the Roman worship of his day.
He is also known as St. Gregory the Dialogist in Eastern Orthodoxy because of his Dialogues. For this reason, English translations of Orthodox texts will sometimes list him as "Gregory Dialogus". He was the first of the popes to come from a monastic background. Gregory is a Doctor of the Church and one of the Latin Fathers. He is considered a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, and some Lutheran churches. Immediately after his death, Gregory was canonized by popular acclaim. The Protestant reformer, John Calvin, admired Gregory and declared in his Institutes that Gregory was the last good pope. He is the patron saint of musicians, singers, students, and teachers.

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Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X (11 December 1475 – 1 December 1521), born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest (only a deacon) to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses. He was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, the most famous ruler of the Florentine Republic, and Clarice Orsini. His cousin, Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, would later succeed him as Pope Clement VII (1523–34).
Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici was born in Italy, the second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, head of the Florentine Republic, and Clarice Orsini.
From an very early age, he was destined for an ecclesiastical career. He received the tonsure at the age of seven and was soon loaded with rich benefices and preferments. His father prevailed on his relative Innocent VIII to name him cardinal-deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica on 8 March 1489, although he was not allowed to wear the insignia or share in the deliberations of the college until three years later. Meanwhile he received a distinguished education at Lorenzo's brilliant humanistic court under such men as Angelo Poliziano, Pico della Mirandola, Marsilio Ficino and Bernardo Dovizio Bibbiena. From 1489 to 1491 he studied theology and canon law at Pisa under Filippo Decio and Bartolomeo Sozzini.

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Pope Lucius III
Pope Lucius III (ca. 1100 – 25 November 1185), born Ubaldo, was pope from 1 September 1181 to his death.
A native of the independent republic of Lucca, he was born ca. 1100 (perhaps 1097) as Ubaldo, son of Orlando. He is commonly referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of Allucingoli, but this is not proven. He had close ties to the Cistercians, but it seems that he never joined the order. He was named cardinal by Pope Innocent II in December 1138, initially as cardinal-deacon of San Adriano, then (in May 1141) as cardinal-priest of Santa Prassede. Pope Adrian IV promoted him to the rank of Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Velletri in December 1158. He was dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals and one of the most influential cardinals under his predecessor Pope Alexander III.
After being elected Pope in 1181, he lived at Rome from November 1181 to March 1182, but dissensions in the city compelled him to pass the remainder of his pontificate in exile, mainly at Velletri, Anagni and Verona.

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Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age, the Vatican Archives. Sixtus also furthered the agenda of the Spanish Inquisition and annulled the decrees of the Council of Constance. He was famed for his nepotism and was personally involved in the infamous Pazzi Conspiracy.
Francesco was born to a family of modest means from Liguria, Italy, the son of Leonardo della Rovere and Luchina Monleoni. He was born in Celle Ligure, a town near Savona.
As a young man he joined the Franciscan Order, an unlikely choice for a political career, and his intellectual qualities were revealed while he was studying philosophy and theology at the University of Pavia. He went on to lecture at many eminent Italian universities.
In 1464, Francesco della Rovere was elected Minister General of the Franciscan order at the age of 50. In 1467, he was appointed Cardinal of San Pietro in Vincoli by Pope Paul II. Before his papal election, Cardinal della Rovere was renowned for his unworldliness and had even written learned treatises entitled On the Blood of Christ and On the Power of God. His pious reputation was one of the deciding factors that prompted the College of Cardinals to elect him pope upon the unexpected death of Paul II at the age of fifty-four.

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Rafael Sabatini
Rafael Sabatini (29 April 1875 – 13 February 1950) was an Italian/English writer of novels of romance and adventure.
Rafael Sabatini was born in Iesi, Italy, to an English mother (Anna Trafford) and Italian father. His parents were opera singers who became teachers.
At a young age, Rafael was exposed to many languages, living with his grandfather in England, attending school in Portugal and, as a teenager, in Switzerland. By the time he was seventeen, when he returned to England to live permanently, he was the master of five languages. He quickly added a sixth language – English – to his linguistic collection. He consciously chose to write in his adopted language, because, he said, "all the best stories are written in English."
After a brief stint in the business world, Sabatini went to work as a writer. He wrote short stories in the 1890s, and his first novel came out in 1902. In 1905 he married Ruth Goad Dixon, the daughter of a Liverpool merchant. It took Sabatini roughly a quarter of a century of hard work before he attained success with Scaramouche in 1921. The novel, a historical romantic set during the French Revolution, became an international best-seller. It was followed by the equally successful Captain Blood in 1922. All of his earlier books were rushed into reprints, the most popular of which was The Sea Hawk from 1915. Sabatini was a prolific writer; he produced a new book approximately every year, and maintained a great deal of popularity with the reading public through the decades that followed.

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Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (5 September 1793 – 28 July 1794) (the latter is date 10 Thermidor, year II of the French Revolutionary Calendar), also known simply as The Terror (French: la Terreur), was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution." The death toll ranged in the tens of thousands, with 16,594 executed by guillotine (2,639 in Paris), and another 25,000 in summary executions across France.
The guillotine (called the "National Razor") became the symbol of the revolutionary cause, strengthened by a string of executions: Marie Antoinette, King Louis XVI, the Girondins, Philippe Égalité (Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans) and Madame Roland, as well as many others, such as pioneering chemist Antoine Lavoisier, lost their lives under its blade. During 1794, revolutionary France was beset with conspiracies by internal and foreign enemies. Within France, the revolution was opposed by the French nobility, which had lost its inherited privileges. The Roman Catholic Church was generally against the Revolution, which had turned the clergy into employees of the state and required they take an oath of loyalty to the nation (through the Civil Constitution of the Clergy). In addition, the First French Republic was engaged in a series of wars with neighboring powers intent on crushing the revolution to prevent its spread.

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Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November, 1937) is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists (1977), Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Legend (1985), Black Rain (1989), Thelma & Louise (1991), Gladiator (2000), Hannibal (2001), Black Hawk Down (2001), Kingdom of Heaven (2005) American Gangster (2007), Body of Lies (2008), and Prometheus (2012).
Scott has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Directing, as well as Golden Globe and Emmy Awards. He was knighted in the 2003 New Year Honours. In 2011, Scott received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is the older brother of film director Tony Scott.
Scott was born in South Shields, England, the son of Elizabeth and Colonel Francis Percy Scott. He was raised in an Army family, meaning that for most of his early life, his father — an officer in the Royal Engineers — was absent. Ridley's older brother, Frank, joined the Merchant Navy when he was still young and the pair had little contact. During this time the family moved around, living in (among other areas) Cumbria, Wales and Germany. He has a younger brother, Tony, also a film director. After the Second World War, the Scott family moved back to their native north-east England, eventually settling in Teesside (whose industrial landscape would later inspire similar scenes in Blade Runner). He enjoyed watching films, and his favourites include Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane and Seven Samurai. Scott studied in Teesside from 1954 to 1958, at Grangefield Grammar School and later in West Hartlepool College of Art, graduating with a Diploma in Design.

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Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an Academy Award winning American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for his body of work. Corman has occasionally taken minor acting roles in such films as The Silence of the Lambs, The Godfather Part II, Apollo 13 and Philadelphia. A documentary about Roger Corman's life and career entitled Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel premiered at Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals in 2011, directed by Alex Stapleton. The film's TV rights were picked up by A&E IndieFilms after a well-received screening at Sundance.
Corman has been a mentor to young film directors including Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Demme, James Cameron, Curtis Hanson, John Sayles, and many others. He has also helped launch the careers of actors including Jack Nicholson, William Shatner, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Talia Shire and Robert De Niro.

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Saint Dominic
Saint Dominic (Spanish: Santo Domingo), also known as Dominic of Osma and Dominic of Caleruega (occasionally Calaruega), often called Dominic de Guzmán and Domingo Félix de Guzmán (1170 – August 6, 1221) was the founder of the Friars Preachers, popularly called the Dominicans or Order of Preachers (OP), a Roman Catholic religious order. Dominic is the patron saint of astronomers.
Dominic was born in Caleruega, halfway between Osma and Aranda de Duero in Old Castile, Spain. He was named after Saint Dominic of Silos, who is said to be the patron saint of hopeful mothers, astronomers. The Benedictine abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos lies a few miles north of Caleruega.
In the earliest narrative source, by Jordan of Saxony, Dominic's parents are not named. The story is told that before his birth his mother dreamed that a dog leapt from her womb carrying a torch in its mouth, and "seemed to set the earth on fire". This story is likely to have emerged when his order became known, after his name, as the Dominican order, in Latin is Dominicanus and by a play of words was interpreted as Domini canis: "Dog of the Lord." Jordan adds that Dominic was brought up by his parents and a maternal uncle who was an archbishop. The failure to name them is not surprising, since Jordan's work is a history of the early years of the Order rather than a biography of Dominic. A later source, still of the 13th century, gives the names of Dominic's mother and father as Juana and Felix. Nearly a century after Dominic's birth, a local author asserts that Dominic's father was "vir venerabilis et dives in populo suo" ("an honoured and wealthy man in his village"). The earliest statement that Dominic's father belonged to the family de Guzmán, and that his mother belonged to the Aça or Aza family, occurs in the travel narrative of Pero Tafur, written in 1439 or soon after.

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Samuel Shellabarger
Samuel Shellabarger (1888 - 1954) was an American educator and author of both scholarly works and best-selling historical novels. He was born in Washington, D.C., on 18 May 1888, but his parents both died while he was a baby. Samuel was therefore reared by his grandfather, Samuel Shellabarger, a noted lawyer who had served in Congress during the American Civil War and as Minister to Portugal. Young Samuel's travels with his grandfather later proved a goldmine of background material for his novels.
Shellabarger attended private schools and in 1909 graduated from Princeton University, where he would later teach. After studying for a year at Munich University in Germany, he resumed his studies at Harvard University and Yale University. Despite taking a year off to serve in World War I, he received his doctorate in 1917. In 1915 he married Vivan Georgia Lovegrove Borg whom he had met the year before during a vacation in Sweden. They had four children, but the two boys died: one as an infant and the other serving in World War II. Shellabarger himself died of a heart attack in Princeton, New Jersey, on 21 March 1954.

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Saxon Wars
The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the more than thirty years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of disaffected tribesmen was crushed. In all, eighteen battles were fought in what is now northwestern Germany. They resulted in the incorporation of Saxony into the Frankish realm and their conversion from Germanic paganism to Germanic Christianity.
Despite repeated setbacks, the Saxons resisted steadfastly, forever returning to raid Charlemagne's domains as soon as he turned his attention elsewhere. Their main leader, Widukind, was a resilient and resourceful opponent, and accepted a peace-offering from Charlemagne in a perilous situation not losing his face and preventing Charlemagne continuing a bothersome war. This agreement saved the Saxons' leaders' exceptional rights in their homeland. Widukind (ahd "Waldkind", engl: "Child of forest") was baptized in 785 and buried in the only German church without a spire.

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Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews (Hebrew: סְפָרַדִּי, Modern Sfaraddi Tiberian Səp̄āraddî) is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and traditions which originated in the Iberian Peninsula. Accordingly, the term Sephardic Jew refers to the Jews following the Sephardic Halakha.
The term essentially means "Spanish". It comes from Sepharad (Hebrew: סְפָרַד, Modern Sfarád Tiberian Səp̄āráḏ), a Biblical location. This location is disputed, but "Sepharad" was identified by later Jews as the Iberian Peninsula, and still means "Spain" in modern Hebrew.^{[citation needed]}
In other languages and scripts, "Sephardi" translates as plural Hebrew: סְפָרַדִּים, Modern Sfaraddim Tiberian Səp̄āraddîm; Spanish: Sefardíes; Portuguese: Sefarditas; Catalan: Sefardites; Basque: Sefardiak; Galician: Sefardís; Italian: Sefarditi; Greek: Σεφαρδίτες Sefardites; Bulgarian: Сефаради Sefaradi; Bosnian: Sefardi; Serbian: Сефарди Sefardi; Turkish: Sefarad, Judaeo-Spanish: Sefaradies/Sefaradim; and Arabic: سفارديون‎ Safārdīyyūn‎.

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Stephen Oppenheimer
Stephen Oppenheimer (born 1947) is a British paediatrician, geneticist, and writer. He is a member of Green Templeton College, Oxford and an honorary fellow of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and carries out and publishes research in the fields of genetics and human prehistory.
Oppenheimer trained in medicine at Oxford and London universities, qualifying in 1971. From 1972 he worked as a clinical paediatrician, mainly in Malaysia, Nepal and Papua New Guinea. He carried out and published clinical research in the areas of nutrition, infectious disease (including malaria), and genetics, focussing on the interactions between nutrition, genetics and infection, in particular iron nutrition, thalassaemia and malaria. From 1979 he moved into medical research and teaching, with positions at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Oxford University, a research centre in Kilifi, Kenya, and the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang.
He spent three years undertaking fieldwork in Papua New Guinea, studying the effects of iron supplementation on susceptibility to infection. His fieldwork, published in the late 1980s, identified the role of genetic mutation in malarious areas as a result of natural selection due to its protective effect against malaria, and that different genotypes for alpha-thalassaemia traced different migrations out to the Pacific. Following that work, he concentrated on researching the use of unique genetic mutations as markers of ancient migrations.

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Teresa of Ávila
Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, (March 28, 1515 – October 4, 1582) was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer. She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered to be, along with John of the Cross, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites.
In 1622, forty years after her death, she was canonized by Pope Gregory XV, and in 1970 named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI. Her books, which include her autobiography, The Life of Teresa of Jesus, and her seminal work, El Castillo Interior (The Interior Castle), are an integral part of the Spanish Renaissance literature as well as Christian mysticism and Christian meditation practices as she entails in her other important work Camino de Perfección (The Way of Perfection).
Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada was born in 1515 in Gotarrendura, in the province of Ávila, Spain. Her paternal grandfather, Juan de Toledo, was a marrano (Jewish convert to Christianity) and was condemned by the Spanish Inquisition for allegedly returning to the Jewish faith. Her father, Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda, bought a knighthood and successfully assimilated into Christian society. Teresa's mother, Beatriz, was especially keen to raise her daughter as a pious Christian. Teresa was fascinated by accounts of the lives of the saints, and ran away from home at age seven with her brother Rodrigo to find martyrdom among the Moors. Her uncle stopped them as he was returning to the city, having spotted the two outside the city walls.

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Tertullian
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225 AD), was a prolific early Berber Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy. Tertullian has been called "the father of Latin Christianity" and "the founder of Western theology." Though conservative, he did originate and advance new theology to the early Church. He is perhaps most famous for being the oldest extant Latin writer to use the term Trinity (Latin trinitas), and giving the oldest extant formal exposition of a Trinitarian theology. Other Latin formulations that first appear in his work are "three Persons, one Substance" as the Latin "tres Personae, una Substantia" (itself from the Koine Greek "treis Hypostases, Homoousios"). He wrote his trinitarian formula after becoming a Montanist; his ideas were at first rejected as heresy by the church at large, but later accepted as Christian orthodoxy.

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Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. ( /əˈkwaɪnəs/ ə-KWY-nəs; 1225 – 7 March 1274), also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Roman Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus ([the] Angelic Doctor), Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis. "Aquinas" is not a surname, but is a Latin demonym for a resident of Aquino, his place of birth. He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology, and the father of Thomism. His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy was conceived as a reaction against, or as an agreement with, his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law, metaphysics, and political theory.
Thomas is held in the Catholic Church to be the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood. The works for which he is best-known are the Summa Theologica and the Summa Contra Gentiles. As one of the 33 Doctors of the Church, he is considered the Church's greatest theologian and philosopher. Pope Benedict XV declared: "This (Dominican) Order ... acquired new luster when the Church declared the teaching of Thomas to be her own and that Doctor, honored with the special praises of the Pontiffs, the master and patron of Catholic schools."

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Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from union with the Holy See. Along with Thomas Cromwell, he supported the principle of Royal Supremacy, in which the king was considered sovereign over the Church within his realm.
During Cranmer's tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was responsible for establishing the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the reformed Church of England. Under Henry's rule, Cranmer did not make many radical changes in the Church, due to power struggles between religious conservatives and reformers. However, he succeeded in publishing the first officially authorised vernacular service, the Exhortation and Litany.
When Edward came to the throne, Cranmer was able to promote major reforms. He wrote and compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, a complete liturgy for the English Church. With the assistance of several Continental reformers to whom he gave refuge, he developed new doctrinal standards in areas such as the Eucharist, clerical celibacy, the role of images in places of worship, and the veneration of saints. Cranmer promulgated the new doctrines through the Prayer Book, the Homilies and other publications.

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Thomas Madden
Thomas F. Madden (born 1960) is an American historian, a former Chair of the History Department at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and Director of Saint Louis University's Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. He is considered one of the foremost historians of the Crusades in the United States, and was often called upon as a historical consultant after the events of September 11, to discuss the connections between Jihad, the medieval Crusades and modern Islamic terrorism. He has frequently appeared in the media, as a consultant for various programs on the History Channel and National Public Radio. In 2007, he was awarded the Haskins Medal from the Medieval Academy of America, for his book Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice, which was also a "Book of the Month" selection by the BBC History magazine.
Madden received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of New Mexico in 1986, and his Masters (1990) and PhD (1993) degrees in History from the University of Illinois.

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Thomas More
Sir Thomas More ( /ˈmɔr/; 7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More since 1935, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and was Lord Chancellor from October 1529 to 16 May 1532. He is commemorated by the Church of England as a "Reformation martyr". He was an opponent of the Protestant Reformation and in particular of Martin Luther and William Tyndale.
More coined the word "utopia" – a name he gave to the ideal and imaginary island nation, the political system of which he described in Utopia published in 1516. He opposed the King's separation from the Catholic Church and refused to accept the King as Supreme Head of the Church of England, a title which had been given by parliament through the Act of Supremacy of 1534. He was imprisoned in 1534 for his refusal to take the oath required by the First Succession Act, because the act disparaged papal power and Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon. In 1535, he was tried for treason, convicted on perjured testimony and beheaded.

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Thomas Müntzer
Thomas Müntzer (ca. 1489, Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt – 27 May 1525) was an early Reformation-era German theologian, who became a rebel leader during the Peasants' War. He turned against Luther with several anti-Lutheran writings, and supported the Anabaptists. In the Battle of Frankenhausen, Müntzer and his followers were defeated. He was captured, tortured and decapitated.
Müntzer was born in the small village of Stolberg in the Harz Mountains (what is now Saxony-Anhalt), in about 1489. Thomas Müntzer initially studied at the University of Leipzig and later the University of Frankfurt, though it is unknown what academic degree he ultimately attained. He became versed in the Greek, Hebrew and Latin languages.
From the summer of 1516 to the fall of 1518, Müntzer stayed in a monastery at Frohse, though publication of Martin Luther's 95 theses on 31 October 1517, most likely motivated Müntzer to leave the monastery and travel to Wittenberg. There he reputedly had a confrontation with Luther, who despised Müntzer for his politicization of Luther's reformation. After brief stints at Orlamünde and Jüterbog in 1519, Müntzer may have traveled to Leipzig to witness the famous debates between John Eck and Andreas Karlstadt (27 June to 3 July), and between Luther and Eck (4 July to 14 July). Müntzer continued to move frequently, accepting the position of father confessor at a nunnery in Beuditz in December of 1519 before heading to Zwickau in 1520.

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Tomás de Torquemada
Tomás de Torquemada, O.P. (1420 – September 16, 1498) was a fifteenth century Spanish Dominican friar, first Grand Inquisitor in Spain's movement to restore Christianity among its populace in the late fifteenth century. As well as being the Grand Inquisitor, Torquemada was also the confessor to Isabella I of Castile. He is notorious for his zealous campaign against the crypto-Jews and crypto-Muslims of Spain. He was one of the chief supporters of the Alhambra Decree, which expelled the Jews from Spain in 1492. Concerning the number of autos-da-fé during Torquemada's tenure as Inquisitor General, there is a general consensus among the scholars that about 2,000 people were burned at the stake due to prosecution by the Spanish Inquisition in the whole of Spain between 1480 and 1530. In modern times, his name has become synonymous with the Christian Inquisition’s horror, religious bigotry, and cruel fanaticism.
Tomás de Torquemada was born in Valladolid, Castile-León, Spain.^{[citation needed]} He was the nephew of a celebrated theologian and cardinal, Juan de Torquemada, who himself was a descendant of a converso. This was the term that designated a Spaniard who had converted to Christianity from Islam or Judaism.

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Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. (May 5, 1913 – November 15, 1958), usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan, Prince of Foxes, The Black Rose, and Captain from Castile.
Though renowned for his dark, classically handsome looks that made him a matinee idol from his first film appearance, Power played a wide range of roles, from film leading man to light comedy. In the 1950s, he began placing limits on the number of films he would make in order to have time for the stage. He received his biggest accolades as a stage actor in John Brown's Body and Mister Roberts. Power died from a heart attack at the age of 45.
Power was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1914, the only son of Helen Emma "Patia" (née Reaume) and the English-born American stage and screen actor Tyrone Power, Sr. Power was descended from a long theatrical line going back to his great-grandfather, the actor and comedian Tyrone Power (1795-1841). His father's ancestry included Irish, English, and Protestant French Huguenots (the latter through his paternal grandmother's Lavenu and Blossett ancestors). His mother had Catholic French Canadian (through the Reaume family) and German (from Alsace-Lorraine) ancestry. Through his paternal great-grandmother, Anne Gilbert, Power was related to the actor Laurence Olivier; through his paternal grandmother, stage actress Ethel Lavenu, he was related by marriage to author Evelyn Waugh, and through his father's first cousin, Norah Emily Gorman Power, he was related to the theatrical director Sir (William) Tyrone Guthrie, founder of the Stratford Festival (now the Stratford Shakespeare Festival) in Canada and the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Valentin de Foronda
Valentin de Foronda y González de Echávarri, (Vitoria, 14 February 1751 – 24 December 1821), was Spanish General Consul in Philadelphia from 1801 to 1807 and Spanish Plenipotentiary Minister in the U.S.A. from 1807 to 1809—tense times because of American ship's lack of discipline in trading with Cuba and the U.S.A.'s support for Francisco de Miranda who led an attempted revolution for Venezuelan independence from Spain.
He returned to Spain upon the arrival of Luis Onís, who replaced him, and who was nominated by the "Junta Patriótica" opposed to the invaion of Spain by Napoleon Bonaparte.
He taught at the Basque Institutional School, known as Seminario de Vergara, was promoted to Knight of the Military Order of Santiago in 1793, a Knight of the Order of Carlos III in 1801 and was later a member of the American Philosophical Society.
His letter of November 1799 to the then Spanish Secretary of State Mariano Luis de Urquijo, concerning the financial crushing of the "Banco de San Carlos", a precursor to the actual Bank of Spain, where he had invested the proceeds of sale of his land and farms, probably resulted in his diplomatic nomination to the Spanish Consulate in Philadelphia.

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Valentin Naboth
Valentin Naboth (also spelled Valentine Naibod or Nabod) (13 February 1523 – 3 March 1593), known by the latinized name Valentinus Naiboda, was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer.
Valentin Naboth was born in Calau (Niederlausitz) to an originally Jewish family. He was the younger brother of the Lutheran theologian and author Alexius Naboth. In 1544, Valentin immatriculated at the University of Wittenberg, at the time Philipp Melanchthon, Erasmus Reinhold, Johannes Bugenhagen, Paul Eber, and Georg Major taught there. In 1550 he transferred to the University of Erfurt.

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Veronica Franco
Veronica Franco (1546–1591) was an Italian poet and courtesan in 16th century Venice.
Renaissance Venetian society recognized two different classes of courtesans: the cortigiana onesta, the intellectual courtesan, and the cortigiana di lume, lower-class prostitutes who tended to live and practise their trade near the Rialto Bridge. Veronica Franco was perhaps the most celebrated member of the former category, although Franco was hardly the only onesta in 16th-century Venice who could boast of a fine education and considerable literary and artistic accomplishments.
The daughter of another cortigiana onesta, Franco learned the art at a young age from her mother and was trained to use her natural assets and abilities to achieve a financially beneficial marriage. While still in her teens, Franco married a wealthy physician, but the union ended badly. In order to support herself, Franco turned to serving as a cortigiana to wealthy men. She quickly rose through the ranks to consort with some of the leading notables of her day and even had a brief liaison with Henry III, King of France. Franco was listed as one of the foremost courtesans of Venice in Il Catalogo di tutte le principale et piu honorate cortigiane di Venezia.

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Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet de Voltaire (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃.swa ma.ʁi aʁ.wɛ]; 21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by the pen name Voltaire (pronounced: [vɔl.tɛːʁ]), was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, freedom of expression, free trade and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poetry, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken supporter of social reform, despite strict censorship laws with harsh penalties for those who broke them. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma and the French institutions of his day.
Voltaire was one of several Enlightenment figures (along with Montesquieu, John Locke, Richard Price, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Émilie du Châtelet) whose works and ideas influenced important thinkers of both the American and French Revolutions.

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William Thomas Walsh
William Thomas Walsh (September 11, 1891 - January 22, 1949), born in Waterbury, Connecticut, was a prominent historian, educator and author; he was also an accomplished violinist. His educational background included a B.A. from Yale University (1913) and an honorary Litt.D. from Fordham University. In 1914, he married Helen Gerard Sherwood, and they had six children.
Walsh's work is written from an avowedly Catholic point of view. In some cases he has been accused of crossing the line between apology (for example, for the Inquisition or Isabella of Spain) and antisemitic prejudice.
Cecil Roth accused Walsh of resurrecting the blood libel in his book Isabella of Spain . For instance, according to Roth, Walsh uncritically accepted the Spanish Inquisition's version of the La Guardia case. Walsh's reply disputed the accusation.

wn.com/William_Thomas_Walsh
Yitzhak Baer
Yitzhak Baer (Hebrew: יצחק בער) (born 20 December 1888; died 22 January 1980) was German-Israeli historian and an expert in medieval Spanish Jewish history.
Baer was born in Halberstadt, Germany, in 1888. He studied philosophy, history and classical philology at Berlin University, University of Strasbourg and University of Freiburg.
He emigrated to Mandate Palestine, now Israel, in 1930, and began lecturing in medieval Jewish history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was professor of medieval history at the University from 1932 to 1945.

wn.com/Yitzhak_Baer

The Spanish Inquisition

This is a special edition of 'The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus' The Spanish Inquis...

published: 17 Nov 2007

author: jumperbean2

Monty Python - The Spanish Inquisition

Great British comedy classic...

published: 24 Jul 2007

author: chillial

Monty Python - The Spanish Inquisition

from Monty Python's Flying Circus Season 2 - Episode 15 The Spanish Iquisition Recorded 02...

published: 16 Sep 2008

author: Chadner

The Spanish Inquisition | History Channel Documentary

The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition...

published: 23 Nov 2012

author: TheDocumentaryHouse

Monty Python - Spanish Inquisition Torture Scene

HA! Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! Capture and 'torture' an old woman....

published: 07 Nov 2006

author: pipes90

Mel Brooks´ Spanish Inquisition

A clip from Mel Brooks´ 1981 film "History of the World, Part One". Genius and funny, not ...

published: 16 Jan 2010

author: Capo Marco

The Spanish Inquisition Museum

www.expatperu.com The Spanish Inquisition was established by King Ferdinand and Queen Isab...

published: 13 Oct 2006

author: spanishonline

Timewatch - The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition (BBC 1994)

...

published: 20 Aug 2012

author: batrachious

Monty Python's Flying Circus - The Spanish Inquisition (whole episode)

Monty Python's Flying Circus: Season 2, Episode 2: The Spanish Inquisition (1970)...

published: 23 Nov 2011

author: cultinous

Monty Python - The Spanish Inquisition

NOBODY expects the The Spanish Inquisition! now lets hope this doen't get deleted like my ...

published: 14 Feb 2007

author: Raltaran

The Spanish Inquisition ("(Keep Feeling) Fascination" by The Human League)

Creepy moving mouths sing about an equally creepy and distasteful subject. We actually did...

published: 02 Dec 2010

author: historyteachers

The Spanish Inquisition Part 2

This is a special edition of 'The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus' The Spanish Inquis...

published: 17 Nov 2007

author: jumperbean2

Myth of the Spanish Inquisition I of V

BBC and A&E; Myth of the Spanish Inquisition....

published: 21 Aug 2010

author: commodianus

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition

...

published: 01 Feb 2011

author: TheDwissman

The Spanish Inquisition

Nobody Excpect the spanish inquisition. Monty Python's Flying Circus http://www.amazon.com...

published: 13 May 2009

author: nfg

NUI Maynooth - Spanish Inquisition

published: 16 Nov 2011

author: Piranha Bar

The Spanish Inquisition VOSI

published: 26 Oct 2012

author: waterloo 4791

Rowing the Atlantic Ocean: Sea Fever

An attempt to give some of the flavours of the ocean and try to explain what motivates me ...

published: 27 Mar 2012

author: Alastair Humphreys

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photo: AP / Ariel Schalit

Israeli troops patrol along the border between Israel and Syria

Israeli jets targeted military research center: Syria

Zeenews

31 Jan 2013

Zeenews Bureau. Damascus. The Syrian Army has confirmed that Israeli Air Force fighter planes carried out strikes in its territory, but denied reports of a convoy carrying weapons to Lebanon was bombed. The Syrian Army statement says that the IAF jet fighters’ target was a military research centre near the border with Lebanon. Two people have been reported to be dead and five others injured in the attack ... First Published ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)

photo: AP / Aleppo Revolution Against Assad Regime

This citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Revolution Against Assad's Regime which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows dead bodies on a street in Aleppo, Syria Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013.

Syria Massacre: Group Says At Least 65 Found Shot In Head, With Hands Bound In Aleppo

Huffington Post

29 Jan 2013

By Alexander Dziadosz and Oliver Holmes. BEIRUT, Jan 29 (Reuters) - At least 65 people were found shot dead with their hands bound in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday in a "new massacre" in the near two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said. Opposition campaigners blamed the government but it was impossible to confirm who was responsible ... The U.N ... State media did not mention the incident ... STALEMATE ... ....(size: 9.0Kb)

photo: AP / Korea Aerospace Research Institute

In this photo released by Korea Aerospace Research Institute, South Korea's rocket lifts off from its launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013.

South Korea launches rocket carrying satellite in battle for space supremacy

The Guardian

30 Jan 2013

Launch of 140-tonne rocket likely to anger North Korea, which incurred tougher UN sanctions after December launch. The rocket takes off from its launchpad at Naro, south of Seoul. South Korea has twice before failed to put a satellite into space. Photograph. Kari/AFP/Getty Images ... Relief greeted the Naro rocket's flawless liftoff from a space centre on the south coast at 4pm local time ... ....(size: 3.1Kb)

photo: AP / David Guttenfelder

N. Korea revealed - on Google

Star Tribune

30 Jan 2013

SEOUL - Until Tuesday, North Korea appeared on Google Maps as a near-total white space -- no roads, no train lines, no parks and no restaurants. The only thing labeled was the capital city, Pyongyang. This all changed when Google, on Tuesday, rolled out a detailed map of one of the world's most secretive states ... Similar processes were used in other once-unmapped countries like Afghanistan and Myanmar ... ....(size: 2.4Kb)

photo: AP / Patrick Semansky

Obama calls for swift overhaul on immigration

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

30 Jan 2013

LAS VEGAS -- Seizing an opening to rewrite the nation's immigration laws, President Barack Obama challenged Congress on Tuesday to act swiftly to put 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States on a clear path to citizenship ... The response suggests that reaching consensus on immigration law changes remained difficult despite a new bipartisan push since the November elections ... Mr ... Sen ... He continued ... Although Mr ... Mr ... Mr ... ....(size: 5.5Kb)

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Five literary cities: book your trip

South China Morning Post

01 Feb 2013

How, they wonder, can you connect the modernist concrete bunkers commissioned by Imelda Marcos, the beautiful and broken Spanish colonial centre, the brash and angry streets of Makati, the ... "The Spanish Inquisition taking place in a Dunkin' Donuts" (how burned out documentary maker John Prideaux, describes the Philippines in Ghosts of Manila)....(size: 7.2Kb)

Barbarism with impunity still a terrible scourge

Business Day

31 Jan 2013

THE Holocaust remains the goriest testimony to the depravities that racism can incite. Its true extent may be gauged by the legal framework that was created to make it possible ... In 1864, the European powers adhered to a number of conventions to regulate the conduct of war ... In the 21st century, interrogation methods associated with the Spanish Inquisition are actively advocated by prominent politicians ... ....(size: 5.1Kb)

Is naming the federal election date a death warrant or a master stroke?

The Daily Telegraph Australia

31 Jan 2013

THERE'S no such thing as political altruism in an election year. When politicians talk of noble acts during a campaign, look for the votes peeking out from behind them ... Everyone hates the silly triennial game of election date-guessing, but the foisting of an unprecedented seven-and-a-half month campaign, that's a brain-numbing 33 weeks, on to an electorate is crueler than the Spanish Inquisition ... ----------- ...  . ....(size: 4.9Kb)

Where are the Protests Against James Franco’s “Feel-Good” Torture Porn?

CounterPunch

30 Jan 2013

Celebrities have been speaking out against the movie Zero Dark Thirty because of its favorable portrayal of torture used in pursuit of Osama Bin Laden ... A bit of fantasy never hurt anyone, because fantasy happens in the head, not the real world, right? Tell this to the women (and a few men) on the website whose bodies are displayed in agonizing contortions that would not be out of place in the Spanish Inquisition ... ....(size: 4.9Kb)

36 Ahmadis ‘convert’ to Sunni Islam

Jakarta Post

28 Jan 2013

Paper Edition . Page. 8. Jan. 17, Online. Thirty-six Ahmadiyah followers “converted” to Sunni Islam during a ceremony conducted at Agung Grand Mosque in Tasikmalaya, West Java, on Thursday. “We really appreciate the move from those former Ahmadiyah followers,” said Tasikmalaya Religious Affairs Ministry office head Dadang Romansyah ... Your comments. ... Islamic group ... Please Google “inquisition” or “Spanish Inquisition” for more details ... Mansur....(size: 3.4Kb)

The Great White Camel

CounterPunch

25 Jan 2013

Probably many people have read the informed and thoughtful commentary on the movie “Zero Dark Thirty” by or or . But what you’re really wondering is ... More Americans support torture now than in 2007 ... Waterboarding has been known as torture since at least the Spanish Inquisition and the Reagan Justice Department recognized it as such when it prosecuted and three deputies for doing it to prisoners to obtain confessions back in 1983 .)....(size: 12.0Kb)

Pop Rocks: Rating Mel Brooks' Movies (The Ones That Count, Anyway)

Houston Press

24 Jan 2013

Mel Brooks, the venerable writer/director/producer of some of the greatest comedies of all time, gave a nifty interview on NPR's "Morning Edition" yesterday ... Director ... Robin Hood ... There are some inspired bits (the Spanish Inquisition, and "Don't get saucy with me, Béarnaise" still makes me snort 30 years later), but too much feels forced (the entire Roman Empire segment) as Brooks and company lay off the satire for much broader shtick ... ....(size: 2.8Kb)

BHO & HRC - CYA at DoS

The Examiner

24 Jan 2013

I guess we just don’t give a damn any more, is that right folks?. You wanna kill our people? Have at it. Invade us? No problem. Witness the Executive Branch engage criminal activity? All the better. Distribute lethal weaponry to terrorists and drug dealers? Fabulous ... Chants of ‘Impeachment’ would have echoed across the wires for weeks, and the hearings would have made the Spanish Inquisition look like a weekend with the Waltons ... Tweet ... ....(size: 8.1Kb)

Benghazi: do we even give a damn anymore?

The Examiner

24 Jan 2013

Europe’s Odd Couple, France and Germany, 50 Years Later

CNBC

23 Jan 2013

The critical matter, however, is that war between the two peoples, who murdered one another for centuries, seems as inconceivable now as the Spanish Inquisition ... (Read More ... Germany News ... The French have sought to "rebalance" the power structures within the European Union by working closely with the Spanish and Italian leaders, and softened the quasi-religious quality of the German prescription of budget discipline and debt reduction ... ....(size: 6.6Kb)

France and Germany, Marking a Milestone, Remain an Odd Couple

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

22 Jan 2013

The critical matter, however, is that war between the two peoples, who murdered each other for centuries, seems as inconceivable now as the Spanish Inquisition ... Hollande and Ms ... Ms ... The French have sought to "rebalance" the power structures within the European Union by working closely with the Spanish and Italian leaders, and softened the quasi-religious quality of the German prescription of budget discipline and debt reduction ... ....(size: 6.2Kb)

My list of the top-10 scariest goalie masks, ever.

The Examiner

22 Jan 2013

Tweet. 0 Email. Report. Photo 1 of 10 ... Davidson appeared in 301 NHL gamesSt ... A Character ... Unfortunately this freaky-looking tiger mask (not lion) didn't help this self-proclaimed "Reincarnated Soldier from the Spanish Inquisition".Warren Skorodenski spent the majority of his NHL career as a back-up goaltender with the Chicago Blackhawkswith more full-time, successful action at the AHL level ... Like No ... 13 Photos ... ....(size: 8.1Kb)

Book review: The Unrepentant Renaissance

Taipei Times

21 Jan 2013

The Victorians loved the Renaissance ... It was a period, in other words, not unlike their own. The great book embracing this view was Jacob Burckhardt’s The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (German original 1860) ... Individual freedom was curtailed, sexual self-consciousness was characterized by anxiety, and politics was dominated by tyrants and a Catholic Church whose most significant feature was the Spanish Inquisition....(size: 2.0Kb)

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For other uses, see Spanish Inquisition (disambiguation).

Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Spain Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición Spanish Inquisition
Seal for the Tribunal in Spain.
Type
Type	Tribunal under the election of the Spanish monarchy, for upholding religious orthodoxy in their realm
Timeline
Established	27 September 1480
Disbanded	15 July 1834
Members	Consisted of a Grand Inquisitor, who headed the Council of the Supreme and General Inquisition, made up of six members. Under it were up to twenty one tribunals in the empire
Election
Voting system	Grand Inquisitor and Suprema designated by the crown
Meeting place
Spanish Empire
See also
Medieval Inquisition Portuguese Inquisition

The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition (Spanish: Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition (Inquisición española), was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval Inquisition which was under Papal control. The Inquisition was originally intended in large part to ensure the orthodoxy of those who converted from Judaism and Islam. This regulation of the faith of the newly converted was intensified after the royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1501 ordering Jews and Muslims to convert or leave.

Various motives have been proposed for the monarchs' decision to fund the Inquisition such as increasing political authority, weakening opposition, suppressing conversos, profiting from confiscation of the property of convicted heretics, reducing social tensions and protecting the kingdom from the danger of a fifth column.

The body was under the direct control of the Spanish monarchy. It was not definitively abolished until 1834, during the reign of Isabella II, after a period of declining influence in the previous century.

1 Previous Inquisitions
2 Activity of the Inquisition
3 Organization
4 Composition of the tribunals
5 Functioning of the inquisition
6 End of the Inquisition
7 Outcomes
- 7.1 Confiscations
- 7.2 Death tolls
  - 7.2.1 Henningsen-Contreras statistics for the period 1540–1700
  - 7.2.2 Autos da fe between 1701–1746
8 Historiography
- 8.1 19th to early 20th century scholarship
- 8.2 Revision after 1960
9 In popular culture
10 See also
11 References
- 11.1 Notes
- 11.2 Bibliography

Previous Inquisitions [link]

The Inquisition was created through papal bull, Ad Abolendam, issued at the end of the 12th century by Pope Lucius III as a way to combat the Albigensian heresy in southern France. There were a huge number of tribunals of the Papal Inquisition in various European kingdoms during the Middle Ages. In the Kingdom of Aragon, a tribunal of the Papal Inquisition was established by the statute of Excommunicamus of Pope Gregory IX, in 1232, during the era of the Albigensian heresy. Its principal representative was Ramon de Penyafort. With time, its importance was diluted, and, by the middle of the 15th century, it was almost forgotten although still there according to the law.

There was never a tribunal of the Papal Inquisition in Castile. Members of the episcopate were charged with surveillance of the faithful and punishment of transgressors. During the Middle Ages, in Castile, little attention was paid to heresy by the Catholic ruling class. Jews and Muslims were tolerated and generally allowed to follow their traditional laws and customs in domestic matters. However, by law, they were considered inferior to Catholics and were subject to discriminatory legislation.

The Spanish Inquisition can be seen as an answer to the multi-religious nature of Spanish society following the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslim Moors. For almost 600 years, much of the Iberian Peninsula was dominated by the Moors following their invasion of the peninsula in 711 until the early 13th century. Following the Christian victory at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), and the fall of Córdoba (1236) and Seville (1248), Christian rule was re-established for most of the peninsula. Only the small region of Granada remained under Muslim rule which also ended with a final Christian victory in 1492. However, the Reconquista did not result in the total expulsion of Muslims from Spain, since they, along with Jews, were tolerated by the ruling Catholic elite. Large cities, especially Seville, Valladolid and Barcelona, had significant Jewish populations centered in Juderia, but in the coming years the Muslims were increasingly subjugated by alienation and torture. The Jews, who had previously thrived under Muslim rule, now suffered similar maltreatment.

Post-reconquest medieval Spain has been characterized by Americo Castro and some other Iberianists as a society of "convivencia", that is relatively peaceful co-existence, albeit punctuated by occasional conflict among the ruling Catholics and the Jews and Muslims. However, as Henry Kamen notes, "so-called convivencia was always a relationship between unequals."^[1] Despite their legal inequality, there was a long tradition of Jewish service to the crown of Aragon and Jews occupied many important posts, both religious and political. Castile itself had an unofficial rabbi. Ferdinand's father John II named the Jewish Abiathar Crescas to be Court Astronomer.

Nevertheless, in some parts of Spain towards the end of the 14th century, there was a wave of violent anti-Judaism, encouraged by the preaching of Ferrand Martinez, Archdeacon of Ecija. The pogroms of June 1391 were especially bloody: in Seville, hundreds of Jews were killed, and the synagogue was completely destroyed. The number of people killed was also high in other cities, such as Córdoba, Valencia and Barcelona.^[2]

One of the consequences of these programs was the mass conversion of Jews. Forced baptism was contrary to the law of the Catholic Church, and theoretically anybody who had been forcibly baptized could legally return to Judaism; this however was very narrowly interpreted. Legal definitions of the time theoretically acknowledged that a forced baptism was not a valid sacrament, but confined this to cases where it was literally administered by physical force: a person who had consented to baptism under threat of death or serious injury was still regarded as a voluntary convert, and accordingly forbidden to revert to Judaism.^[3] After the public violence, many of the converted "felt it safer to remain in their new religion."^[4] Thus after 1391 a new social group appeared and were referred to as conversos or New Christians. Many conversos, now freed from the antisemitic restrictions imposed on Jewish employment, attained important positions in 15th century Spain, including positions in the government and in the Church. Among many others, physicians Andrés Laguna and Francisco Lopez Villalobos (Ferdinand's court physician), writers Juan del Enzina, Juan de Mena, Diego de Valera and Alonso de Palencia, and bankers Luis de Santangel and Gabriel Sanchez (who financed the voyage of Christopher Columbus) were all conversos. Conversos - not without opposition - managed to attain high positions in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, at times becoming severe detractors of Judaism.^[5] Some even received titles of nobility, and as a result, during the following century some works attempted to demonstrate that virtually all of the nobles of Spain were descended from Israelites.^[6]

Activity of the Inquisition [link]

The start of the Inquisition [link]

Alonso de Hojeda, a Dominican friar from Seville, convinced Queen Isabel of the existence of Crypto-Judaism among Andalusian conversos during her stay in Seville between 1477 and 1478.^[7] A report, produced by Pedro González de Mendoza, Archbishop of Seville, and by the Segovian Dominican Tomás de Torquemada, corroborated this assertion.

The monarchs decided to introduce the Inquisition to Castile to discover and punish crypto-Jews, and requested the Pope's assent. Ferdinand II of Aragon pressured Pope Sixtus IV to agree to an Inquisition controlled by the monarchy by threatening to withdraw military support at a time when the Turks were a threat to Rome. The Pope issued a bull to stop the Inquisition but was pressured into withdrawing it. On November 1, 1478, Pope Sixtus IV published the Papal bull, Exigit Sinceras Devotionis Affectus, through which he gave the monarchs exclusive authority to name the inquisitors in their kingdoms. The first two inquisitors, Miguel de Morillo and Juan de San Martín were not named, however, until two years later, on September 27, 1480 in Medina del Campo.

The first auto-da-fé was held in Seville on February 6, 1481: six people were burned alive. From there, the Inquisition grew rapidly in the Kingdom of Castile. By 1492, tribunals existed in eight Castilian cities: Ávila, Córdoba, Jaén, Medina del Campo, Segovia, Sigüenza, Toledo, and Valladolid.

Sixtus IV promulgated a new bull categorically prohibiting the Inquisition's extension to Aragon, affirming that,

many true and faithful Christians, because of the testimony of enemies, rivals, slaves and other low people—and still less appropriate—without tests of any kind, have been locked up in secular prisons, tortured and condemned like relapsed heretics, deprived of their goods and properties, and given over to the secular arm to be executed, at great danger to their souls, giving a pernicious example and causing scandal to many.^[8]

In 1483, Jews were expelled from all of Andalusia. Ferdinand pressured the Pope^[9] to promulgate a new bull. He did so on October 17, 1483, naming Tomás de Torquemada Inquisidor General of Aragón, Valencia and Catalonia. Torquemada quickly established procedures for the Inquisition. A new court would be announced with a thirty day grace period for confessions and the gathering of accusations by neighbors. Evidence that was used to identify a crypto-Jew included the absence of chimney smoke on Saturdays (a sign the family might secretly be honoring the Sabbath) or the buying of many vegetables before Passover or the purchase of meat from a converted butcher. The court employed physical torture to extract confessions. Crypto-Jews were allowed to confess and do penance, although those who relapsed were burned at the stake.^[10]

In 1484 Pope Innocent VIII attempted to allow appeals to Rome against the Inquisition, but Ferdinand in December 1484 and again in 1509 decreed death and confiscation for anyone trying to make use of such procedures without royal permission.^[11] With this, the Inquisition became the only institution that held authority across all the realms of the Spanish monarchy, and, in all of them, a useful mechanism at the service of the crown. However, the cities of Aragón continued resisting, and even saw revolt, as in Teruel from 1484 to 1485. However, the murder of Inquisidor Pedro Arbués in Zaragoza on September 15, 1485, caused public opinion to turn against the conversos and in favour of the Inquisition. In Aragón, the Inquisitorial courts were focused specifically on members of the powerful converso minority, ending their influence in the Aragonese administration.

The Inquisition was extremely active between 1480 and 1530. Different sources give different estimates of the number of trials and executions in this period; Henry Kamen estimates about 2,000 executed, based on the documentation of the autos-da-fé, the great majority being conversos of Jewish origin. He offers striking statistics: 91.6% of those judged in Valencia between 1484 and 1530 and 99.3% of those judged in Barcelona between 1484 and 1505 were of Jewish origin.^[12] "In 1498 the pope was still trying to...gain acceptance for his own attitude towards the New Christians, which was generally more moderate than that of the Inquisition and the local rulers."^[13]

[edit] Expulsion of Jews and repression of conversos

The Spanish Inquisition had been set up in part to prevent conversos from engaging in Jewish practices, which, as Christians, they were supposed to have given up. However this remedy for securing the orthodoxy of conversos' religion was eventually deemed inadequate, since the main justification the monarchy gave for formally expelling all Jews from Spain was the "great harm suffered by Christians (i.e. conversos) from the contact, intercourse and communication which they have with the Jews, who always attempt in various ways to seduce faithful Christians from our Holy Catholic Faith".^[14] The Alhambra Decree, which ordered the expulsion, was issued in January 1492. The number of Jews who left Spain is not even approximately known. Historians of the period give extremely high figures: Juan de Mariana speaks of 800,000 people, and Don Isaac Abravanel of 300,000. Modern estimates are much lower: Henry Kamen estimates that, of a population of approximately 80,000 Jews, about one half or 40,000 chose emigration.^[15] The Jews of the kingdom of Castile emigrated mainly to Portugal (whence they were expelled in 1497) and to North Africa. However, according to Henry Kamen, the Jews of the kingdom of Aragon, went "to adjacent Christian lands, mainly to Italy", rather than to Muslim lands as is often assumed.^[16] The Sefardim or Anusim descendants of Spanish Jews gradually migrated throughout Europe and North Africa, where they established communities in many cities. They also went to New Spain, the Ottoman Empire and North America (the American Southwest), Central and South America.

Tens of thousands of Jews were baptised in the three months before the deadline for expulsion, some 40,000 if one accepts the totals given by Kamen: most of these undoubtedly to avoid expulsion, rather than as a sincere change of faith. These conversos were the principal concern of the Inquisition; being suspected of continuing to practice Judaism put them at risk of denunciation and trial.

The most intense period of persecution of conversos lasted until 1530. From 1531 to 1560, however, the percentage of conversos among the Inquisition trials dropped to 3% of the total. There was a rebound of persecutions when a group of crypto-Jews was discovered in Quintanar de la Orden in 1588; and there was a rise in denunciations of conversos in the last decade of the 16th century. At the beginning of the 17th century, some conversos who had fled to Portugal began to return to Spain, fleeing the persecution of the Portuguese Inquisition, founded in 1532. This led to a rapid increase in the trials of crypto-Jews, among them a number of important financiers. In 1691, during a number of autos-da-fé in Majorca, 36 chuetas, or conversos of Majorca, were burned.

During the 18th century the number of conversos accused by the Inquisition decreased significantly. Manuel Santiago Vivar, tried in Córdoba in 1818, was the last person tried for being a crypto-Jew.

The generally accepted number burnt at the stake by the Inquisition (including all categories such as Protestants, blasphemers, bigamists and crypto-Jews) is below 5,000 (see below).

Repression of Moriscos [link]

The Inquisition not only hunted for Protestants and for false converts from Judaism among the conversos, but also searched for false or relapsed converts among the Moriscos, forced converts from Islam. The Moriscos were mostly concentrated in the recently conquered kingdom of Granada, in Aragon, and in Valencia. Officially, all Muslims in the Crown of Castile had been forcibly converted to Christianity in 1502. Muslims in the Crown of Aragon were obliged to convert by Charles I's decree of 1526, as most had been forcibly baptized during the Revolt of the Brotherhoods (1519–1523) and these baptisms were declared to be valid.

Many Moriscos were suspected of practising Islam in secret, and the jealousy with which they guarded the privacy of their domestic life prevented the verification of this suspicion.^[17] Initially they were not severely persecuted by the Inquisition, but experienced a policy of evangelization without torture,^{[clarification needed]} a policy not followed with those conversos who were suspected of being crypto-Jews. There were various reasons for this. Most importantly, in the kingdoms of Valencia and Aragon a large number of the Moriscos were under the jurisdiction of the nobility, and persecution would have been viewed as a frontal assault on the economic interests of this powerful social class.^[18] Still, fears ran high among the population that the Moriscos were traitorous, especially in Granada. The coast was regularly raided by Barbary pirates backed by Spain's enemy the Ottoman Empire, and the Moriscos were suspected of aiding them.

In the second half of the century, late in the reign of Philip II, conditions worsened between Old Christians and Moriscos. The 1568–1570 Morisco Revolt in Granada was harshly suppressed, and the Inquisition intensified its attention to the Moriscos. From 1570 Morisco cases became predominant in the tribunals of Zaragoza, Valencia and Granada; in the tribunal of Granada, between 1560 and 1571, 82% of those accused were Moriscos.^[19] Still, according to Kamen, the Moriscos did not experience the same harshness as judaizing conversos and Protestants, and the number of capital punishments was proportionally less.^[20]

In 1609 King Philip III, upon the advice of his financial adviser the Duke of Lerma and Archbishop of Valencia Juan de Ribera, decreed the Expulsion of the Moriscos. Hundreds of thousands of Moriscos were expelled, some of them probably sincere Christians. This was further fueled by the religious intolerance of Archbishop Ribera who quoted the Old Testament texts ordering the enemies of God to be slain without mercy and setting forth the duties of kings to extirpate them.^[21] The edict required: 'The Moriscos to depart, under the pain of death and confiscation, without trial or sentence... to take with them no money, bullion, jewels or bills of exchange.... just what they could carry.'^[22] So successful was the enterprise, in the space of months, Spain was emptied of its Moriscos. Expelled were the Moriscos of Aragon, Murcia, Catalonia, Castile, Mancha and Extremadura. As for the Moriscos of Granada, such as the Herrador family who held positions in the Church and magistracy, they still had to struggle against exile and confiscation.^[23]

An indeterminate number of Moriscos remained in Spain and, during the 17th century, the Inquisition pursued some trials against them of minor importance: according to Kamen, between 1615 and 1700, cases against Moriscos constituted only 9 percent of those judged by the Inquisition.

Demographic consequences [link]

In December 2008, a genetic study of the current population of the Iberian Peninsula, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, estimated that about 10% have North African ancestors and 20% have Sephardi Jews as ancestors. Since there is no direct link between genetic makeup and religious affiliation, however, it is difficult to draw direct conclusions between their findings and forced or voluntary conversion.^[24] Nevertheless, the Sephardic result is in contradiction^[25]^[26]^[27]^[28]^[29] or not replicated in all the body of genetic studies done in Iberia and has been later questioned by the authors themselves^[30]^[31]^[32]^[33] and by Stephen Oppenheimer who estimates that much earlier migrations, 5000 to 10,000 years ago from the Eastern Mediterranean might also have accounted for the Sephardic estimates: "They are really assuming that they are looking at his migration of Jewish immigrants, but the same lineages could have been introduced in the Neolithic".^[34] The rest of genetic studies done in Spain estimate the Moorish contribution ranging from 2.5/3.4%^[35] to 7.7%.^[36]

Control of Protestants [link]

The burning of a XVI-century Dutch Anabaptist Anneken Hendriks, who was charged with heresy

Despite much popular myth about the Spanish Inquisition relating to Protestants, it dealt with very few cases involving actual Protestants, as there were so few in Spain. The first of the trials against those labeled by the Inquisition as "Lutheran" were those against the sect of mystics known as the "Alumbrados" of Guadalajara and Valladolid. The trials were long, and ended with prison sentences of differing lengths, though none of the sect were executed. Nevertheless, the subject of the "Alumbrados" put the Inquisition on the trail of many intellectuals and clerics who, interested in Erasmian ideas, had strayed from orthodoxy (which is striking because both Charles I and Philip II of Spain were confessed admirers of Erasmus). Such was the case with the humanist Juan de Valdés, who was forced to flee to Italy to escape the process that had been begun against him, and the preacher, Juan de Ávila, who spent close to a year in prison.

The first trials against Lutheran groups, as such, took place between 1558 and 1562, at the beginning of the reign of Philip II, against two communities of Protestants from the cities of Valladolid and Seville numbering about 120.^[37] The trials signaled a notable intensification of the Inquisition's activities. A number of autos-da-fé were held, some of them presided over by members of the royal family and around 100 executions took place.^[38] The autos-da-fé of the mid-century virtually put an end to Spanish Protestantism which was, throughout, a small phenomenon to begin with.

After 1562, though the trials continued, the repression was much reduced, According to Kamen, only about 200 Spaniards were accused of being Protestants in the last decades of the 16th century. "Most of them were in no sense Protestants...Irreligious sentiments, drunken mockery, anticlerical expressions, were all captiously classified by the inquisitors (or by those who denounced the cases) as ‘Lutheran.’ Disrespect to church images, and eating meat on forbidden days, were taken as signs of heresy"^[39] and it is estimated that a dozen Spaniards were burned alive.^[40]

Censorship [link]

As one manifestation of the Counter-Reformation, the Spanish Inquisition worked actively to impede the diffusion of heretical ideas in Spain by producing "Indexes" of prohibited books. Such lists of prohibited books were common in Europe a decade before the Inquisition published its first. The first Index published in Spain in 1551 was, in reality, a reprinting of the Index published by the University of Louvain in 1550, with an appendix dedicated to Spanish texts. Subsequent Indexes were published in 1559, 1583, 1612, 1632, and 1640. The Indexes included an enormous number of books of all types, though special attention was dedicated to religious works, and, particularly, vernacular translations of the Bible.

Included in the Indexes, at one point, were many of the great works of Spanish literature. Also, a number of religious writers who are today considered saints by the Catholic Church saw their works appear in the Indexes. At first, this might seem counter-intuitive or even nonsensical—how were these Spanish authors published in the first place if their texts were then prohibited by the Inquisition and placed in the Index? The answer lies in the process of publication and censorship in Early Modern Spain. Books in Early Modern Spain faced prepublication licensing and approval (which could include modification) by both secular and religious authorities. However, once approved and published, the circulating text also faced the possibility of post-hoc censorship by being denounced to the Inquisition—sometimes decades later. Likewise, as Catholic theology evolved, once-prohibited texts might be removed from the Index.

At first, inclusion in the Index meant total prohibition of a text; however, this proved not only impractical and unworkable, but also contrary to the goals of having a literate and well-educated clergy. Works with one line of suspect dogma would be prohibited in their entirety, despite the remainder of the text's sound dogma. In time, a compromise solution was adopted in which trusted Inquisition officials blotted out words, lines or whole passages of otherwise acceptable texts, thus allowing these expurgated editions to circulate. Although in theory the Indexes imposed enormous restrictions on the diffusion of culture in Spain, some historians, such as Henry Kamen, argue that such strict control was impossible in practice and that there was much more liberty in this respect than is often believed. And Irving Leonard has conclusively demonstrated that, despite repeated royal prohibitions, romances of chivalry, such as Amadis of Gaul, found their way to the New World with the blessing of the Inquisition. Moreover, with the coming of the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century, increasing numbers of licenses to possess and read prohibited texts were granted.

Despite repeated publication of the Indexes and a large bureaucracy of censors, the activities of the Inquisition did not impede the flowering of Spanish literature's "Siglo de Oro", although almost all of its major authors crossed paths with the Holy Office at one point or another. Among the Spanish authors included in the Index are: Bartolomé Torres Naharro, Juan del Enzina, Jorge de Montemayor, Juan de Valdés and Lope de Vega, as well as the anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes and the Cancionero General by Hernando del Castillo. La Celestina, which was not included in the Indexes of the 16th century, was expurgated in 1632 and prohibited in its entirety in 1790. Among the non-Spanish authors prohibited were Ovid, Dante, Rabelais, Ariosto, Machiavelli, Erasmus, Jean Bodin, Valentine Naibod and Thomas More (known in Spain as Tomás Moro). One of the most outstanding and best-known cases in which the Inquisition directly confronted literary activity is that of Fray Luis de León, noted humanist and religious writer of converso origin, who was imprisoned for four years (from 1572 to 1576) for having translated the Song of Songs directly from Hebrew.

Some scholars indicate that one of the main effects of the inquisition was to end free thought and scientific thought in Spain. As one contemporary Spanish in exile put it: "Our country is a land of ... barbarism; down there one cannot produce any culture without being suspected of heresy, error and Judaism. Thus silence was imposed on the learned." For the next few centuries, while the rest of Europe was slowly awakened by the influence of the Enlightenment, Spain stagnated.^[41] However, this conclusion is contested. The censorship of books was actually very ineffective, and prohibited books circulated in Spain without significant problems. The Spanish Inquisition never persecuted scientists, and relatively few scientific books were placed on the Index. On the other hand, Spain was a state with more political freedom than in other absolute monarchies in the 16th to 18th centuries. The backwardness of Spain in economy and science can hardly be attributed to the Inquisition.^[42]

Other offenses [link]

Although the Inquisition was created to suppress heresy, it also occupied itself with a wide variety of offences that only indirectly could be related to religious heterodoxy. Of a total of 49,092 trials from the period 1560–1700 registered in the archive of the Suprema, appear the following: judaizantes (5,007); moriscos (11,311); Lutherans (3,499); alumbrados (149); superstitions (3,750); heretical propositions (14,319); bigamy (2,790); solicitation (1,241); offences against the Holy Office of the Inquisition (3,954); miscellaneous (2,575).^{[citation needed]}

These data demonstrate that not only New Christians (conversos of Jewish or Islamic descent) and Protestants faced investigation, but also Old Christians could be targeted for various reasons as well.

Witchcraft [link]

The category "superstitions" includes trials related to witchcraft. The witch-hunt in Spain had much less intensity than in other European countries (particularly France, Scotland, and Germany). One remarkable case was that of Logroño, in which the witches of Zugarramurdi in Navarre were persecuted. During the auto-da-fé that took place in Logroño on November 7 and November 8, 1610, 6 people were burned and another 5 burned in effigy.^[43] In general, nevertheless, the Inquisition maintained a sceptical attitude towards cases of witchcraft, considering it as a mere superstition without any basis. Alonso de Salazar Frías, who, after the trials of Logroño took the Edict of Faith to various parts of Navarre, noted in his report to the Suprema that, "There were neither witches nor bewitched in a village until they were talked and written about".^[44]

Blasphemy [link]

Included under the rubric of heretical propositions were verbal offences, from outright blasphemy to questionable statements regarding religious beliefs, from issues of sexual morality, to misbehaviour of the clergy. Many were brought to trial for affirming that simple fornication (sex between unmarried persons) was not a sin or for putting in doubt different aspects of Christian faith such as Transubstantiation or the virginity of Mary. Also, members of the clergy itself were occasionally accused of heretical propositions. These offences rarely lead to severe penalties.

Bigamy [link]

The Inquisition also pursued offences against morals, at times in open conflict with the jurisdictions of civil tribunals. In particular, there were numerous trials for bigamy, a relatively frequent offence in a society that only permitted divorce under the most extreme circumstances. In the case of men, the penalty was five years service as an oarsmen in a royal galley (tantamount to a death sentence). Women too were accused of bigamy. Also, many cases of solicitation during confession were adjudicated, indicating a strict vigilance over the clergy.

Sodomy [link]

Inquisitorial repression of the sexual offence of sodomy, considered, according to Canon Law, as a crime against nature, merits separate attention. This included cases of incidences of heterosexual and homosexual anal sex, rape, and separately bestiality. Civil authorities at times executed those convicted.

In 1506 at Seville the Inquisition made a special investigation into sodomy, causing many arrests and many fugitives and burning 12 persons, but in 1509 the Suprema in Castile declared that crime not within the jurisdiction of the Inquisition deciding that cases of sodomy could not be adjudicated, unless related to heresy. Alleging that sodomy had been introduced to Spain by the Moors, in 1524 the Spanish Ambassador to Rome obtained a special commission from Clement VII for the Holy Office to curb its spread by investigating laymen and clergy in the territories of Aragon, whether or not it was related to heresy; and proceeding according to local, municipal law in spite of the resistance by local bishops to this usurpation of their authority.

The tribunal of Zaragoza distinguished itself for its severity in judging these offences: between 1571—1579, 101 men accused of sodomy were processed and at least 35 were executed. In total, between 1570 and 1630 there were 534 trials (incl. 187 for homosexuality, 245 for bestiality, and 111 with unknown specification of the charges) with 102 executions (incl. 27 for homosexuality, 64 for bestiality and 11 uncertain cases).

The first sodomite was burned by the Inquisition in Valencia in 1572, and those accused included 19% clergy, 6% nobles, 37% workers, 19% servants, and 18% soldiers and sailors.^[45] A growing reluctance to convict those who, unlike heretics, could not escape by confession and penance led after 1630 to greater leniency. Torture decreased: in Valencia 21% of sodomites were tortured prior to 1630, but only 4% afterwards. The last execution in persona for sodomy by the Inquisition took place in Zaragoza in April 1633. In total, out of about 1,000 convicted of sodomy - 170 were actually burnt at the stake, including 84 condemned for bestiality and 75 for homosexuality, with 11 cases where the exact character of the charges is not known.

Nearly all of almost 500 cases of sodomy between persons concerned the relationship between an older man and an adolescent, often by coercion; with only a few cases where the couple were consenting homosexual adults. About 100 of the total involved allegations of child abuse. Adolescents were generally punished more leniently than adults, but only when they were very young (under ca. 12 years) or when the case clearly concerned rape, did they have a chance to avoid punishment altogether. As a rule, the Inquisition condemned to death only those "sodomites" over the age of 25 years. As about half of those tried were under this age, it explains the relatively small percent of death sentences.^[46]

Freemasonry [link]

In 1815, Francisco Javier de Mier y Campillo, the Inquisitor General of the Spanish Inquisition and the Bishop of Almería, suppressed Freemasonry and denounced the lodges as "societies which lead to atheism, to sedition and to all errors and crimes."^[47] He then instituted a purge during which Spaniards could be arrested on the charge of being "suspected of Freemasonry".^[47]

Organization [link]

Beyond its role in religious affairs, the Inquisition was also an institution at the service of the monarchy. The Inquisitor General, in charge of the Holy Office, was designated by the crown. The Inquisitor General was the only public office whose authority stretched to all the kingdoms of Spain (including the American viceroyalties), except for a brief period (1507–1518) during which there were two Inquisitors General, one in the kingdom of Castile, and the other in Aragon.

The Inquisitor General presided over the Council of the Supreme and General Inquisition (generally abbreviated as "Council of the Suprema"), created in 1483, which was made up of six members named directly by the crown (the number of members of the Suprema varied over the course of the Inquisition's history, but it was never more than 10). Over time, the authority of the Suprema grew at the expense of the power of the Inquisitor General.

The Suprema met every morning, save for holidays, and for two hours in the afternoon on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The morning sessions were devoted to questions of faith, while the afternoons were reserved for "minor heresies"^[48] cases of perceived unacceptable sexual behavior, bigamy, witchcraft, etc.^[49]

Below the Suprema were the different tribunals of the Inquisition, which were, in their origins, itinerant, installing themselves where they were necessary to combat heresy, but later being established in fixed locations. In the first phase, numerous tribunals were established, but the period after 1495 saw a marked tendency towards centralization.

Auto-da-fé, Plaza Mayor in Lima, Viceroyalty of Peru, 17th century

In the kingdom of Castile, the following permanent tribunals of the Inquisition were established:

1482 In Seville and in Córdoba.
1485 In Toledo and in Llerena.
1488 In Valladolid and in Murcia.
1489 In Cuenca.
1505 In Las Palmas (Canary Islands).
1512 In Logroño.
1526 In Granada.
1574 In Santiago de Compostela.

There were only four tribunals in the kingdom of Aragon: Zaragoza and Valencia (1482), Barcelona (1484), and Majorca (1488).^[50] Ferdinand the Catholic also established the Spanish Inquisition in Sicily (1513), housed in Palermo and Sardinia, in the town of Sassari.^[51] In the Americas, tribunals were established in Lima and in Mexico City (1569) and, in 1610, in Cartagena de Indias (present day Colombia).

Composition of the tribunals [link]

Initially, each of the tribunals included two inquisitors, a calificador, an alguacil (bailiff) and a fiscal (prosecutor); new positions were added as the institution matured.

The inquisitors were preferably jurists more than theologians, and, in 1608, Philip III even stipulated that all the inquisitors must have a background in law. The inquisitors did not typically remain in the position for a long time: for the Court of Valencia, for example, the average tenure in the position was about two years.^[52] Most of the inquisitors belonged to the secular clergy (priests who were not members of religious orders), and had a university education.

The fiscal was in charge of presenting the accusation, investigating the denunciations and interrogating the witnesses by the use of physical and mental torture. The calificadores were generally theologians; it fell to them to determine if the defendant's conduct added up to a crime against the faith. Consultants were expert jurists who advised the court in questions of procedure. The court had, in addition, three secretaries: the notario de secuestros (Notary of Property), who registered the goods of the accused at the moment of his detention; the notario del secreto (Notary of the Secret), who recorded the testimony of the defendant and the witnesses; and the escribano general (General Notary), secretary of the court.

The alguacil was the executive arm of the court: he was responsible for detaining, jailing, and physically torturing the defendant. Other civil employees were the nuncio, ordered to spread official notices of the court, and the alcaide, jailer in charge of feeding the prisoners.

In addition to the members of the court, two auxiliary figures existed that collaborated with the Holy Office: the familiares and the comissarios (commissioners). Familiares were lay collaborators of the Inquisition, who had to be permanently at the service of the Holy Office. To become a familiar was considered an honour, since it was a public recognition of limpieza de sangre — Old Christian status — and brought with it certain additional privileges. Although many nobles held the position, most of the familiares many came from the ranks of commoners. The commissioners, on the other hand, were members of the religious orders who collaborated occasionally with the Holy Office.

One of the most striking aspects of the organization of the Inquisition was its form of financing: devoid of its own budget, the Inquisition depended exclusively on the confiscation of the goods of the denounced. It is not surprising, therefore, that many of those prosecuted were rich men. That the situation was open to abuse is evident, as stands out in the memorial that a converso from Toledo directed to Charles I:

"Your Majesty must provide, before all else, that the expenses of the Holy Office do not come from the properties of the condemned, because if that is the case, if they do not burn they do not eat."^[53]

Functioning of the inquisition [link]

Near the outset of the Inquisition, in a letter of April 14, 1482, Pope Sixtus IV instructed the Spanish to ensure due process, allow legal counsel and appeal to Rome.^[54] King Ferdinand defiantly rejected Papal control, the Inquisition becoming thereafter a tool of the monarchy, rather than the church.^[54] In 1483, Ferdinand made Torquemada the Inquisitor General of most areas of Spain.^[54] Its procedures were set out in various Instrucciones issued by the successive Inquisitors General, Torquemada, Deza, and Valdés.

Accusation [link]

When the Inquisition arrived in a city, the first step was the Edict of Grace. Following the Sunday mass, the Inquisitor would proceed to read the edict; it explained possible heresies and encouraged all the congregation to come to the tribunals of the Inquisition to "relieve their consciences". They were called Edicts of Grace because all of the self-incriminated who presented themselves within a period of grace (usually ranging from thirty to forty days) were offered the possibility of reconciliation with the Church without severe punishment.^[55] The promise of benevolence was effective, and many voluntarily presented themselves to the Inquisition and were often encouraged to denounce others who had also committed offenses, informants being the Inquisition's primary source of information. After about 1500, the Edicts of Grace were replaced by the Edicts of Faith, which left out the grace period and instead encouraged the denunciation of those guilty.^[56]

Diego Mateo López Zapata in his cell before his trial by the Inquisition Court of Cuenca

The denunciations were anonymous, and the defendants had no way of knowing the identities of their accusers.^[57] This was one of the points most criticized by those who opposed the Inquisition (for example, the Cortes of Castile, in 1518). In practice, false denunciations were frequent. Denunciations were made for a variety of reasons, from genuine concern, to rivalries and personal jealousies.

Detention [link]

After a denunciation, the case was examined by the calificadores (qualifiers), who had to determine if there was heresy involved, followed by detention of the accused. In practice, however, many were detained in preventive custody, and many cases of lengthy incarcerations occurred, lasting up to two years, before the calificadores examined the case.^[58]

Detention of the accused entailed the preventive sequestration of their property by the Inquisition. The property of the prisoner was used to pay for procedural expenses and the accused's own maintenance and costs. Often the relatives of the defendant found themselves in outright misery. This situation was only remedied following instructions written in 1561.

The entire process was undertaken with the utmost secrecy, as much for the public as for the accused, who were not informed about the accusations that were levied against them. Months, or even years could pass without the accused being informed about why they were imprisoned. The prisoners remained isolated, and, during this time, the prisoners were not allowed to attend Mass nor receive the sacraments. The jails of the Inquisition were no worse than those of secular authorities, and there are even certain testimonies that occasionally they were much better.^[59]

The trial [link]

The inquisitorial process consisted of a series of hearings, in which both the denouncers and the defendant gave testimony. A defense counsel was assigned to the defendant, a member of the tribunal itself, whose role was simply to advise the defendant and to encourage them to speak the truth. The prosecution was directed by the fiscal. Interrogation of the defendant was done in the presence of the Notary of the Secreto, who meticulously wrote down the words of the accused. The archives of the Inquisition, in comparison to those of other judicial systems of the era, are striking in the completeness of their documentation. In order to defend themselves, the accused had two possibilities: abonos (to find favourable witnesses, akin to "substantive" evidence/testimony in Anglo-American law) or tachas (to demonstrate that the witnesses of accusers were not trustworthy, akin to Anglo-American "impeachment" evidence/testimony).

In order to interrogate the accused, the Inquisition made use of torture, but not in a systematic way. It was applied mainly against those suspected of Judaism and Protestantism, beginning in the 16th century. For example, Lea estimates that between 1575 and 1610 the court of Toledo tortured approximately a third of those processed for heresy.^[60] In other periods, the proportions varied remarkably. Torture was always a means to obtain the confession of the accused, not a punishment itself. Torture was also applied without distinction of sex or age, including children and the aged.

Torture [link]

Inquisition torture chamber. Mémoires Historiques (1716)

As with all European tribunals of the time, torture was employed.^[54]^[61]^[62] The Spanish inquisition, however, engaged in it far less often and with greater care than other courts.^[54]^[62]^[63] The scenes of sadism found in popular writers on the inquisition are not based in truth.^[64] Modern scholars have determined that torture was used in only two percent of the cases, for no more than 15 minutes, and in only less than one percent of the cases was it used a second time, never more than that.^[54]^[62]

Although the Inquisition was technically forbidden from permanently harming or drawing blood,^[61] this still allowed for methods of torture. The methods most used, and common in other secular and ecclesiastical tribunals, were garrucha, toca and the potro.^[61] The application of the garrucha, also known as the strappado, consisted of suspending the victim from the ceiling by the wrists, which are tied behind the back. Sometimes weights were tied to the ankles, with a series of lifts and drops, during which the arms and legs suffered violent pulls and were sometimes dislocated.^[65] The toca, also called interrogatorio mejorado del agua, consisted of introducing a cloth into the mouth of the victim, and forcing them to ingest water spilled from a jar so that they had the impression of drowning (see: waterboarding).^[66] The potro, the rack, was the instrument of torture used most frequently.^[67]

The assertion that "confessionem esse veram, non factam vi tormentorum" (literally: ((a person's)) confession is truth, not made by way of torture.) sometimes follows a description of how, after torture had ended, the subject freely confessed to the offenses.^[68] Thus, all confession acquired by means of torture were considered completely valid as they were supposedly made of the confessor's own free will.

Once the process concluded, the inquisidores met with a representative of the bishop and with the consultores, experts in theology or Canon Law, which was called the consulta de fe. The case was voted and sentence pronounced, which had to be unanimous. In case of discrepancies, the Suprema had to be informed.

According to authorities within the Eastern Orthodox Church, there was at least one casualty tortured by those Jesuits who administered the Spanish Inquisition in North America: St. Peter the Aleut.

Sentencing [link]

The results of the trial could be the following:

Although quite rare in actual practice, the defendant could be acquitted.
The trial, itself, could be suspended, in which case the defendant, although under suspicion, went free (with the threat that the process could be continued at any time) or was held in long-term imprisonment until a trial commenced. When set free after a suspended trial it was considered a form of acquittal without specifying that the accusation had been erroneous.
The defendant could be penanced. Since they were considered guilty, they had to publicly abjure their crimes (de levi if it was a misdemeanor, and de vehementi if the crime were serious), and accept a public punishment. Among these were sanbenito, exile, fines or even sentencing to service as oarsmen in royal galleys.
The defendant could be reconciled. In addition to the public ceremony in which the condemned was reconciled with the Catholic Church, more severe punishments were used, among them long sentences to jail or the galleys, plus the confiscation of all property. Physical punishments, such as whipping, were also used.
The most serious punishment was relaxation to the secular arm for burning at the stake—the Church did not itself kill. This penalty was frequently applied to impenitent heretics and those who had relapsed. Execution was public. If the condemned repented, they were shown mercy by being garroted before burning; if not, they were burned alive.

Frequently, cases were judged in absentia, and when the accused died before the trial finished, the condemned were burned in effigy.

The distribution of the punishments varied considerably over time. It is believed that sentences of death were enforced in the first stages within the long history of the Inquisition. According to García Cárcel, the court of Valencia employed the death penalty in 40% of the processings before 1530, but later that percentage dropped to 3%).^[69]

Auto-da-fé, Plaza Mayor in Madrid, 1683

[edit] The autos-da-fé

For more details on this topic, see Auto-da-fé.

If the sentence was condemnatory, this implied that the condemned had to participate in the ceremony of an auto de fe (more commonly known in English as an auto-da-fé), that solemnized their return to the Church (in most cases), or punishment as an impenitent heretic. The autos-da-fé could be private (auto particular) or public (auto publico or auto general).

Although initially the public autos did not have any special solemnity nor sought a large attendance of spectators, with time they became solemn ceremonies, celebrated with large public crowds, amidst a festive atmosphere. The auto-da-fé eventually became a baroque spectacle, with staging meticulously calculated to cause the greatest effect among the spectators.

The autos were conducted in a large public space (in the largest plaza of the city, frequently), generally on holidays. The rituals related to the auto began the previous night (the "procession of the Green Cross") and sometimes lasted the whole day. The auto-da-fé frequently was taken to the canvas by painters: one of the better known examples is the painting by Francesco Rizzi held by the Prado Museum in Madrid and which represents the auto celebrated in the Plaza Mayor of Madrid on June 30, 1680. The last public auto-da-fé took place in 1691.

The auto-da-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. Artistic representations of the auto-da-fé usually depict torture and the burning at the stake. However, this type of activity never took place during an auto-da-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-da-fé (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-da-fé was held in Paris in 1242, during the reign of Louis IX.^[70] However, the first Spanish auto-da-fé did not take place until Seville in 1481; six of the men and women subjected to this first religious ritual were later executed. The Inquisition had 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-da-fé also took place in Mexico, Brazil and Peru: contemporary historians of the Conquistadors such as Bernal Díaz del Castillo record them. They also took place in the Portuguese colony of Goa, India, following the establishment of Inquisition there in 1562–1563.

Execution of Mariana de Carabajal at Mexico, 1601.

The arrival of the Enlightenment in Spain slowed inquisitorial activity. In the first half of the 18th century, 111 were condemned to be burned in person, and 117 in effigy, most of them for judaizing. In the reign of Philip V, there were 125 autos-da-fé, while in the reigns of Charles III and Charles IV only 44.

During the 18th century, the Inquisition changed: Enlightenment ideas were the closest threat that had to be fought. The main figures of the Spanish Enlightenment were in favour of the abolition of the Inquisition, and many were processed by the Holy Office, among them Olavide, in 1776; Iriarte, in 1779; and Jovellanos, in 1796; Jovellanos sent a report to Charles IV in which he indicated the inefficiency of the Inquisition's courts and the ignorance of those who operated them:

friars who take [the position] only to obtain gossip and exemption from choir; who are ignorant of foreign languages, who only know a little scholastic theology...^[71]

In its new role, the Inquisition tried to accentuate its function of censoring publications, but found that Charles III had secularized censorship procedures and, on many occasions, the authorization of the Council of Castile hit the more intransigent position of the Inquisition. Since the Inquisition itself was an arm of the state, being within the Council of Castile, civil, rather than ecclesiastical, censorship usually prevailed. This loss of influence can also be explained because the foreign Enlightenment texts entered the peninsula through prominent members of the nobility or government,^[72] influential people with whom it was very difficult to interfere. Thus, for example, Diderot's Encyclopedia entered Spain thanks to special licenses granted by the king.

However, after the French Revolution the Council of Castile, fearing that revolutionary ideas would penetrate Spain's borders, decided to reactivate the Holy Office that was directly charged with the persecution of French works. An Inquisition edict of December 1789, that received the full approval of Charles IV and Floridablanca, stated that:

having news that several books have been scattered and promoted in these kingdoms... that, without being contented with the simple narration events of a seditious nature... seem to form a theoretical and practical code of independence from the legitimate powers.... destroying in this way the political and social order... the reading of thirty and nine French works is prohibited, under fine...^[73]

However, inquisitorial activity was impossible in the face of the information avalanche that crossed the border; in 1792

the multitude of seditious papers... does not allow formalizing the files against those who introduce them...

The fight from within against the Inquisition was almost always clandestine. The first texts that questioned the Inquisition and praised the ideas of Voltaire or Montesquieu appeared in 1759. After the suspension of pre-publication censorship on the part of the Council of Castile in 1785, the newspaper El Censor began the publication of protests against the activities of the Holy Office by means of a rationalist critique and, even, Valentin de Foronda published Espíritu de los Mejores Diarios, a plea in favour of freedom of expression that was avidly read in the salons. Also, Manuel de Aguirre, in the same vein, wrote, On Toleration in El Censor, El Correo de los Ciegos and El Diario de Madrid.^[74]

End of the Inquisition [link]

During the reign of Charles IV of Spain, in spite of the fears that the French Revolution provoked, several events took place that accelerated the decline of the Inquisition. In the first place, the state stopped being a mere social organizer and began to worry about the well-being of the public. As a result, they considered the land-holding power of the Church, in the señoríos and, more generally, in the accumulated wealth that had prevented social progress.^[75] On the other hand, the perennial struggle between the power of the throne and the power of the Church, inclined more and more to the former, under which, Enlightenment thinkers found better protection for their ideas. Manuel Godoy and Antonio Alcalá Galiano were openly hostile to an institution whose only role had been reduced to censorship and was the very embodiment of the Spanish Black Legend, internationally, and was not suitable to the political interests of the moment:

The Inquisition? Its old power no longer exists: the horrible authority that this bloodthirsty court had exerted in other times was reduced... the Holy Office had come to be a species of commission for book censorship, nothing more...^[76]

The Inquisition was abolished during the domination of Napoleon and the reign of Joseph Bonaparte (1808–1812). In 1813, the liberal deputies of the Cortes of Cádiz also obtained its abolition,^[77] largely as a result of the Holy Office's condemnation of the popular revolt against French invasion. But the Inquisition was reconstituted when Ferdinand VII recovered the throne on July 1, 1814. It was again abolished during the three year Liberal interlude known as the Trienio liberal. Later, during the period known as the Ominous Decade, the Inquisition was not formally re-established,^[78] although, de facto, it returned under the so-called Meetings of Faith, tolerated in the dioceses by King Ferdinand. These had the dubious honour of executing the last heretic condemned, the school teacher Cayetano Ripoll, garroted in Valencia on July 26, 1826 (presumably for having taught deist principles), all amongst a European-wide scandal at the despotic attitude still prevailing in Spain. Juan Antonio Llorente, who had been the Inquisition's general secretary in 1789, became a Bonapartist and published a critical history in 1817 from his French exile, based on his privileged access to its archives.^{[citation needed]}

The Inquisition was definitively abolished on July 15, 1834, by a Royal Decree signed by regent Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, Ferdinand VII's liberal widow, during the minority of Isabella II and with the approval of the President of the Cabinet Francisco Martínez de la Rosa. (It is possible that something similar to the Inquisition acted during the 1833–1839 First Carlist War, in the zones dominated by the Carlists, since one of the government measures praised by Conde de Molina Carlos Maria Isidro de Borbon was the re-implementation of the Inquisition to protect the Church). During the Carlist Wars it was the conservatives who fought the liberals who wanted to reduce the Church's power, amongst other reforms to liberalize the economy.^{[citation needed]}

The Alhambra Decree that had expelled the Jews was formally rescinded on December 16, 1968.^[79]

Outcomes [link]

Confiscations [link]

It is unknown exactly how much wealth was confiscated from converted Jews and others tried by the Inquisition. Wealth confiscated in one year of persecution in the small town of Guadaloupe paid the costs of building a royal residence.^[80] There are numerous records of the opinion of ordinary Spaniards of the time that "the Inquisition was devised simply to rob people. "They were burnt only for the money they had,’ a resident of Cuenca averred. "They burn only the well-off," said another. In 1504 an accused stated, "only the rich were burnt." …In 1484…Catalina de Zamora was accused of asserting that "this Inquisition that the fathers are carrying out is as much for taking property from the conversos as for defending the faith. "It is the goods that are the heretics." This saying passed into common usage in Spain. In 1524 a treasurer informed Charles V that his predessor had received ten million ducats from the conversos, but the figure is unverified. In 1592 an inquisitor admitted that most of the fifty women he arrested were rich. In 1676, the Suprema claimed it had confiscated over 700,000 ducats for the royal treasury (which was paid money only after the Inquisition's own budget, amounting in one known case to only 5%). The property on Mallorca alone in 1678 was worth ‘well over 2,500,000 ducats."^[81]

Death tolls [link]

Contemporary illustration of the auto-da-fé of Valladolid, in which fourteen Christians were burned at the stake for their evangelical faith, on May 21, 1559

García Cárcel estimates that the total number processed by the Inquisition throughout its history was approximately 150,000; applying the percentages of executions that appeared in the trials of 1560–1700 — about 2% — the approximate total would be about 3,000 put to death. Nevertheless, very probably this total should be raised keeping in mind the data provided by Dedieu and García Cárcel for the tribunals of Toledo and Valencia, respectively. It is likely that the total would be between 3,000 and 5,000 executed.

Modern historians have begun to study the documentary records of the Inquisition. The archives of the Suprema, today held by the National Historical Archive of Spain (Archivo Histórico Nacional), conserves the annual relations of all processes between 1540 and 1700. This material provides information on about 44,674 judgements, the latter studied by Gustav Henningsen and Jaime Contreras. These 44,674 cases include 826 executions in persona and 778 in effigie. This material, however, is far from being complete — for example, the tribunal of Cuenca is entirely omitted, because no relaciones de causas from this tribunal have been found, and significant gaps concern some other tribunals (e.g. Valladolid). Many more cases not reported to the Suprema are known from the other sources (e.g. no relaciones de causas from Cuenca have been found, but its original records have been preserved), but were not included in Contreras-Henningsen's statistics for the methodological reasons.^[82] William Monter estimates 1000 executions between 1530–1630 and 250 between 1630–1730.^[83]

The archives of the Suprema only provide information surrounding the processes prior to 1560. To study the processes themselves, it is necessary to examine the archives of the local tribunals; however, the majority have been lost to the devastation of war, the ravages of time or other events. Jean-Pierre Dedieu has studied those of Toledo, where 12,000 were judged for offences related to heresy.^[84] Ricardo García Cárcel has analyzed those of the tribunal of Valencia.^[85] These authors' investigations find that the Inquisition was most active in the period between 1480 and 1530, and that during this period the percentage condemned to death was much more significant than in the years studied by Henningsen and Contreras. Henry Kamen gives the number of about 2,000 executions in persona in the whole Spain up to 1530.^[86]

Henningsen-Contreras statistics for the period 1540–1700 [link]

The statistics of Henningsen and Contreras, based entirely on relaciones de causas, are following:

Tribunal	Number of years with preserved relaciones de causas from the period 1540–1700^[87]	Number of cases reported in the preserved relaciones de causas^[88]	Executions in persona reported in the preserved relaciones de causas^[88]	Executions in effigie reported in the preserved relaciones de causas^[88]
Barcelona	94	3047	37	27
Navarre	130	4296	85	59
Majorca	96	1260	37	25
Sardinia	49	767	8	2
Zaragoza	126	5967	200	19
Sicily	101	3188	25	25
Valencia	128	4540	78	75
Cartagena (established 1610)	62	699	3	1
Lima (established 1570)	92	1176	30	16
Mexico (established 1570)	52	950	17	42
Aragonese Secretariat (total)	930	25890	520	291
Canaries	66	695	1	78
Córdoba	28	883	8	26
Cuenca	0	0	0	0
Galicia (established 1560)	83	2203	19	44
Granada	79	4157	33	102
Llerena	84	2851	47	89
Murcia	66	1735	56	20
Seville	58	1962	96	67
Toledo (incl. Madrid)	108	3740	40	53
Valladolid	29	558	6	8
Castilian Secretariat (total)	601	18784	306	487
Total	1531	44674	826	778

The actual numbers, as far as they can be reconstructed from the available sources, are following:

Tribunal	Estimated number of all trials in the period 1540–1700^[89]	The number of executions in persona in the period 1540–1700^[90]
Barcelona	~5000	53^[91]
Navarre	~5200	90^[91]
Majorca	~2100	38^[92]
Sardinia	~2700	At least 8
Zaragoza	~7600	250^[91]
Sicily	~6400	52^[91]
Valencia	~5700	At least 93^[91]
Cartagena (established 1610)	~1100	At least 3
Lima (established 1570)	~2200	31^[93]
Mexico (established 1570)	~2400	47^[94]
Aragonese Secretariat (total)	~40000	At least 665
Canaries	~1500	3^[95]
Córdoba	~5000	At least 27^[96]
Cuenca	5202^[97]	At least 34^[98]
Galicia (established 1560)	~2700	17^[99]
Granada	~8100	At least 72^[100]
Llerena	~5200	At least 47
Murcia	~4300	At least 190^[101]
Seville	~6700	At least 128^[102]
Toledo (incl. Madrid)	~5500	At least 66^[103]
Valladolid	~3000	At least 54^[104]
Castilian Secretariat (total)	~47000	At least 638
Total	~87000	At least 1303

Autos da fe between 1701–1746 [link]

Table of sentences pronounced in the public autos da fe in Spain (excluding tribunals in Sicily, Sardinia and Latin America) between 1701 and 1746:^[105]

Tribunal	Number of autos da fe	Executions in persona	Executions in effigie	Penanced	Total
Barcelona	4	1	1	15	17
Logroño	1	1	0	0?	1?
Palma de Mallorca	3	0	0	11	11
Saragossa	1	0	0	3	3
Valencia	4	2	0	49	51
Las Palmas	0	0	0	0	0
Córdoba	13	17	19	125	161
Cuenca	7	7	10	35	52
Santiago de Compostela	4	0	0	13	13
Granada	15	36	47	369	452
Llerena	5	1	0	45	46
Madrid	4	11	13	46	70
Murcia	6	4	1	106	111
Seville	15	16	10	220	246
Toledo	33	6	14	128	148
Valladolid	10	9	2	70	81
Total	125	111	117	1235	1463

Historiography [link]

How historians and commentators have viewed the Spanish Inquisition has changed over time, and continues to be a source of controversy to this day. Before and during the 19th century historical interest focused on who was being persecuted. In the early and mid 20th century historians examined the specifics of what happened and how it influenced Spanish history. In the later 20th and 21st century, historians have re-examined how severe the Inquisition really was, calling into question some of the conclusions made earlier in the 20th century.

19th to early 20th century scholarship [link]

Before the rise of professional historians in the 19th century, the Spanish Inquisition had largely been studied and portrayed by Protestant scholars who saw it as the archetypal symbol of Catholic intolerance and ecclesiastical power.^[106] The Spanish Inquisition for them was largely associated with the persecution of Protestants.^[106] The 19th century professional historians, including the Spanish scholar Amador de los Rios, were the first to challenge this perception and look seriously at the role of Jews and Muslims.^[106]

At the start of the 20th century Henry Charles Lea published the groundbreaking History of the Inquisition in Spain. This influential work saw the Spanish Inquisition as "an engine of immense power, constantly applied for the furtherance of obscurantism, the repression of thought, the exclusion of foreign ideas and the obstruction of progress."^[106] Lea documented the Inquisition's methods and modes of operation in no uncertain terms, calling it "theocratic absolutism" at its worst.^[106] In the context of the polarization between Protestants and Catholics during the second half of the 19th century,^[107] some of Lea's contemporaries, as well as most modern scholars thought Lea's work had an anti-Catholic bias.^[107]^[108] William H. Prescott, the Boston historian, likened the Inquisition to an "eye that never slumbered".

Starting in the 1920s, Jewish scholars picked up where Lea's work left off.^[106] Yitzhak Baer's History of the Jews in Christian Spain, Cecil Roth's History of the Marranos and, after World War II, the work of Haim Beinart who for the first time published trial transcripts of cases involving conversos.

Revision after 1960 [link]

Main article: Historical revision of the Inquisition

One of the first books to challenge the classical view was The Spanish Inquisition (1965) by Henry Kamen. Kamen established that the Inquisition was not nearly as cruel or as powerful as commonly believed. The book was very influential and largely responsible for subsequent studies in the 1970s to try to quantify (from archival records) the Inquisition's activities from 1480 to 1834.^[109] Those studies showed there was an initial burst of activity against conversos suspected of relapsing into Judaism, and a mid-16th century pursuit of Protestants, but the Inquisition served principally as a forum Spaniards occasionally used to humiliate and punish people they did not like: blasphemers, bigamists, foreigners and, in Aragon, homosexuals and horse smugglers.^[106] There were so few Protestants in Spain that widespread persecution of Protestantism was not physically possible.^{[citation needed]} Kamen went on to publish two more books in 1985 and 2006 that incorporated new findings, further supporting the view that the Inquisition was not as bad as once described by Lea and others. Along similar lines is Edward Peters's Inquisition (1988).

One of the most important works in challenging traditional views of the Inquisition as it related to the Jewish conversos or New Christians, was The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain by Benzion Netanyahu. It challenged the view that most conversos were actually practicing Judaism in secret and were persecuted for their crypto-Judaism. Rather, according to Netanyahu, the persecution was fundamentally racial, and was a matter of envy of their success in Spanish society.^[110]

In popular culture [link]

The Tribunal of the Inquisition as illustrated by Francisco de Goya.

Literature [link]

1554: "La Vida de Lazarillo de Tormes" shows hypocrisy and corruption of the medieval Spanish church.
The literature of the 18th century approaches the theme of the Inquisition from a critical point of view. In Candide by Voltaire, the Inquisition appears as the epitome of intolerance and arbitrary justice in Portugal and America.
During the Romantic Period, the gothic novel, which was primarily a genre developed in Protestant countries, frequently associated Catholicism with terror and repression. This vision of the Spanish Inquisition appears in, among other works, The Monk (1796) by Matthew Gregory Lewis (set in Madrid during the Inquisition, but can be seen as commenting on the French Revolution and the Terror); in Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) by Charles Robert Maturin and in The Manuscript Found in Saragossa by Polish author Jan Potocki.
19th century literature tends to focus on the element of torture employed by the Inquisition. In France, in the early 19th century, the epistolary novel Cornelia Bororquia, or the Victim of the Inquisition, which has been attributed to Spaniard Luiz Gutiérrez, ferociously criticizes the Inquisition and its representatives. The Inquisition also appears in one of the chapters of the novel The Brothers Karamazov (1880) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, which imagines an encounter between Jesus and the Inquisitor General. One of the best known stories of Edgar Allan Poe, The Pit and the Pendulum, explores along the same lines the use of torture by the Inquisition.

There was no remedy, from Los Caprichos, 1797—98, by Francisco de Goya.
20th century literature. La Gesta del Marrano by the Argentine Author, Marcos Aguinis, portrays the length of the Inquisition's arm to reach people in Argentina during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Marvel Comics series Marvel 1602 shows the Inquisition targeting Mutants for "blasphemy". The character Magneto (comics) also appears as the Grand Inquisitor.The Captain Alatriste novels by the Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte are set in the early 17th century. The second novel, Purity of Blood, has the narrator being tortured by the Inquisition and describes an auto-da-fé. Carme Riera's novella, published in 1994, Dins el Darrer Blau (In the Last Blue) is set during the repression of the chuetas (conversos from Majorca) at the end of the 17th century. In 1998, the Spanish writer Miguel Delibes published the historical novel The Heretic, about the Protestants of Valladolid and their repression by the Inquisition. Samuel Shellabarger's Captain from Castile deals directly with the Spanish Inquisition during the first part of the novel.

Film [link]

The 1947 epic Captain from Castile by Darryl F. Zanuck, starring Tyrone Power, uses The Inquisition as the major plot point of the film. It tells how powerful families used its evils to ruin their rivals. The first part of the film shows this and the reach of the Inquisition reoccurs throughout this movie following Pedro De Vargas (played by Power) even to the 'New World'.
Edgar Allan Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum has been brought to the screen many times. Perhaps best known is the version by Roger Corman in 1961. However, the film has much less to do with the Inquisition than the original story.
The Inquisition captures the main character in the 1965 Polish film Rekopis Znaleziony w Saragossie (The Saragossa Manuscript).
In both the stage and film versions of the musical play Man of La Mancha, Miguel de Cervantes is arrested by the Spanish Inquisition and thrown into a dungeon, in which he and the other prisoners perform the story of Don Quixote. At the end of the musical, he and his manservant are escorted by the Inquisition to their trial.
The Spanish Inquisition segment of the 1981 Mel Brooks movie The History of the World Part 1 is a comedic musical performance based on the activities of the first Inquisitor General of Spain, Tomás de Torquemada.
The film Akelarre (1984) by Pedro Olea, deals with the trials in Logroño of the Witches of Zugarramurdi in Navarre.
The beginning of the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) by Ridley Scott speaks of the fear induced by the Spanish Inquisition and shows several aspects of the relaxation to the secular arm.
In the 1998 film Dangerous Beauty, Veronica Franco is tried before the Spanish Inquisition.
The film The Fountain (2006) by Darren Aronofsky, features the Spanish Inquisition as part of a plot in 1500 when the Grand Inquisitor threatens Queen Isabella's life.
Goya's Ghosts (2006) by Milos Forman is set in Spain between 1792 and 1809 and focuses realistically on the role of the Inquisition and its end under Napoleon's rule.
The film Day of Wrath (2006) is set in 16th century Spain at the height of the Inquisition's persecution of the hidden Jews.

Theatre, music, television, and video games [link]

The Grand Inquisitor of Spain plays a part in Don Carlos, (1867) a play by Friedrich Schiller (which was the basis for the opera in five acts by Giuseppe Verdi, in which the Inquisitor is also featured, and the third act is dedicated to an auto-da-fé).
In the Monty Python comedy team's Spanish Inquisition sketch, an inept Inquisitior repeatedly bursts unexpectedly into scenes after someone utters the words "I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition", screaming "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" The Inquisition then uses ineffectual forms of torture, including a dish-drying rack, soft cushions and a comfy chair.
The Histeria! episode "Megalomaniacs!" featured a game show sketch based on the Spanish Inquisition titled "Convert or Die!" The sketch was later banned from the episode and replaced with a new sketch about Custer's Last Stand in re-runs due to complaints from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights that the sketch was teaching kids to reject Catholicism. However, it was restored when the episode was broadcast on In2TV.
The musical Man of La Mancha (1965) is set in a dungeon where Miguel de Cervantes awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition.
In the Gamecube game Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (2002) part of the story unfolds in a church during the time of the Spanish Inquisition. One of the playable characters is framed and put on trial for murdering a monk.
The Spanish Inquisition was parodied as the "Spinach Iinquisition" in the Codename: Kids Next Door episode Codename: S.P.I.N.A.C.H..

Expressions [link]

Holding Someone's feet to the fire: Torture with a view to the confession for heresy. The target was positioned in a manner that allowed the inquisitor to apply flames to the feet & lower body of the accused. This was often done until the accused confessed or died.

References [link]

Notes [link]

^ Kamen, Spanish Inquisition, p. 4.
^ Kamen, Spanish Inquisition, p. 17. Kamen cites approximate numbers for Valencia (250) and Barcelona (400), but no solid data about Córdoba.
^ Raymond of Peñafort, Summa, lib. 1 p.33, citing D.45 c.5.
^ Kamen, Spanish Inquisition, p. 10.
^ Notably Bishop Pablo de Santa Maria, author of Scrutinium Scripturarum, Jeronimo de Santa Fe (Hebraomastix) and Pedro de la Caballeria (Zelus Christi contra Judaeos). All three were conversos. (Kamen, op. cit., p. 39).
^ Notably the Libro verde de Aragon and Tizón de la nobleza de España (cited in Kamen, op. cit. p. 38.
^ The terms converso and crypto-Jew are somewhat vexed, and occasionally historians are not clear on how, precisely, they are intended to be understood. For the purpose of clarity, in this article converso will be taken to mean one who has sincerely renounced Judaism or Islam and embraced Catholicism. Crypto-Jew will be taken to mean one who accepts Christian baptism, yet continues to practice Judaism.
^ Cited in Kamen, op. cit., p. 49.
^ Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition op. cit., pp. 49-50.
^ Ben-Sasson, H.H., editor. A History of the Jewish People. Harvard University Press, 1976, pp. 588-590.
^ Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition op. cit., p. 157.
^ Kamen, op. cit., p. 60.
^ Ben-Sasson, H.H., editor. 1976. p. 588.
^ quoted in Kamen, Spanish Inquisition,p. 20.
^ Kamen, op. cit., pp. 29-31.
^ Kamen, op. cit. p. 24.
^ S.P. Scott: History;Vol II, op cit; p. 259.
^ Kamen,Spanish Inquisition p. 222.
^ Kamen, op. cit. p. 217.
^ Kamen, Spanish Inquisition p. 225.
^ H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; op cit; p. 308.
^ H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; op cit; p. 345.
^ H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; op cit; p. 375.
^ The Genetic Legacy of Religious Diversity and Intolerance: Paternal Lineages of Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula, Adams et al. 2008.
^ Flores, Carlos; Maca-Meyer, Nicole; González, Ana M; Oefner, Peter J; Shen, Peidong; Pérez, Jose A; Rojas, Antonio; Larruga, Jose M et al. (2004). "Reduced genetic structure of the Iberian peninsula revealed by Y-chromosome analysis: Implications for population demography". European Journal of Human Genetics 12 (10): 855–63. DOI:10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201225. PMID 15280900.
^ González, AM; Brehm, A; Pérez, JA; Maca-Meyer, N; Flores, C; Cabrera, VM (2003). "Mitochondrial DNA affinities at the Atlantic fringe of Europe". American Journal of Physical Anthropology 120 (4): 391–404. DOI:10.1002/ajpa.10168. PMID 12627534.
^ Giacomo, F.; Luca, F.; Popa, L. O.; Akar, N.; Anagnou, N.; Banyko, J.; Brdicka, R.; Barbujani, G. et al. (2004). "Y chromosomal haplogroup J as a signature of the post-neolithic colonization of Europe". Human Genetics 115 (5): 357–71. DOI:10.1007/s00439-004-1168-9. PMID 15322918.
^ Sutton, WK; Knight, A; Underhill, PA; Neulander, JS; Disotell, TR; Mountain, JL (2006). "Toward resolution of the debate regarding purported crypto-Jews in a spanish-American population: Evidence from the Y chromosome". Annals of Human Biology 33 (1): 100–11. DOI:10.1080/03014460500475870. PMID 16500815.
^ Zalloua, Pierre A.; Platt, Daniel E.; El Sibai, Mirvat; Khalife, Jade; Makhoul, Nadine; Haber, Marc; Xue, Yali; Izaabel, Hassan et al. (2008). "Identifying Genetic Traces of Historical Expansions: Phoenician Footprints in the Mediterranean". The American Journal of Human Genetics 83 (5): 633–42. DOI:10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.10.012. PMC 2668035. PMID 18976729. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2668035.
^ "Despite alternative possible sources for lineages ascribed a Sephardic Jewish origin", [1]
^ "La cifra de los sefardíes puede estar sobreestimada, ya que en estos genes hay mucha diversidad y quizá absorbieron otros genes de Oriente Medio" ("The Sephardic result may be overestimated, since there is much diversity in those genes and maybe absorbed other genes from the Middle East"). ¿Pone en duda Calafell la validez de los tests de ancestros? "Están bien para los americanos, nosotros ya sabemos de dónde venimos" (Puts Calafell in doubt the validity of ancestry tests? "They can be good for the Americans, we already know from where we come from). " [2]
^ "We think it might be an over estimate" "The genetic makeup of Sephardic Jews is probably common to other Middle Eastern populations, such as the Phoenicians, that also settled the Iberian Peninsula, Calafell says. "In our study, that would have all fallen under the Jewish label."" http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/39056/title/Spanish_Inquisition_couldn%E2%80%99t_quash_Moorish,_Jewish_genes
^ "El doctor Calafell matiza que (...) los marcadores genéticos usados para distinguir a la población con ancestros sefardíes pueden producir distorsiones". "ese 20% de españoles que el estudio señala como descendientes de sefardíes podrían haber heredado ese rasgo de movimiento más antiguos, como el de los fenicios o, incluso, primeros pobladores neolíticos hace miles de años." "Dr. Calafell clarifies that (...) the genetic markers used to distinguish the population with Sephardim ancestry may produce distortions. The 20% of Spaniards that are identified as having Sephardim ancestry in the study could have inherited that same marker from older movements like the Phoenicians, or even the first Neolithic settlers thousands of years ago" http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/12/04/ciencia/.html
^ Spanish Inquisition left genetic legacy in Iberia , New Scientist, December 4, 2008.
^ .
^ Capelli, Cristian; Onofri, Valerio; Brisighelli, Francesca; Boschi, Ilaria; Scarnicci, Francesca; Masullo, Mara; Ferri, Gianmarco; Tofanelli, Sergio et al. (2009). "Moors and Saracens in Europe: Estimating the medieval North African male legacy in southern Europe". European Journal of Human Genetics 17 (6): 848–52. DOI:10.1038/ejhg.2008.258. PMC 2947089. PMID 19156170. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2947089.
^ These trials, specifically those of Valladolid, form the basis of the plot of The Heretic: A novel of the Inquisition by Miguel Delibes (Overlook: 2006).
^ Kamen, (op. cit. p. 99) gives the figure of about 100 executions for heresy of any kind between 1559 and 1566. He compares these figures with those condemned to death in other European countries during the same period, concluding that in similar periods England, under Mary Tudor, executed about twice as many for heresy: in France, three times the number, and ten times as many in the Low Countries.
^ Kamen p. 98.
^ Kamen, op. cit., pp. 99-100.
^ Johnson, Paul, A History of Christianity, Penguin, London 1976.
^ Henry Kamen: Inkwizycja Hiszpańska, Warszawa 2005, pp. 126-130. ISBN 83-06-02963-1.
^ These trials are the theme of the film Akelarre, by the Spanish director Pedro Olea.
^ Cited in Henningsen, Gustav, ed. The Salazar Documents: Inquisitor Alonso de Salazar Frías and Others on the Basque Witch Persecution. Vol 21, Cultures, Beliefs, and Traditions: Medieval and Early Modern Peoples. Boston: Koninklijke Brill, 2004. Second Report of Salazar to the Inquisitor General (Logroño, 24 March 1612): An account of the whole visitation and publication of the Edict with special reference to the witches’ sect, 352.
^ Kamen, op. cit., p. 259.
^ Detailed account of repressions against "sodomy", related statistics and the profiles of defendants in Monter, Frontiers of Heresy, pp. 276-299.
^ ^a ^b William R. Denslow, Harry S. Truman: 10,000 Famous Freemasons, ISBN 1-4179-7579-2.
^ Henningsen, Gustav: The Spanish Inquisition and the Inquisitorial Mind, p. 220.
^ García Cárcel, Ricardo: La Inquisición, p. 21.
^ Kamen, op. cit., p. 141.
^ In Sicily, the Inquisition functioned until March 30, 1782, when it was abolished by King Ferdinand IV of Naples. It is estimated that 200 people were executed during this period.
^ García Cárcel, Ricardo, op.cit., p. 24.
^ Cited in Kamen, op. cit., p. 151.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Madden, Thomas F., The Truth About the Spanish Inquisition, Crisis Magazine, September 2003
^ Kamen, Henry; The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision, p. 57.
^ Kamen, Henry; The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision, p. 174.
^ Though over the course of the trial, their identities likely became apparent.
^ "In the tribunal of Valladolid, in 1699, various suspects (including a girl of 9 and a boy of 14) were jailed for up to two years with having had the least evaluation of the accusations presented against them" (Kamen, op. cit., p. 180).
^ Walsh, Thomas William, Characters of the Inquisition, P.J. Kennedy & Sons, 1940, p. 163.
^ H. C. Lea, III, p. 33, Cited in Kamen, op. cit, p. 185. García Cárcel, op. cit. p. 43 finds the same statistics.
^ ^a ^b ^c Kamen, op. cit., p. 190.
^ ^a ^b ^c Haliczer, Stephen, Inquisition and society in the kingdom of Valencia, 1478-1834, p. 79, University of California Press, 1990
^ by Peters, Edward, Inquisition, Dissent, Heterodoxy and the Medieval Inquisitional Office, pp. 92-93, University of California Press (1989), ISBN 0-520-06630-8.
^ Kamen, op. cit., p. 189.
^ Sabatini, Rafael, Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition: A History, p. 190, Kessinger Publishing (2003), ISBN 0-7661-3161-0.
^ Scott, George Ryley, The History of Torture Throughout the Ages, p. 172, Columbia University Press (2003) ISBN 0-7103-0837-X.
^ Carrol. James, Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History, p. 356, Houghton Mifflin Books (2002), ISBN 0-618-21908-0.
^ by Peters, Edward, Inquisition, Dissent, Heterodoxy and the Medieval Inquisitional Office, p. 65, University of California Press (1989), ISBN 0-520-06630-8.
^ García Cárcel, op. cit., p. 39.
^ Stavans 2005:xxxiv.
^ Cited in Elorza, La Inquisición y el pensamiento ilustrado. Historia 16. Especial 10º Aniversario La Inquisición; p. 81.
^ Members of the government and the Council of Castile, as well as other members close to the court, obtained special authorization for books purchased in France, the Low Countries or Germany to cross the border without inspection by members of the Holy Office. This practice grew beginning with the reign of Charles III.
^ Elorza, La Inquisición y el pensamiento ilustrado. p. 84.
^ The argument presented in the periodicals and other works circulating in Spain were virtually exact copies of the reflections of Montesquieu or Rousseau, translated into Spanish.
^ Church properties, in general, and those of the Holy Office in particular, occupied large tracts of today's Castile and León, Extremadura and Andalucia. The properties were given under feudal terms to farmers or to localities who used them as community property with many restrictions, owing a part of the rent, generally in cash, to the church.
^ Elorza, La Inquisición y el Pensamiento Ilustrado. Historia 16. Especial 10º Aniversario La Inquisición; pg. 88
^ See Antonio Puigblanch, La Inquisición sin máscara, Cádiz, 1811–1813.
^ Historians have different interpretations. One argument is that during the Ominous Decade, the Inquisition was re-established, but the Royal Decree that would have abolished the order of the Trienio Liberal was never approved, or at least, never published. The formal abolition under the regency of Maria Cristina was thus nothing more than a ratification of the abolition of 1820.
^ 1492 Ban on Jews Is Voided by Spain– The New York Times, 17 Dec 1968
^ Anderson, James Maxwell. Daily Life during the Spranish Inquisition. Greenwood Press, 2002. ISBN 0-313-31667-8.
^ Kamen, Spanish Inquisition, p. 150.
^ For full account see: Gustav Henningsen, The Database of the Spanish Inquisition. The relaciones de causas project revisited, in: Heinz Mohnhaupt, Dieter Simon, Vorträge zur Justizforschung, Vittorio Klostermann, 1992, pp. 43-85.
^ W. Monter, Frontiers of Heresy: The Spanish Inquisition from the Basque Lands to Sicily, Cambridge 2003, p. 53.
^ Jean-Pierre Dedieu, Los Cuatro Tiempos, in Bartolomé Benassar, Inquisición Española: poder político y control social, pp. 15-39.
^ Ricardo García Cárcel, Orígenes de la Inquisición Española. El Tribunal de Valencia, 1478–1530. Barcelona, 1976.
^ H. Kamen, Inkwizycja Hiszpańska, Warszawa 2005, p. 62; and H. Rawlings, The Spanish Inquisition, Blackwell Publishing 2004, p. 15.
^ Henningsen, The Database of the Spanish Inquisition, p. 84.
^ ^a ^b ^c Henningsen, The Database of the Spanish Inquisition, p. 58.
^ Henningsen, The Database of the Spanish Inquisition, p. 84. Numbers in the table are given in approximation.
^ Data for the Aragonese Secretariat are probably complete, some small lacunae may concern only Valencia and possibly Sardinia and Cartagena, but the numbers for Castilian Secretariat - except Canaries and Galicia - should be considered as minimal due to gaps in the documentation. In some cases it is remarked that the number does not concern the whole period 1540–1700.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e W. Monter, Frontiers of heresy, p. 327.
^ W. Monter, pp. 309 i 329.
^ Museo de la Inquisición y del Congreso.
^ See H. Ch. Lea, The Inquisition in the Spanish Dependencies, London 1922, p. 204 ff. and The Catholic Encyclopedia: Mexico.
^ Francisco Fajardo Spínola, La actividad procesal del Santo Oficio. Algunas consideraciones sobre su estudio, Manuscrits 17, 1999, p. 114.
^ One burned in 1567 (E. Schäffer, Beiträge zur Geschichte des Spanischen Protestantismus, Bd. 2, Gütersloh 1902, p. 41-42), 13 in the period 1570–1625 (W. Monter, Frontiers of heresy, p. 48), 5 burned in 1627, another 5 burned in 1655 (H. Kamen, Inkwizycja Hiszpańska, Warszawa 2005, p. 266) and 3 burned alive in 1665 (Miriam Bodian, Dying in the law of Moses: crypto-Jewish martyrdom in the Iberian world, Indiana University Press 2007, p. 219).
^ cf. Henningsen, p. 68.
^ Four burned between 1553 and 1558 (W. Monter, Frontiers of heresy, p. 37-38 n. 22), one in 1561 (W. Monter, Frontiers of heresy, p. 233), 19 others in the period 1570–1625 (W. Monter, Frontiers of heresy, p. 48) and 10 burned in 1654 (Heinrich Graetz, History of the Jews, Vol. V, 2009, p. 91).
^ Two persons condemned to death in 1678 were burned in the auto da fe celebrated in Madrid in 1680 (H. Ch. Lea, History of the Inquisition of Spain, New York 1907, vol. III, p. 300). Therefore, they are included in the number of executions for Toledo/Madrid.
^ This number includes 7 persons burned ca. 1545 (H. Ch. Lea, History of the Inquisition of Spain, New York 1907, vol. III, p. 189), 9 persons burned in 1550-52 (Flora García Ivars, La represión en el tribunal inquisitorial de Granada, 1550–1819, ed. Akal, 1991, p. 194), 14 persons burned in 1560s. (W. Monter, p. 44 i 233), 24 burned between 1570 and 1625 (W. Monter, p. 48), 12 burned in 1654 (Heinrich Graetz, History of the Jews, Vol. V, 2009, p. 92) and 6 burned in 1672 (A. J. Saraiva, H. P. Salomon, I. S. D. Sassoon: The Marrano Factory: The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians 1536–1765. Leiden – Boston – Cologne: BRILL, 2001, p. 217 n. 62).
^ 154 burned between 1557–1568 (J. L. Morales y Marin: El Alcazar de la Inquisicion en Murcia, s. 40), 11 executed in the period 1570–1625 (W. Monter, p. 48) and 25 between 1686–1699 (Consuelo Maqueda Abreu, El auto de fe, Madryt 1992, p. 97).
^ This number includes 2 executions in the auto-da-fé in 1545 (W.Monter, Frontiers of heresy, p. 38), 114 executions in the autos da fe between 1559–1660 (Victoria González de Caldas, Judíos o cristianos?, Universidad de Sevilla, 2000, p. 528) and 12 executions in the autos da fe between 1666–1695 (Consuelo Maqueda Abreu, El auto de fe, Madrid 1992, pp. 99-100).
^ 13 burned in the autos da fe between 1555–1569 (E. Schäffer, Beiträge zur Geschichte des Spanischen Protestantismus, Bd. 2, Gütersloh 1902, p. 79-91.), 25 burned between 1570–1625 (W. Monter, p. 48), 2 burned between 1648–1699 (H. Ch. Lea, A History of the Inquisition of Spain, vol. IV, New York 1907, p. 524; cf. Joaquín Pérez Villanueva & Bartolomé Escandell Bonet (ed.), Historia de la Inquisición en España y América, vol. 1, Madrid 1984, p. 1395), and 26 burned in two autos da fe in Madrid w 1632 and 1680 (H. Ch. Lea, A History of the Inquisition of Spain, vol. III, New York 1907, p. 228).
^ This number includes 6 executions given by Henningsen and Contreras for the period 1620–1670 (Henningsen, The Database of the Spanish Inquisition, pp. 58 and 65), 26 burned in two famous autos-da-fé in 1559 (W.Monter, Frontiers of heresy, pp. 41 i 44),2 burned in 1561 (W. Monter, pp. 41, 44 i 233),15 burned between 1562 and 1567 (E. Schäffer, Beiträge zur Geschichte des Spanischen Protestantismus, Bd. 3, Gütersloh 1902, p. 131) and 5 burned in 1691 (H. Ch. Lea, History of the Inquisition of Spain, New York 1907, vol. III, p. 197).
^ Source: Teofanes Egido, Las modificaciones de la tipologia: nueva estructura delictiva, in: Joaquín Pérez Villanueva & Bartolomé Escandell Bonet, Historia de la Inquisición en España y América, vol. 1, Madrid 1984, p. 1395.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "A Kinder, Gentler Inquisition", by Richard Kagan in the New York Times, April 19, 1998.
^ ^a ^b "Henry Charles Lea Papers - Biographical Sketch". Univ. of Penn.-Penn Special Collections. January 11, 2003. http://www.library.upenn.edu/collections/rbm/mss/lea/leabio.html/. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
^ Van Hove, Brian (November 12, 1996). "A New Industry: The Inquisition". Catholic.net. Archived from the original on 2007-04-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20070405150258/http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Periodicals/Dossier/1112-96/article3.html. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
^ See for example Jean-Pierre Dedieu, Los Cuatro Tiempos, in Bartolomé Benassar, Inquisición Española: poder político y control social, pp. 15-39 and Ricardo García Cárcel, Orígenes de la Inquisición Española. El Tribunal de Valencia, 1478–1530. Barcelona, 1976.
^ http://www.tabletmag.com/news-and-politics/38335/personal-history/

Bibliography [link]

Revisionist books
Carroll, Warren H., Isabel: the Catholic Queen, Christendom Press (1991)
Homza, Lu Ann, The Spanish Inquisition, 1478–1614, An Anthology of Sources, Hackett Publishing (2006)
Kamen, Henry, The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision, Yale University Press (1997)
Monter, William, Frontiers of Heresy: The Spanish Inquisition from the Basque Lands to Sicily, Cambridge University Press (1990)
Parker, Geoffrey, "Some Recent Work on the Inquisition in Spain and Italy", Journal of Modern History 54:3 (1982)
Rawlings, Helen, The Spanish Inquisition, Blackwell Publishing (2006)
Seminal classical works
Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of Spain (4 volumes), (New York and London, 1906–1907).
Juan Antonio Llorente, "Historia crítica de la Inquisición de España"
Ludwig von Pastor, History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages; Drawn from the Secret Archives of the Vatican and other original sources, 40 vols. St. Louis, B.Herder 1898
Old scholarship
Antonio Puigblanch, La Inquisición sin máscara (Cádiz, 1811–1813). [The Inquisition Unmasked (London, 1816)]
William Thomas Walsh, Isabella of Spain (1930) and Characters of the Inquisition (1940). Both reprinted by TAN Books (1987).
Rafael Sabatini, Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition (1913)
C. Roth, The Spanish Inquisition (1937)
C. Roth, History of the Marranos (1932)
A.S. Turberville, Medieval History and the Inquisition (1920)
A.S. Turberville, The Spanish Inquisition (1932).
Genaro García, La Inquisición de México (1906).
Genaro Garcia, Autos de fe de la Inquisición de Mexico (1910)
F. Garau, La Fee Triunfante (1691-reprinted 1931)
J.T. Medina, Historia de la Inquisicion de Lima; de Chile; le la Plata; de Cartagena de las Indias; en las islas Filipinas (6 volumes), (1887–1899)
V. Vignau, Catálogo... de la Inquisición de Toledo (1903)
J. Baker, History of the Inquisition (1736)
History of the Inquisition from its origin under Pope Innocent III till the present time. Also the private practices of the Inquisitors, the form of trial and modes of torture (1814)
J. Marchant, A Review of the Bloody Tribunal (1770)
E.N Adler, Autos de fe and the Jew (1908)
González de Montes, Discovery and Playne Declaration of Sundry Subtile Practices of the Holy Inquisition of Spayne
Ludovico a Paramo, De Origine et Progressu Sanctae Inquisitionis (1598)
J.M. Marín, Procedimientos de la Inquisición (2 volumes), (1886)
I. de las Cagigas, Libro Verde de Aragon (1929)
R. Cappa, La Inquisicion Espanola (1888)
A. Paz y Mellia, Catálogo Abreviado de Papeles de Inquisición (1914)
A.F.G. Bell, Luis de Leon (1925)
M. Jouve, Torquemada (1935)
Sir Alexander G. Cardew, A Short History of the Inquisition (1933)
G. G. Coulton, The Inquisition (1929)
Memoires Instructifs pour un Voyageur dans les Divers États de l'Europe (1738)
Ramon de Vilana Perlas, La verdadera práctica apostólica de el S. Tribunal de la Inquisición (1735)
H.B. Piazza, A Short and True Account of the Inquisition and its Proceeding (1722)
A.L. Maycock, The Inquisition (1926)
H. Nickerson, The Inquisition (1932)
Conde de Castellano, Un Complot Terrorista en el Siglo XV; los Comienzos de la Inquisicion Aragonesa, (1927)
Bernard Gui, Manuel de l'Inquisiteur, (1927)
L. Tanon, Histoire des Tribunaux de l'Inquisition (1893)
A.J. Texeira, Antonio Homem e a Inquisicao (1902)
A. Baiao, A Inquisiçao em Portugal e no Brasil (1921)
A. Herculano, Historia da Origem e Estabelecimento da Inquisiçao em Portugal (English translation, 1926)
Joseph de Maistre, Letters on the Spanish Inquisition (1822, composed 1815):— late defence of the Inquisition
Cornelius August Wilkens: Spanish Protestants in the Sixteenth Century (1897), 218p. read online at archive.org"Title Catalog". The Library of Iberian Resources. http://libro.uca.edu/title.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-17.
Other
Simon Whitechapel, Flesh Inferno: Atrocities of Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition (Creation Books, 2003).
Miranda Twiss, The Most Evil Men And Women In History (Michael O'Mara Books Ltd., 2002).

v t e History of Christianity

Centuries:1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st Eras: Early Roman Medieval Modern

Jesus & Apostolic Age	Background Ministry Good News Crucifixion & Resurrection Holy Spirit Gospels Acts The 12 Paul Acts 15

Ante-Nicene Period	Judaism split Justin Martyr Ignatius Persecution Fathers Irenaeus Marcionism Canon Tertullian Montanism Origen

Christian Empire	Constantine the Great Monasticism Councils: Nicaea I Creed Athanasius Arianism Jerome Augustine Councils II III IV

Eastern Christianity	Orthodoxy Greece Church of the East Oriental Orthodoxy Coptic Nestorianism Syria Armenia Ethiopia Chrysostom Iconoclasm Bulgaria Great Schism Fall Ottoman Russia America 20th century

Middle Ages	Pelagianism Gregory I Celtic Germanic Scandinavian Kievan Rus' Investiture Anselm Abelard Bernard of Clairvaux Crusades Inquisition Scholasticism Dominic Francis Bonaventure Aquinas Wycliffe Avignon Papal Schism Hus Conciliarism

Protestant Reformation	Protestantism Erasmus Five solas Eucharist Calvinist v. Arminian Arminianism Dort Wars Lutheranism Martin Luther 95 Theses Diet of Worms Melanchthon Orthodoxy Eucharist Book of Concord Reformed Zwingli Calvin Calvinism history Scotland Knox TULIP Dort Westminster Anglicanism Timeline Henry VIII Cranmer Settlement 39 Articles Common Prayer Puritans Civil War Anabaptism Radical Reformation Grebel Swiss Brethren Müntzer Martyrs' Synod Menno Simons Smyth

Catholicism	Primacy development Papacy Timeline Lateran IV Trent Counter-Reformation Thomas More Leo X Guadalupe Jesuits Jansenists Xavier Monastery dissolution Wars Teresa Vatican I & II Modernism

Modern Christianity and Revivalism	English denominations Baptists Congregationalism Great Awakening Methodism Millerism Pietism Neo- & Old Lutherans Restoration Movement Jehovah's Witnesses Mormonism Seventh-day Adventism

Industrial Age	Camp meeting Holiness movement Independent Catholic Churches Second Great Awakening Third Great Awakening

After World War I	Azusa Revival Ecumenism Evangelicalism Jesus movement Mainline Protestant Pentecostalism Charismatics Liberation Theology Christian Right

Timeline Missions Timeline Martyrs Theology Eastern Orthodoxy Oriental Orthodoxy Protestantism Catholicism

v t e Religious persecution and religious discrimination

By group	African traditional religions Ahmadiyya Atheism Bahá'í Catholicism Christianity 2 Hinduism 2 Falun Gong Islam 2 Judaism 2 3 Jehovah's Witness Mormonism Neopaganism Rastafaris Protestantism Shi'a Islam Zoroastrianism

Method	Censorship Desecration Discrimination Forced conversion Genocide Intolerance Pogrom Segregation State atheism State religion Terrorism Violence War

Historical events	Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism Expulsion of the Moriscos Decline of Buddhism in India Decline of Hinduism in Pakistan Cromwellian conquest of Ireland Cultural Revolution French Revolutionary dechristianisation European wars of religion French Wars of Religion Inquisition Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim lands Palestinian exodus Persecution of Pagans by the Christian Roman Empire Saxon Wars Soviet persecutions: 1917-21, 1928-41, 1958-64, 1970-87 Treatment of Christians in the Eastern Bloc Kulturkampf Test Act Thirty Years' War

http://wn.com/Spanish_Inquisition

http://it.wn.com/Inquisizione spagnola

http://id.wn.com/Inkuisisi Spanyol

http://es.wn.com/Inquisición española

http://ru.wn.com/Испанская инквизиция

http://nl.wn.com/Spaanse Inquisitie

http://pl.wn.com/Inkwizycja hiszpańska

http://fr.wn.com/Inquisition espagnole

http://hi.wn.com/स्पेनी धर्माधिकरण

http://pt.wn.com/Inquisição espanhola

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Monty Python
275px The Python troupe in 1969 Back row: Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam Front row: Terry Jones, John Cleese, Michael Palin
Medium	Television, film, theatre, audio recordings, books
Nationality	British^[1]
Years active	1969–1983
Genres	Satire, surreal humour, dark comedy
Influences	The Goons, Spike Milligan, Peter Cook
Influenced	Douglas Adams, Eddie Izzard, George Carlin, Vic and Bob, Steve Pemberton, Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Matt Groening
Notable works and roles	Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) And Now for Something Completely Different (1971) Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974) Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982) Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
Members	Graham Chapman John Cleese Terry Gilliam Eric Idle Terry Jones Michael Palin
Website	PythOnline

Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons)^[2]^[3] was a British surreal comedy group who created Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, spawning touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books and a stage musical as well as launching the members to individual stardom. The group's influence on comedy has been compared to The Beatles' influence on music.^[4]^[5]

The television series, broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974, was conceived, written and performed by members Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a sketch show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach (aided by Gilliam's animation), it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content.^[6]^[7] A self-contained comedy team responsible for both writing and performing their work, the Pythons' creative control allowed them to experiment with form and content, discarding rules of television comedy. Their influence on British comedy has been apparent for years, while in North America it has coloured the work of cult performers from the early editions of Saturday Night Live through to more recent absurdist trends in television comedy. "Pythonesque" has entered the English lexicon as a result.

In a 2005 UK poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, three of the six Pythons members were voted by fellow comedians and comedy insiders to be among the top 50 greatest comedians ever: Cleese at #2, Idle at #21, and Palin at #30.^[8]

1 Before Flying Circus
2 Monty Python's Flying Circus
3 Life after the Flying Circus
4 Python members
- 4.1 Associate Pythons
- 4.2 Other contributors
5 Cultural influence
6 Media
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links

[edit] Before Flying Circus

Palin and Jones met at Oxford University, where they performed together with the Oxford Revue. Cleese and Chapman met at Cambridge. Idle was also at Cambridge, but started a year after Cleese and Chapman. Cleese met Gilliam in New York while on tour with the Cambridge University Footlights revue Cambridge Circus (originally entitled A Clump of Plinths). Chapman, Cleese and Idle were members of the Footlights, which at that time also included the future Goodies (Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden), and Jonathan Lynn (co-writer of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister). During Idle's presidency of the Club, feminist writer Germaine Greer and broadcaster Clive James were members. Recordings of Footlights revues (called "Smokers") at Pembroke College include sketches and performances by Idle and Cleese. They are kept in the archives of the Pembroke Players, along with tapes of Idle's performances in some of the college drama society's theatrical productions.

Python members appeared in and/or wrote the following shows before Monty Python's Flying Circus. The Frost Report is credited as first uniting the British Pythons and providing an environment in which they could develop their particular styles:

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (radio) (1964–1973) [Cleese: cast member & writer] – [Idle and Chapman: writers]
The Frost Report (1966–1967) [Cleese: cast member and writer] – [Idle: writer of Frost's monologues] – [Chapman, Palin and Jones: writers]
At Last the 1948 Show (1967) [Chapman and Cleese: writers and cast members] – [Idle: writer]
Twice a Fortnight (1967) [Palin and Jones: cast members and writers]
Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967–1969) [Idle, Jones, and Palin: cast members & writers] – [Gilliam: animation]
— Bonzo Dog Band: musical interludes]
We Have Ways of Making You Laugh (1968) [Idle: cast member & writer] – [Gilliam: animation]
How to Irritate People (1968) [Cleese and Chapman: cast members & writers] – [Palin: cast member]
The Complete and Utter History of Britain (1969) [Palin and Jones: cast members & writers]
Doctor in the House (1969) [Cleese & Chapman: writers]

Several featured other important British comedy writers or performers of the future, including Marty Feldman, Jonathan Lynn, David Jason and David Frost, as well as members of other future comedy teams, Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker (the Two Ronnies), and Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie (the Goodies).

Following the success of Do Not Adjust Your Set, originally intended to be a children's programme, with adults, ITV offered Palin, Jones, Idle and Gilliam their own series together. At the same time Cleese and Chapman were offered a show by the BBC, which had been impressed by their work on The Frost Report and At Last The 1948 Show. Cleese was reluctant to do a two-man show for various reasons, including Chapman's supposedly difficult personality. Cleese had fond memories of working with Palin and invited him to join the team. With the ITV series still in pre-production, Palin agreed and suggested the involvement of his writing partner Jones and colleague Idle—who in turn suggested that Gilliam could provide animations for the projected series. Much has been made of the fact that the Monty Python troupe is the result of Cleese's desire to work with Palin and the chance circumstances that brought the other four members into the fold.^[9]

[edit] Monty Python's Flying Circus

Main article: Monty Python's Flying Circus

Development of the series [link]

The Pythons had a definite idea about what they wanted to do with the series. They were admirers of the work of Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore on Beyond the Fringe, and had worked on Frost, which was similar in style. They enjoyed Cook and Moore's sketch show Not Only... But Also. One problem the Pythons perceived with these programmes was that though the body of the sketch would be strong, the writers would often struggle to then find a punchline funny enough to end on, and this would detract from the overall sketch quality. They decided that they would simply not bother to "cap" their sketches in the traditional manner, and early episodes of the Flying Circus series make great play of this abandonment of the punchline (one scene has Cleese turn to Idle, as the sketch descends into chaos, and remark that "This is the silliest sketch I've ever been in"—they all resolve not to carry on and simply walk off the set). However, as they began assembling material for the show, the Pythons watched one of their collective heroes, Spike Milligan, recording his groundbreaking series Q5 (1969). Not only was the programme more irreverent and anarchic than any previous television comedy, Milligan would often "give up" on sketches halfway through and wander off set (often muttering "Did I write this?"). It was clear that their new series would now seem less original, and Jones in particular became determined the Pythons should innovate.

After much debate, Jones remembered an animation Gilliam had created for Do Not Adjust Your Set called Beware of the Elephants, which had intrigued him with its stream-of-consciousness style. Jones felt it would be a good concept to apply to the series: allowing sketches to blend into one another. Palin had been equally fascinated by another of Gilliam's efforts, entitled Christmas Cards, and agreed that it represented "a way of doing things differently". Since Cleese, Chapman and Idle were less concerned with the overall flow of the programme, it was Jones, Palin and Gilliam who became largely responsible for the presentation style of the Flying Circus series, in which disparate sketches are linked to give each episode the appearance of a single stream-of-consciousness (often using a Gilliam animation to move from the closing image of one sketch to the opening scene of another).

Writing started at 9 am and finished at 5 pm. Typically, Cleese and Chapman worked as one pair isolated from the others, as did Jones and Palin, while Idle wrote alone. After a few days, they would join together with Gilliam, critique their scripts, and exchange ideas. Their approach to writing was democratic. If the majority found an idea humorous, it was included in the show. The casting of roles for the sketches was a similarly unselfish process, since each member viewed himself primarily as a 'writer', rather than an actor desperate for screen time. When the themes for sketches were chosen, Gilliam had carte blanche to decide how to bridge them with animations, using a camera, scissors, and airbrush.

While the show was a collaborative process, different factions within Python were responsible for elements of the team's humour. In general, the work of the Oxford-educated members (Jones and Palin) was more visual, and more fanciful conceptually (e.g., the arrival of the Spanish Inquisition in a suburban front room), while the Cambridge graduates' sketches tended to be more verbal and more aggressive (for example, Cleese and Chapman's many "confrontation" sketches, where one character intimidates or hurls abuse, or Idle's characters with bizarre verbal quirks, such as The Man Who Speaks In Anagrams). Cleese confirmed that "most of the sketches with heavy abuse were Graham's and mine, anything that started with a slow pan across countryside and impressive music was Mike and Terry's, and anything that got utterly involved with words and disappeared up any personal orifice was Eric's".^[10] Gilliam's animations, meanwhile, ranged from the whimsical to the savage (the cartoon format allowing him to create some astonishingly violent scenes without fear of censorship).

Several names for the show were considered before Monty Python's Flying Circus was settled upon. Some were Owl Stretching Time, Toad Elevating Moment, A Bucket, a Horse and a Spoon, Vaseline Review and Bun, Wackett, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot. Flying Circus stuck when the BBC explained it had printed that name in its schedules and was not prepared to amend it. Many variations on the name in front of this title then came and went (popular legend holds that the BBC considered Monty Python's Flying Circus to be a ridiculous name, at which point the group threatened to change their name every week until the BBC relented). "Gwen Dibley's Flying Circus" was named after a woman Palin had read about in the newspaper, thinking it would be amusing if she were to discover she had her own TV show. "Baron Von Took's Flying Circus" was considered as an affectionate tribute to Barry Took, the man who had brought them together. Arthur Megapode's Flying Circus was suggested, then discarded.

There are differing, somewhat confusing accounts of the origins of the Python name although the members agree that its only "significance" was that they thought it sounded funny. In the 1998 documentary Live At Aspen during the US Comedy Arts Festival, where the troupe was awarded the AFI Star Award by the American Film Institute, the group implied that "Monty" was selected (Eric Idle's idea) as a gently-mocking tribute to Field Marshal Lord Montgomery, a legendary British general of World War II; requiring a "slippery-sounding" surname, they settled on "Python". On other occasions Idle has claimed that the name "Monty" was that of a popular and rotund fellow who drank in his local pub; people would often walk in and ask the barman, "Has Monty been in yet?", forcing the name to become stuck in his mind. The name Monty Python was later described by the BBC as being "envisaged by the team as the perfect name for a sleazy entertainment agent".^[11]

Style of the show [link]

Flying Circus popularised innovative formal techniques, such as the cold open, in which an episode began without the traditional opening titles or announcements.^[12] An example of this is the "It's" man: Palin, outfitted in Robinson Crusoe garb, making a tortuous journey across various terrains, before finally approaching the camera to state, "It's...", only to be then cut off by the title sequence and theme music. On several occasions the cold open lasted until mid show, after which the regular opening titles ran. Occasionally the Pythons tricked viewers by rolling the closing credits halfway through the show, usually continuing the joke by fading to the familiar globe logo used for BBC continuity, over which Cleese would parody the clipped tones of a BBC announcer. On one occasion the credits ran directly after the opening titles. Because of their dislike of finishing with punchlines, they experimented with ending the sketches by cutting abruptly to another scene or animation, walking offstage, addressing the camera (breaking the fourth wall), or introducing a totally unrelated event or character. A classic example of this approach was the use of Chapman's "Colonel" character, who walked into several sketches and ordered them to be stopped because things were becoming "far too silly." Another favourite way of ending sketches was to drop a cartoonish "16-ton weight" prop on one of the characters when the sketch seemed to be losing momentum, or a knight in full armour (played by Terry Gilliam) would wander on-set and hit characters over the head with a rubber chicken,^[13] before cutting to the next scene. Yet another way of changing scenes was when John Cleese, usually outfitted in a dinner suit, would come in as a radio commentator and make the formal and determined announcement, "And now for something completely different."

The Python theme music is The Liberty Bell, a march by John Philip Sousa, which was chosen, among other reasons, because the recording was in the public domain.^[12]

The use of Gilliam's surreal, collage stop motion animations was another innovative intertextual element of the Python style. Many of the images Gilliam used were lifted from famous works of art, and from Victorian illustrations and engravings. The giant foot which crushes the show's title at the end of the opening credits is in fact the foot of Cupid, cut from a reproduction of the Renaissance masterpiece Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time by Bronzino. This foot, and Gilliam's style in general, are visual trademarks of the series.

The Pythons used the British tradition of cross-dressing comedy by donning frocks and makeup and playing female roles themselves while speaking in falsetto. Generally speaking, female roles were played by a woman (usually Carol Cleveland) only when the scene specifically required that the character be sexually attractive (although sometimes they used Idle for this). In some episodes and later in Monty Python's Life of Brian they took the idea one step further by playing women who impersonated men (in the stoning scene).

Many sketches are well-known and widely quoted. "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "Spam", "Nudge Nudge", "The Spanish Inquisition", "Upper Class Twit of the Year", "Cheese Shop" and "The Ministry of Silly Walks" are just a few examples.

Introduction to North America [link]

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) added Monty Python’s Flying Circus to its national September 1970 fall lineup.^[14] They aired the 13 episodes of Series 1, which had first run on the BBC the previous fall (October 1969 to January 1970), as well as the first 6 episodes of Series 2 only a few weeks after they first appeared on the BBC (September to November 1970).^[14] The CBC dropped the show when it returned to regular programming after the Christmas 1970 break, choosing to not place the remaining 7 episodes of series 2 on the January 1971 CBC schedule.^[14] Within a week the CBC received hundreds of calls complaining of the cancellation, and more than 100 people staged a demonstration at the CBC’s Montreal studios.^[14]

Time-Life Films had the right to distribute all BBC-TV programs in the United States, however they had decided that British comedy simply would not work in America. Therefore, it was not worth the investment to convert the Python episodes from the European PAL standard to the American NTSC standard.

Sketches from Monty Python’s Flying Circus were introduced to American audiences in August 1972, with the release of the Python movie And Now for Something Completely Different, featuring sketches from series 1 and 2 of the television show. This 1972 release met limited box office success.

In the summer of 1974 Ron Devillier, the program director for non-profit PBS television station KERA in Dallas, Texas, started airing episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Ratings shot through the roof, providing an encouraging sign to the other 100 PBS stations that had signed up to begin airing the show in October 1974—exactly 5 years after their BBC debut. There was also cross-promotion from FM radio stations across the country, whose airing of tracks from the Python LPs had already introduced American audiences to this bizarre brand of comedy. The popularity on PBS resulted in the 1974 re-release of the 1972 "...Completely Different" movie, with much greater box office success.

The ability to show Monty Python’s Flying Circus under the American NTSC standard had been made possible by the commercial actions of American television producer Greg Garrison. Garrison produced the NBC series The Dean Martin Comedy World, which ran during the summer of 1974. The concept was to show clips from comedy shows produced in other countries, including tape of the Python sketches "Bicycle Repairman" and "The Dull Life of a Stockbroker". Payment for use of these two sketches was enough to allow Time-Life Films to convert the entire Python library to NTSC standard, allowing for the sale to the PBS network stations who then brought the entire show to US audiences.

With the popularity of Python throughout the rest of the 1970s and through most of the 1980s, PBS stations looked at other British comedies, leading to UK shows such as Are You Being Served? gaining a US audience, and leading, over time, to many PBS stations having a "British Comedy Night" which airs many popular UK comedies.^[15]

[edit] End of Flying Circus

Having considered the possibility at the end of the second series, Cleese left the Flying Circus at the end of the third. He later explained that he felt he no longer had anything fresh to offer the show, and claimed that only two Cleese-and-Chapman-penned sketches in the third series ("Dennis Moore" and the "Cheese Shop") were truly original, and that the others were bits and pieces from previous work cobbled together in slightly different contexts.^[9] He was also finding Chapman, who was at that point in the full throes of alcoholism, difficult to work with. According to an interview with Idle, "It was on an Air Canada flight on the way to Toronto, when John (Cleese) turned to all of us and said 'I want out.' Why? I don't know. He gets bored more easily than the rest of us. He's a difficult man, not easy to be friendly with. He's so funny because he never wanted to be liked. That gives him a certain fascinating, arrogant freedom."^[16]

The rest of the group carried on for one more "half" series before calling a halt to the programme in 1974. The name Monty Python's Flying Circus appears in the opening animation for series four, but in the end credits the show is listed as simply "Monty Python". Despite his official departure from the group, Cleese supposedly made a (non-speaking) cameo appearance in the fourth series, but never appeared in the credits as a performer. Several episodes credit him as a co-writer since some sketches were recycled from scenes cut from the Holy Grail script. While the first three series contained 13 episodes each, the fourth ended after six.

[edit] Life after the Flying Circus

Filmography [link]

[edit] And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)

Main article: And Now for Something Completely Different

The Pythons' first feature film (directed by Ian MacNaughton, reprising his role from the television series). It was composed of sketches from the first two seasons of the Flying Circus, reshot on a low budget (and often slightly edited) for cinema release. Material selected for the film includes: "Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "Upper Class Twit of the Year", "Hell's Grannies", "Self-Defence Class", "How Not To Be Seen" and "Nudge Nudge". Financed by Playboy's UK executive Victor Lownes, it was intended as a way of breaking Monty Python into America, and although it was ultimately unsuccessful in this, the film did good business in the UK (this still being in the era before home video would make it much more accessible to view the material again). The group did not consider the film a success.

[edit] Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)

Main article: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

In 1974, between production on the third and fourth seasons, the group decided to embark on their first "proper" feature film, containing entirely new material. Monty Python and the Holy Grail was based on Arthurian Legend and was directed by Jones and Gilliam. Again, the latter also contributed linking animations (and put together the opening credits). Along with the rest of the Pythons, Jones and Gilliam performed several roles in the film, but it was Chapman who took the lead as King Arthur. Cleese returned to the group for the film, feeling that the group were once again breaking new ground. Holy Grail was filmed on location, in picturesque rural areas of Scotland, with a budget of only £229,000; the money was raised in part with investments from rock groups such as Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin—and UK music industry entrepreneur Tony Stratton-Smith (founder and owner of the Charisma Records label, for which the Pythons recorded their comedy albums).

The backers of the film wanted to cut the famous Black Knight scene (in which the Black Knight loses his limbs in a duel) but it was eventually kept in the movie.^[17]

[edit] Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)

Main article: Monty Python's Life of Brian

Following the success of Holy Grail, reporters asked for the title of the next Python film, despite the fact that the team had not even begun to consider a third one. Eventually, Idle flippantly replied "Jesus Christ – Lust for Glory", which became the group's stock answer once they realised that it shut reporters up. However, they soon began to seriously consider a film lampooning the New Testament era in the same way Holy Grail had lampooned Arthurian legend. Despite them all sharing a distrust of organised religion, they agreed not to mock Jesus nor his teachings directly. Instead, they decided to write a satire on credulity and hypocrisy among the followers of someone who had been mistaken for the "Messiah," but who had no desire to be followed as such. Chapman was cast in the lead role of Brian.

The focus therefore shifted to a separate individual born at the same time, in a neighbouring stable. When Jesus appears in the film (first, as a baby in the stable, and then later on the Mount, speaking the Beatitudes), he is played straight (by actor Kenneth Colley) and portrayed with respect. The comedy begins when members of the crowd mishear his statements of peace, love and tolerance. ("I think he said, 'Blessed are the cheesemakers.'")

Directing duties were handled solely by Jones, having amicably agreed with Gilliam that Jones' approach to film-making was better suited for Python's general performing style. Holy Grail's production had often been stilted by their differences behind the camera. Gilliam again contributed two animated sequences (one being the opening credits) and took charge of set design. The film was shot on location in Tunisia, the finances being provided this time by former Beatle George Harrison, who together with Denis O'Brien formed the production company Hand-Made Films for the movie. He had a cameo role as the 'owner of the Mount.'

Despite its subject matter attracting controversy, particularly upon its initial release, it has (together with its predecessor) been ranked among the greatest comedy films. A Channel 4 poll in 2005 ranked Holy Grail in sixth place, with Life of Brian at the top.^[18]

[edit] Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982)

Main article: Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl

Filmed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles during preparations for The Meaning of Life, this was a concert film (directed by Terry Hughes) in which the Pythons performed sketches from the television series in front of an audience. The released film also incorporated footage from the German television specials (the inclusion of which gives Ian MacNaughton his first on-screen credit for Python since the end of Flying Circus) and live performances of several songs from the troupe's then-current Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album.

[edit] Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

Main article: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

Python's final film returned to something structurally closer to the style of Flying Circus. A series of sketches loosely follows the ages of man from birth to death. Directed again by Jones solo, The Meaning of Life is embellished with some of Python's most bizarre and disturbing moments, as well as various elaborate musical numbers. The film is by far their darkest work, containing a great deal of black humour, garnished by some spectacular violence (including an operation to remove a liver from a living patient without anaesthetic and the morbidly obese Mr. Creosote exploding over several restaurant patrons). At the time of its release, the Pythons confessed their aim was to offend "absolutely everyone."

Besides the opening credits and the fish sequence, Gilliam, by now an established live action director, no longer wanted to produce any linking cartoons, offering instead to direct one sketch—The Crimson Permanent Assurance. Under his helm, though, the segment grew so ambitious and tangential that it was cut from the movie and used as a supporting feature in its own right. (Television screenings also use it as a prologue.) Crucially, this was the last project that all six Pythons would collaborate on, except for the 1989 compilation Parrot Sketch Not Included, where they are all seen sitting in a closet for four seconds. This would be the last time Chapman appeared on-screen with the Pythons.

[edit] Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows

Members of Python contributed their services to charitable endeavours and causes—sometimes as an ensemble, at other times as individuals. The cause that has been the most frequent and consistent beneficiary has been the human rights work of Amnesty International. Between 1976 and 1981, the troupe or its members appeared in four major fund-raisers for Amnesty—known collectively as the Secret Policeman's Ball shows—which were turned into multiple films, TV shows, videos, record albums and books. These benefit shows and their many spin-offs raised considerable sums of money for Amnesty, raised public and media awareness of the human rights cause and influenced many other members of the entertainment community (especially rock musicians) to become involved in political and social issues.^[19] Among the many musicians who have publicly attributed their activism—and the organisation of their own benefit events—to the inspiration of the work in this field of Monty Python are U2, Bob Geldof, Pete Townshend and Sting.^[19] The shows are credited by Amnesty with helping the organisation develop public awareness in the US where one of the spin-off films was a major success.

Cleese and Jones had an involvement (as performer, writer or director) in all four Amnesty benefit shows, Palin in three, Chapman in two and Gilliam in one. Idle did not participate in the Amnesty shows. Notwithstanding Idle's lack of participation, the other five members (together with "Associate Pythons" Carol Cleveland and Neil Innes) all appeared together in the first Secret Policeman's Ball benefit—the 1976 A Poke In The Eye (With A Sharp Stick)—where they performed several Python sketches. In this first show they were collectively billed as Monty Python. (Peter Cook deputised for the errant Idle in one major sketch The Courtroom.) In the next three shows, the participating Python members performed many Python sketches, but were billed under their individual names rather than under the collective Python banner. After a six-year break, Amnesty resumed producing Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows in 1987 (sometimes with, and sometimes without variants of the iconic title) and by 2006 had presented a total of twelve such shows. The shows since 1987 have featured newer generations of British comedic performers, including many who have attributed their participation in the show to their desire to emulate the Python's pioneering work for Amnesty. (Cleese and Palin made a brief cameo appearance in the 1989 Amnesty show; apart from that the Pythons have not appeared in shows after the first four.)

Going solo [link]

Each member has pursued various film, television and stage projects since the break-up of the group, but often continued to work with one another. Many of these collaborations were very successful, most notably A Fish Called Wanda (1988), written by Cleese, in which he starred along with Palin. The pair also appeared in Time Bandits (1981), a film directed by Gilliam, who wrote it together with Palin. Gilliam directed Jabberwocky (1977), and also directed and co-wrote Brazil (1985) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), which featured Palin and Idle respectively. Yellowbeard (1983) was co-written by Chapman and featured Chapman, Cleese and Palin alongside many of their English contemporaries, including Peter Cook, Spike Milligan and Marty Feldman.

Palin and Jones wrote the comedic TV series Ripping Yarns (1976–79), starring Palin. Jones also appeared in the pilot episode and Cleese appeared in a non-speaking part in the episode "Golden Gordon". Jones' film Erik the Viking, also has Cleese playing a small part.

In 1996, Terry Jones wrote and directed an adaption of Kenneth Grahame's novel The Wind in the Willows. It featured four members of Monty Python: Jones as Mr. Toad, Idle as Ratty, Cleese as Mr. Toad's lawyer, and Palin as the Sun. Gilliam was considered for the voice of the river.

In terms of numbers of productions, Cleese has the most prolific solo career, having appeared in 59 theatrical films, 22 TV shows or series (including Cheers, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Q's assistant in the James Bond movies, and Will & Grace), 23 direct-to-video productions, six video games, and a number of commercials.^[20] His BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers (written by and starring Cleese together with his then-wife Connie Booth), is considered the greatest solo work by a Python since the sketch show finished. It is the only comedy series to rank higher than the Flying Circus on the BFI TV 100's list, topping the whole poll.

Idle enjoyed critical success with Rutland Weekend Television in the mid-1970s, out of which came the Beatles parody The Rutles (responsible for the cult mockumentary All You Need Is Cash), and as an actor in Nuns on the Run (1990) with Robbie Coltrane. Idle has had success with Python songs: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" went to no. 3 in the UK singles chart in 1991. The song had been revived by Simon Mayo on BBC Radio 1, and was consequently released as a single that year. The theatrical phenomenon of the Python musical Spamalot has made Idle the most financially successful of the troupe post-Python. Written by Idle, it has proved an enormous hit on Broadway, London's West End and also Las Vegas.^[21] This was followed by Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), which repurposes The Life of Brian as an oratorio. For the work's 2007 premiere at the Luminato festival in Toronto (which commissioned the work), Idle himself sang the "baritone-ish" part.

Post-Python reunions [link]

Since The Meaning of Life, their last project as a team, the Pythons have often been the subject of reunion rumours.^[21] The final reunion of all six members occurred during the Parrot Sketch Not Included – 20 Years of Monty Python special. The death of Chapman in 1989 (on the eve of their 20th anniversary) put an end to the speculation of any further reunions. There have been several occasions since 1989 when the surviving five members have gathered together for appearances—albeit not formal reunions.

In 1996, Jones, Idle, Cleese and Palin were featured in a film adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, which was later renamed Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

In 1998 during the US Comedy Arts Festival, where the troupe was awarded the AFI Star Award by the American Film Institute, the five remaining members along with what was purported to be Chapman's ashes, were reunited on stage for the first time in 18 years.^[22] The occasion was in the form of an interview called Monty Python Live At Aspen, (hosted by Robert Klein, with an appearance by Eddie Izzard) in which the team looked back at some of their work and performed a few new sketches.

On 9 October 1999, to commemorate 30 years since the first Flying Circus television broadcast, BBC2 devoted an evening to Python programmes, including a documentary charting the history of the team, interspersed with new sketches by the Monty Python team filmed especially for the event. The program appears, though omitting a few things, on the DVD The Life of Python. Though Idle's involvement in the special is limited, the final sketch marks the only time since 1989 that all surviving members of the troupe appear in one sketch, albeit not in the same room.

In 2002, four of the surviving members, bar Cleese, performed "The Lumberjack Song" and "Sit on My Face" for George Harrison's memorial concert. The reunion also included regular supporting contributors Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland, with a special appearance from Tom Hanks.

In an interview to publicise the DVD release of The Meaning of Life, Cleese said a further reunion was unlikely. "It is absolutely impossible to get even a majority of us together in a room, and I'm not joking," Cleese said. He said that the problem was one of business rather than one of bad feelings.^[23] A sketch appears on the same DVD spoofing the impossibility of a full reunion, bringing the members “together” in a deliberately unconvincing fashion with modern bluescreen/greenscreen techniques.

Idle has responded to queries about a Python reunion by adapting a line used by George Harrison in response to queries about a possible Beatles reunion. When asked in November 1989 about such a possibility, Harrison responded: "As far as I'm concerned, there won't be a Beatles reunion as long as John Lennon remains dead." Idle's version of this was that he expected to see a proper Python reunion, "just as soon as Graham Chapman comes back from the dead", but added, "we're talking to his agent about terms."^[24]

2003's The Pythons Autobiography By The Pythons, compiled from interviews with the surviving members, reveals that a series of disputes in 1998, over a possible sequel to Holy Grail that had been conceived by Idle, may have resulted in the group's permanent fission. Cleese's feeling was that The Meaning of Life had been personally difficult and ultimately mediocre, and did not wish to be involved in another Python project for a variety of reasons (not least amongst them was the absence of Chapman, whose straight man-like central roles in the original Grail and Brian films had been considered to be essential performance anchorage). Apparently Idle was angry with Cleese for refusing to do the film, which most of the remaining Pythons thought reasonably promising (the basic plot would have taken on a self-referential tone, featuring them in their main 'knight' guises from Holy Grail, mulling over the possibilities of reforming their posse). The book also reveals that a secondary option around this point was the possibility of revitalising the Python brand with a new stage tour, perhaps with the promise of new material. This idea had also hit the buffers at Cleese's refusal, this time with the backing of other members.

March 2005 saw a full, if non-performing, reunion of the surviving cast members at the premiere of Idle's musical Spamalot, based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It opened in Chicago and has since played in New York on Broadway, London and numerous other major cities across the world. In 2004, it was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and won three: Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical for Mike Nichols and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Sara Ramirez, who played the Lady of the Lake, a character specially added for the musical. Cleese played the voice of God, played in the film by Chapman.

Owing in part to the success of Spamalot, PBS announced on 13 July 2005, that it would begin to re-air the entire run of Monty Python's Flying Circus and new one-hour specials focusing on each member of the group, called Monty Python's Personal Best.^[25] Each episode was written and produced by the individual being honoured, with the five remaining Pythons collaborating on Chapman's programme, the only one of the editions to take on a serious tone with its new material.

Eric Idle and John Cleese appeared on stage together singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" with the rest of the performers for the climax of Prince Charles 60th Birthday Show.

In 2009, to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a six part documentary entitled Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) was released, featuring interviews with the surviving members of the team as well as archive interviews with Graham Chapman and numerous excerpts from the television series and films.

Also in commemoration of the 40th anniversary Idle, Palin, Jones and Gilliam appeared in a production of Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) at the Royal Albert Hall. The European premiere was held on 23 October 2009.^[26] An official 40th anniversary Monty Python reunion event took place in New York City on 15 October 2009 where the Team received a Special Award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.^[27]

In June 2011, it was announced that Monty Python have begun production on their first film project since the Meaning of Life in 1983. Their next film, A Liar's Autobiography, is an animated 3D movie based on the memoir of the late Python member, Graham Chapman, who died in 1989 at the age of 48. A Liar’s Autobiography was published in 1980 and details Chapman's journey through medical school, alcoholism, acknowledgement of his gay identity and the toils of surreal comedy.

Asked what was true in a deliberately fanciful account by Chapman of his life, Terry Jones joked: "Nothing . . . it’s all a downright, absolute, blackguardly lie."

The film will use Chapman's own voice - from a reading of his autobiography shortly before he died of cancer - and entertainment channel EPIX announced that the film will be released in early 2012 in both 2D and 3D formats. Produced and directed by London-based Bill Jones, Ben Timlett and Jeff Simpson, the new film has 15 animation companies working on chapters that will range from three to 12 minutes in length, each in a different style.

John Cleese has recorded new dialogue which will be matched with Chapman’s voice and Michael Palin will voice Chapman’s mother and father. Terry Gilliam plays various roles. Among the original Python group, only Eric Idle has not become involved, though Timlett said the filmmakers are “working on” him.^[28]

Python members [link]

Graham Chapman was originally a medical student, joining the Footlights at Cambridge. He completed his medical training and was legally entitled to practice as a doctor. Chapman is best remembered for the lead roles in Holy Grail, as King Arthur, and Life of Brian, as Brian Cohen. He died of spinal and throat cancer on 4 October 1989. At Chapman's memorial service, Cleese delivered an irreverent eulogy that included all the euphemisms for being dead from the Dead Parrot sketch, which they had written.

John Cleese is the oldest Python. He met his future Python writing partner, Graham Chapman, in Cambridge.

Terry Gilliam, an American, was the only member of the troupe of non-British origin.^[29] He started off as an animator and strip cartoonist for Harvey Kurtzman's Help! magazine, one issue of which featured Cleese. Moving from the USA to England, he animated features for Do Not Adjust Your Set and was then asked by its makers to join them on their next project: Monty Python's Flying Circus. He co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail and directed short segments of other Python films (for instance "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", the short film that appears before The Meaning of Life).

When Monty Python was first formed, two writing partnerships were already in place: Cleese and Chapman, Jones and Palin. That left two in their own corners: Gilliam, operating solo due to the nature of his work, and Eric Idle. Regular themes in his contributions were elaborate wordplay and musical numbers. After Flying Circus, he hosted Saturday Night Live four times in the first five seasons. Idle's initially successful solo career faltered in the 1990s with the failures of his 1993 film Splitting Heirs (written, produced by and starring him) and 1998's An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (in which he starred), which was awarded five Razzies, including 'Worst Picture of the Year'. He revived his career by returning to the source of his worldwide fame, adapting Monty Python material for other media. He also wrote the Broadway musical Spamalot, based on the Holy Grail movie. He also wrote Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), an oratorio derived from the Life of Brian.

Terry Jones has been described by other members of the team as the “heart” of the operation. Jones had a lead role in maintaining the group's unity and creative independence. Python biographer George Perry has commented that should you "speak to him on subjects as diverse as fossil fuels, or Rupert Bear, or mercenaries in the Middle Ages or Modern China... in a moment you will find yourself hopelessly out of your depth, floored by his knowledge." Many others agree that Jones is characterised by his irrepressible, good-natured enthusiasm. However, Jones' passion often led to prolonged arguments with other group members—in particular Cleese—with Jones often unwilling to back down. Since his major contributions were largely behind the scenes (direction, writing), and he often deferred to the other members of the group as an actor, Jones' importance to Python was often underrated. However, he does have the legacy of delivering possibly the most famous line in all of Python, as Brian's mother Mandy in Life of Brian, "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!", a line voted the funniest in film history on two occasions.^[30]^[31]

Michael Palin attended Oxford, where he met his Python writing partner Jones. The two also wrote the series Ripping Yarns together. Palin and Jones originally wrote face-to-face, but soon found it was more productive to write apart and then come together to review what the other had written. Therefore, Jones and Palin's sketches tended to be more focused than that of the others, taking one bizarre situation, sticking to it, and building on it. After Flying Circus, he hosted Saturday Night Live four times in the first ten seasons. His comedy output began to decrease in amount following the increasing success of his travel documentaries for the BBC. Palin released a book of diaries from the Python years entitled Michael Palin Diaries 1969–1979, published in 2007.

Associate Pythons [link]

Several people have been accorded unofficial "Associate Python" status over the years. Occasionally such people have been referred to as the 7th Python, in a style reminiscent of George Martin (or other associates of The Beatles) being dubbed "the Fifth Beatle." The two collaborators with the most meaningful and plentiful contributions have been Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland. Both were present and presented as Associate Pythons at the official Monty Python 25th anniversary celebrations held in Los Angeles in July 1994.

File:CarolCleveland.jpg

Carol Cleveland as the stereotypical "blonde bombshell" in the Marriage Guidance Counsellor sketch.

Neil Innes is the only non-Python besides Douglas Adams to be credited with writing material for the Flying Circus. He appeared in sketches and the Python films, as well as performing some of his songs in Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl. He was also a regular stand-in for absent team members on the rare occasions when they re-created sketches. For example, he took the place of Cleese at the Concert for George. Gilliam once noted that if anyone qualified for the title of the "Seventh Python," it would certainly be Innes. He was one of the creative talents in the off-beat Bonzo Dog Band. He would later portray Ron Nasty of the Rutles and write all of the Rutles' compositions for All You Need is Cash (1978). By 2005, a falling out had occurred between Idle and Innes over additional Rutles projects, the results being Innes' critically acclaimed Rutles "reunion" album The Rutles: Archaeology and Idle's straight-to-DVD The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch, each undertaken without the other's participation. According to an interview with Idle in the Chicago Tribune in May 2005, his attitude is that he and Innes go back "too far. And no further." Innes has remained silent on the dispute.

Carol Cleveland was the most important female performer in the Monty Python ensemble, commonly referred to as the "Python Girl." Originally hired by producer/director John Howard Davies for just the first five episodes of the Flying Circus, she went on to appear in approximately two-thirds of the episodes as well as in all of the Python films, and in most of their stage shows as well. Her common portrayal as the stereotypical "blonde bimbo" eventually earned her the sobriquet "Carol Cleavage" from the other Pythons, but she felt that the variety of her roles should not be described in such a pejorative way.

Other contributors [link]

Cleese's first wife Connie Booth appeared in, amongst others "The Lumberjack Song" and as the "witch" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Cleese and Booth later co-wrote and co-starred in Fawlty Towers.

Douglas Adams was "discovered" by Chapman when a version of the Footlights Revue (a 1974 BBC2 television show featuring some of Adams' early work) was performed live in London's West End. In Cleese's absence from the final TV series, the two formed a brief writing partnership, with Adams earning a writing credit in one episode for a sketch called "Patient Abuse". In the sketch, a man who had been stabbed by a nurse arrives at his doctor's office bleeding profusely from the stomach, when the doctor makes him fill out numerous senseless forms before he can administer treatment. He also had two cameo appearances in this season. Firstly, in the episode The Light Entertainment War, Adams shows up in a surgeon's mask (as Dr. Emile Koning, according to the on-screen captions), pulling on gloves, while Palin narrates a sketch that introduces one person after another, and never actually gets started. Secondly, at the beginning of Mr. Neutron, Adams is dressed in a "pepperpot" outfit and loads a missile onto a cart being driven by Terry Jones, who is calling out for scrap metal ("Any old iron..."). Adams and Chapman also subsequently attempted a few non-Python projects, including Out of the Trees. He also contributed to a sketch on the soundtrack album for Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard, a devoted fan of the group, has occasionally stood in for absent members. When the BBC held a "Python Night" in 1999 to celebrate 30 years of the first broadcast of Flying Circus, the Pythons recorded some new material with Izzard standing in for Idle, who had declined to partake in person (he taped a solo contribution from the US). Izzard hosted a history of the group entitled The Life of Python (1999) that was part of the Python Night and appeared with them at a festival/tribute in Aspen, Colorado, in 1998 (released on DVD as Live at Aspen).

Cultural influence [link]

By the time of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Monty Python in 1994, the point was already being made that "the five surviving members had with the passing years begun to occupy an institutional position in the edifice of British social culture that they had once had so much fun trying to demolish".^[32] A similar point is made in a 2006 book on the relationship between Monty and philosophy: "It is remarkable, after all, not only that the utterly bizarre Monty Python's Flying Circus was sponsored by the BBC in the first place, but that Monty Python itself grew into an institution of enormous cultural influence"^[33] Matt Groening, creator and co-developer of the animated sitcom The Simpsons, names Monty Python as an influence and pays tribute through a couch gag used in seasons five and six.^[34]

Space [link]

In 2010 the commercial space company SpaceX, launched a wheel of cheese into low earth orbit and returned it safely to the earth. Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, claimed this was done as a tribute to Monty Python.

World records [link]

On St George's Day, 23 April 2007, the cast and creators of Spamalot gathered in Trafalgar Square under the tutelage of the two Terrys (Jones and Gilliam) to set a new record for the world's largest coconut orchestra. They led 5,567 people "clip-clopping" in time to the Python classic "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" for the Guinness World Records attempt.^[35]

'Pythonesque'[link]

Amongst the more visible cultural influences of Monty Python is the inclusion of terms either directly from, or derived from, Monty Python, into the lexicon of the English language. The most obvious of these is the term 'pythonesque', which has become a byword in surreal humour, and is included in standard dictionaries.^[36] Terry Jones commented on his disappointment at the existence of such a term, claiming the initial aim of Monty Python was to create something new and impossible to categorize and that "the fact that Pythonesque is now a word in the Oxford English Dictionary shows the extent to which we failed".^[37]

The term has been applied to animations similar to those constructed by Gilliam (e.g. the cut-out style of South Park, whose creators have often acknowledged a debt to Python, including contributing material to the aforementioned 30th anniversary theme night).^[38]

Good Eats creator Alton Brown cited Python as one of the influences that shaped how he created the series, as well as how he authors the script for each episode.^[39] Recent episodes even include Gilliam-style animations to illustrate key points.

Things named after Monty Python [link]

Beyond a dictionary definition, Python terms have entered the lexicon in other ways.

The Python programming language by Guido van Rossum is named after the troupe, and Monty Python references are often found in sample code created for that language. Additionally, a 2001 April Fool's Day joke by van Rossum and Larry Wall involving the merger of Python with Perl was dubbed "Parrot" after the Dead Parrot Sketch. The name "Parrot" was later used for a project to develop a virtual machine for running bytecode for interpreted languages such as Perl and Python. Also, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory wrote some spacecraft navigation software in Python, which they dubbed "Monty". There is also a python refactoring tool called bicyclerepair ( [1] ), named after Bicycle Repair Man sketch.
In 1985, a fossil of a previously unknown species of gigantic prehistoric snake from the Miocene was discovered in Riversleigh, Queensland, Australia. The Australian palaeontologist who discovered the fossil snake was a Monty Python fan, and he gave the snake the taxonomic name of Montypythonoides riversleighensis in honour of the Monty Python team.^[40] (Transliterated from Greek Μοντυπυθωνοειδής back to English, Montypythonoides means "like Monty Python".)
In 2006, Ben & Jerry's, known for their "celebrity flavours", introduced to the lineup "Vermonty Python", a coffee liqueur ice cream with a chocolate cookie crumb swirl and fudge cows. The name "Minty Python" had been suggested before in 1996 in a contest to select the quintessential British ice cream flavor.^[41]^[42]
In 1999, Black Sheep Brewery released an ale named "Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale."^[43]
The band Toad the Wet Sprocket drew its name from the Eric Idle monologue "Rock Notes" on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album from 1980.
The band Boxhamsters, which is the German translation of Brook-Hamster, the winner of the Upper Class Twit of the Year.^[44]
A philosophy lecture series entitled Themes in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy as Reflected in the Work of Monty Python.^[45]^[46]
The term "spam" in reference to bulk, unsolicited email is derived from the programme's 1970 "Spam" sketch.^[47]
In the book The Reptile Room by "Lemony Snicket", the character Uncle Monty was named after Monty Python, in a joke referring to his obsession with snakes.
Seven asteroids are named after Monty Python: 9617 Grahamchapman, 9618 Johncleese, 9619 Terrygilliam, 9620 Ericidle, 9621 Michaelpalin, 9622 Terryjones, and 13681 Monty Python .
The endangered Bemaraha woolly lemur (Avahi cleesei) is named after John Cleese.

Dead Parrot Society is the title of a comedy CD released in 1993 featuring sketches from Monty Python's Flying Circus as well as Graham Chapman, Peter Cook, John Cleese, Dudley Moore, and The Portsmouth Sinfonia The title is also a play on the 1989 film Dead Poets Society.

Media [link]

Main article: Monty Python mediagraphy

Television [link]

Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–74)

The show that started the Python phenomenon. See also List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes

Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus (1972)

Two 45-minute specials made by WDR for West German television. The first was recorded in German, while the second was in English with German dubbing.

Monty Python's Personal Best (2006)

Six one-hour specials, each episode presenting the best of one member's work.

Films [link]

There were five Monty Python productions released as theatrical films:

And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)

A collection of sketches from the first and second TV series of Monty Python's Flying Circus purposely re-enacted and shot for film.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)

King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering humorous obstacles along the way. Some of these turned into standalone sketches.

Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)

Brian is born on the first Christmas, in the stable next to Jesus'. He spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.

Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982)

A videotape recording directed by Ian MacNaughton of a live performance of sketches. Originally intended for a TV/video special. Transferred to 35mm and given a limited theatrical release in the US.

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

An examination of the meaning of life in a series of sketches from conception to death and beyond.

Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) (2009)

This film features interviews with all the surviving Python members, along with archive representation for the late Graham Chapman.

A Liar's Autobiography: Volume IV (2012)

This is an animated film which is based on the memoir of the late Monty Python member, Graham Chapman.

Albums [link]

Monty Python's Flying Circus (1970)
Another Monty Python Record (1971)
Monty Python's Previous Record (1972)
The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief (1973)
Monty Python Live at Drury Lane (1974)
The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Monty Python Live at City Center (1976)
The Monty Python Instant Record Collection (1977)
Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (1980)
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
The Final Rip Off (1988)
Monty Python Sings (1989)
The Monty Python Instant Record Collection, Volume 2 (1991)
The Ultimate Monty Python Rip Off (1994)
The Instant Monty Python CD Collection (1994)
Spamalot (Broadway version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Tim Curry as King Arthur) (2005)
The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album (unreleased)

Theatre [link]

Monty Python's Flying Circus – Between 1974 and 1980 (Live at the Hollywood Bowl was released in 1982, but was performed in 1980) the Pythons made three sketch-based stage shows, comprising mainly material from the original television series.
Monty Python's Spamalot – Written by Idle directed by Mike Nichols, with music and lyrics by John Du Prez and Idle, and starring Hank Azaria, Tim Curry, and David Hyde Pierce, Spamalot is a musical adaptation of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It ran in Chicago from 21 December 2004 to 23 January 2005, and began performances on Broadway on 17 March 2005. It won three Tonys.
Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) – The Toronto Symphony Orchestra commissioned Idle and John Du Prez to write the music and lyrics of an oratorio based on Monty Python's Life of Brian. Entitled Not the Messiah, it had its world premiere as part of Luminato, a "festival of arts and creativity" taking place 1–10 June 2007 in Toronto. Not the Messiah was conducted by Peter Oundjian, Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, who is Idle’s cousin. It was performed by a narrator, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with guest soloists and choir. According to Idle, "It will be funnier than Handel, though not as good".

Books [link]

Monty Python's Big Red Book (1971) ISBN 0-413-29520-6.
The Brand New Monty Python Bok (1973) ISBN 0-7493-1170-3.
Monty Python and The Holy Grail (book) – Mønti Pythøn ik den Hølie Gräilen (Bøk) (1977) ISBN 0-413-38520-5.
MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK/ The Life of Brian (1979) ISBN 0-413-46550-0.
Monty Python's Flying Circus – Just The Words Volume 1 (1989) ISBN 0-413-62540-0.
Monty Python's Flying Circus – Just The Words Volume 2 (1989) ISBN 0-413-62550-8.
The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus Volumes 1 & 2
The Fairly Incomplete & Rather Badly Illustrated Monty Python Song Book (1994) ISBN 0-413-69000-8
Michael Palin Diaries 1969–1979
The Pythons: Autobiography by the Pythons
The Life of Brian/Jesus (2011) ISBN 978-1-84876-628-0.

Games [link]

Monty Python's Flying Circus (1990) a computer game released by Virgin Games for 8-bit systems such as the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum^[48]
Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time (1994) released by 7th Level for PC / DOS
Monty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail (1996), official game released by 7th Level. It used footage and imagery from the film, as well as audio clips (some new) and featured an animated version of a scene never filmed entitled "King Brian The Wild".
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1997), also released by 7th Level. According to the jewel case description, it's based on the film by the same name, but it's really something completely similar yet entirely different.
Python-opoly (2007), a Monty Python-themed property game released by Toy Vault Inc.^[49]
Monty Python Fluxx (2008), a card game released by Looney Labs^[50]
Blazing Dragons

References [link]

^ Gilliam was born American and obtained British citizenship in 1968. In protest at George W. Bush, he renounced his American citizenship in January 2006 and is now only a British citizen. (in German) Kopflos am Potsdamer Platz, DE: Tagesspiegel, 10 February 2006, http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/;art772,2004101, retrieved 15 September 2007
^ Wilmut (1980), p. 250.
^ The Pythons by 'The Pythons', ISBN 0-7528-5293-0.
^ Todd Leopold (11 December 2003). "How Monty Python changed the world". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/10/monty.python/index.html. Retrieved 30 March 2007. "Python has been called "the Beatles of comedy,""
^ Mark Lewisohn. "Monty Python's Flying Circus". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/m/montypythonsflyi_1299002137.shtml. Retrieved 31 March 2007. "In essence, the Monty Python team are the comedy equivalent of the Beatles."
^ 'Holy' Monty Python History Lesson. Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 24 April 2012
^ 'Monty Python' Reunion Planned for New Movie. Christian Post. Retrieved 24 April 2012
^ "Cook voted 'comedians' comedian'". BBC News. 2 January 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4141019.stm. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
^ ^a ^b The Pythons Autobiography By The Pythons—Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, John Chapman, David Sherlock, Bob McCabe—Thomas Dunne Books; Orion, 2003
^ Wilmut (1980), p.211
^ "BBC – Comedy – Monty Python". http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/montypython/index.shtml.
^ ^a ^b Museum of Broadcast Communications. "Monty Python's Flying Circus". http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/montypython/montypython.htm.
^ Monty Python's Flying Circus Just The Words Volume 1, p33. Methuen, 1990
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jamie Bradburn, with reference to Toronto Star article of 1971-02-02 (2011-09-20). "Vintage Toronto Ads: Jack of Hearts’ Flying Circus". St. Joseph Media. http://torontoist.com/2011/09/vintage-toronto-ads-jack-of-hearts-flying-circus/. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
^ David Stewart; David C. Stewart (May 1999). The PBS companion: a history of public television. TV Books. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-57500-050-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=U3S4AAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
^ Richard Ouzounian, "Python still has legs", Toronto Star, 16 July 2006
^ Interview with John Cleese on Q-The Podcast with host John Ghomeshi, on 16 July 2009
^ "50 Greatest Comedy Films". channel4.com. http://www.channel4.com/film/newsfeatures/microsites/G/greatest-comedyfilms/index.html. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
^ ^a ^b Secret Policeman's Ball recruits New York's finest to Amnesty celebration. The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2012
^ IMDB; as of January 2005; includes pre-release items.
^ ^a ^b Alan Parker; Mick O'Shea (1 April 2006). And Now For Something Completely Digital: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Monty Python CDs and DVDs. The Disinformation Company. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-932857-31-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=G49bRxbeH1kC&pg=PA68. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
^ Alleen Pace Nilsen; Don Lee Fred Nilsen (2000). Encyclopedia of 20th-century American humor. Oryx Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-57356-218-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=0ufWAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
^ Monty Python reunion 'unlikely', BBC News, 9 September 2003
^ Graham Chapman; John Cleese; Terry Gilliam; Eric Idle (15 November 2005). The Pythons Autobiography by the Pythons. Macmillan. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-312-31145-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=3Q-XD02f4oQC&pg=PT328. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
^ Exclusive new Monty Python specials slated to premiere in 2006, PBS, 13 July 2005
^ mollyblack wrote: (11 July 2009). "retrieved 6 July 2009". The Independent (UK). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/monty-python-stars-to-stage-reunion-1733638.html. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
^ "Pythons receive BAFTA Special Award". Bafta.org. 18 October 2009. http://www.bafta.org/access-all-areas/videos/monty-python-special-award,877,BA.html. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
^ "Monty Python back for 3D animated film". The Daily Telegraph (London). 28 June 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/8602765/Monty-Python-back-for-3D-animated-film.html.
^ David Morgan (6 October 2006). "Terry Gilliam Sounds Off, Director Of 'Brazil' Says Current Events Parallel His Cult Movie". CBSNews. http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/06/movies/main2071659.shtml. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
^ Philip French, Mark Kermode, Jason Solomons, Akin Ojumu, and Killian Fox (22 July 2007). "The last laugh: your favourite 50". The Observer (UK). http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,2131880,00.html. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
^ Sarah Womack (19 February 2002). "Life of Brian wins the vote for film's best laughter line". London: Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385293/Life-of-Brian-wins-the-vote-for-film's-best-laughter-line.html. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
^ Perry, George (1999). The Life of Python. London: Pavilion Books. p. 6. ISBN 1-85793-441-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=J_Zg-9u4yLAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=life+python#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
^ Hardcastle, G.L., & Reisch, G.A. (2006). "”What’s All This Then?” The Introduction". In Gary L. Hardcastle & George A Reisch. Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think!. Vol. 19 in Popular Culture and Philosophy series. Chicago: Open Court. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8126-9593-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=wPQelKFNA5MC&printsec=frontcover&dq=monty+python#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 24 August 2010. Also ISBN 0-8126-9593-3
^ "Monty Python's Flying Circus Foot couch gag - Simpsons Wiki". Simpsons.wikia.com. 2011-12-24. http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Monty_Python's_Flying_Circus_Foot_couch_gag. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
^ BBC-Spamalot cast sets coconut record.
^ "Monty Pythonesque." Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7). Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 23 November 2007. Pythonesque
^ Monty Python: Live at Aspen, 1998
^ "Monty Python meets South Park". BBC News. 4 October 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/464765.stm. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
^ Marc Berman (27 September 2009). "Mr. TV: Food for Thought". Mediaweek. http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/community/programming-insider/column/e3icbd5f8a8048766fc980ec4910fe71b25. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
^ Monty Python – a Brief History, BBC, 29 January 2002
^ "STAN FREBERG HERE – British Ice Cream Flavors:". http://leemichaelwithers.tripod.com/sfh7_16_96.htm. Retrieved 1 October 2010. "Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream has just finished a contest to select the quintessential British ice cream flavor. ... They wanted a kind of "pun" flavor along the lines of their successful American flavor, "Cherry Garcia"--hmm, my favorite. Anyhow, the winner was "Cool Brittania." ... But some of the 7500 losers might have been better. How about this, for British flavors: "Minty Python"? "Jack the Ripple"? Or how about "The Rolling Scones"?"
^ "American Scoops Up Prize For Name Of Brit Ben & Jerry's – Orlando Sentinel". Wall Street Journal. 4 July 1996. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-07-04/business/9607030986_1_ben-jerry-ice-cream-flavor. Retrieved 1 October 2010. "If Britain were an ice cream, what flavor would it be? Jack the Ripple? Charles and Diana Split? Those names were floated in a contest run by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. to create the quintessential British ice cream flavor, along the lines of its world-famous American flavor, Cherry Garcia."
^ "Monty Python's Holy Grail". Blacksheepbrewery.com. http://www.blacksheepbrewery.com/Beers/BottledBeers/HolyGrail.aspx. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
^ "Boxhamsters". www.boxhamsters.net. http://www.boxhamsters.net. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
^ Eric Barnes. "Gary L. Hardcastle: Themes in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy as Relfected in the Work of Monty Python". Mtholyoke.edu. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~ebarnes/python/python.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
^ Gary L. Hardcastle & George A Reisch, ed. (2006). Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think!. Chicago: Open Court. ISBN 978-0-8126-9593-9. Also ISBN 0-8126-9593-3
^ "RFC 2635 – DON\x27T SPEW A Set of Guidelines for Mass Unsolicited Mailings and Postings (spam*):". http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2635. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
^ "Monty Python's Flying Circus on World of Spectrum". Worldofspectrum.org. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0003260. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
^ "Toy Vault web site for Python-opoly, retrieved November 20, 2008". Toyvault.com. http://www.toyvault.com/pythonopoly/index.htm. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
^ "Web site for Monty Python Fluxx". Fluxxgames.com. http://fluxxgames.com/. Retrieved 19 August 2009.

External links [link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Monty Python

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Monty Python

Pythonline.com – Monty Python's sort-of official site, actively maintained by Eric Idle
Monty Python – Official YouTube page
Monty Python Videos – Monty Python's best videos and movies
2012 interview with Carol Cleveland, covering Flying Circus and Holy Grail
Python at ifilm.com
Pythonisms: Python quotes as figures of speech
Release of the 3-DVD Secret Policeman's Balls
40 Years of Monty Python – photo essay by TIME magazine
Monty Python Reunion event, New York, 15 October 2009

v t e Monty Python

Graham Chapman John Cleese Terry Gilliam Eric Idle Terry Jones Michael Palin Carol Cleveland Neil Innes

Television series	Flying Circus episodes Fliegender Zirkus Personal Best

Filmography	And Now for Something Completely Different Holy Grail Life of Brian Live at the Hollywood Bowl The Meaning of Life

Studio albums	Another Record Previous Record Matching Tie and Handkerchief Holy Grail Life of Brian Contractual Obligation The Meaning of Life

Compilation albums	Instant Record Collection Final Rip Off Ultimate Rip Off Instant CD Collection Sings

Live albums	Flying Circus Live at Drury Lane Live at City Center

Specials	Parrot Sketch Not Included Live at Aspen Python Night

Documentaries	Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut)

Stage productions	Spamalot Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) An Evening Without Monty Python

Literature	Big Red Book Brand New Bok Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls

Video games	Complete Waste of Time Quest for the Holy Grail The Meaning of Life

Characters	Mr Praline Gumbys The "it's" man The Colonel Mr Creosote Killer Rabbit Other characters

Sketches	Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses Architects Argument Bruces Cheese Shop Colin "Bomber" Harris vs Colin "Bomber" Harris Crunchy Frog Dead Bishop Dead Parrot Dirty Fork Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook Election Night Special Fish Licence Fish-Slapping Dance Four Yorkshiremen The Funniest Joke in the World How Not to Be Seen Kilimanjaro Expedition Lifeboat Marriage Guidance Counsellor Ministry of Silly Walks Mouse Problem Nudge Nudge Patient Abuse Philosophers' Football Match Piranha Brothers Ron Obvious Sam Peckinpah's "Salad Days" Seduced Milkmen Self Defence Against Fresh Fruit Spam Spanish Inquisition Bishop Undertakers Upper Class Twit of the Year Vocational Guidance Counsellor

Songs	"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" "Decomposing Composers" "Eric the Half-a-Bee" "Every Sperm Is Sacred" "Galaxy Song" "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio" "I Like Chinese" "I've Got Two Legs" "Knights of the Round Table" "The Lumberjack Song" "Never Be Rude to an Arab" "Oliver Cromwell" "Penis Song (Not the Noel Coward Song)" "Bruces' Philosophers Song" "Sit on My Face"

Related articles	Mediagraphy The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album Do Not Adjust Your Set At Last the 1948 Show How to Irritate People Holy Flying Circus Rutland Weekend Television

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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python

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Mel Brooks
Brooks in April 2010
Birth name	Melvin Kaminsky
Born	(1926-06-28) June 28, 1926 (age 85) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Medium	Film Television Musical theatre
Nationality	American
Years active	1949–present
Genres	Farce, parody
Subject(s)	Comedy
Influences	George M. Cohan Jack Benny Bob Hope Harry Ritz Fred Astaire Gene Kelly
Influenced	Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Andy Samberg
Spouse	Florence Baum (1953-62, divorced), 3 children Anne Bancroft (1964-2005, her death), 1 child (Max Brooks)
Notable works and roles	The Producers Blazing Saddles Young Frankenstein, History of the World, Part 1

Academy Awards
Best Original Screenplay 1968 The Producers
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program 1967 The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris Special Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series 1997, 1998, 1999 Mad About You
Tony Awards
Best Musical 2001 The Producers Best Book of a Musical 2001 The Producers Best Original Score 2001 The Producers
Laurence Olivier Awards
Best New Musical 2005 The Producers
Grammy Awards
Best Spoken Comedy Album 1999 2000 Year Old Man Best Long Form Music Video 2002 Recording 'The Producers': A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks Best Musical Show Album 2002 The Producers
Saturn Award
Saturn Award for Best Direction 1975 Young Frankenstein Mel Brooks has won an Oscar, three Emmys, three grammys, three tonys, and has received four Golden Globe nominations.

Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky; June 28, 1926)^[1] is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows. He became well known as part of the comedy duo with Carl Reiner, The 2000 Year Old Man. In middle age he became one of the most successful film directors of the 1970s, with many of his films being among the top ten money makers of the year that they were released. His most well known films include The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the World, Part I and Spaceballs. More recently he has had a smash hit on Broadway with the musical adaptation of his first film, The Producers. He was married to the actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until her death in 2005.

Brooks is a member of the short list of entertainers with the distinction of having won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. Three of his films ranked in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 comedy films of all-time: Blazing Saddles at number 6, The Producers at number 11, and Young Frankenstein at number 13.^[2]

1 Early life
2 Career
3 Legacy
4 Personal life
5 Work
6 Rotten Tomatoes ratings
7 Collaborations
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links

Early life [link]

Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York, a son of Maximilian Kaminsky and his wife Kate (née Brookman).^[3] His father's family were German Jews from the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (the modern Polish port of Gdansk); his mother's family were Ukrainian Jews from Kiev.^[4] He had three older brothers, Irving, Lenny and Bernie. His father died of kidney disease when Brooks was only two years old.^[5] Brooks has said of his father's death that "there's an outrage there. I may be angry at God, or at the world, for that. And I'm sure a lot of my comedy is based on anger and hostility. Growing up in Williamsburg, I learned to clothe it in comedy to spare myself problems - like a punch in the face."^[6]

Brooks was a small, sickly boy who was often bullied and picked on by his classmates.^[7] He was taught by Buddy Rich (who had also grown up in Williamsburg) to learn how to play the drums and started earning money at it when he was fourteen.^[6] Following high school, he spent a year at Brooklyn College as a psychology major before being drafted into the army.^[6] He attended the Army Specialized Training Program^[8] conducted at the Virginia Military Institute^[9] (although not actually as a VMI cadet) and served in the United States Army as a corporal during World War II, arriving in France weeks after the Battle of the Bulge.^[10]

Career [link]

[edit] Early career and Your Show of Shows

After World War II, Brooks started working in various Borscht Belt resorts and nightclubs in the Catskill Mountains as a drummer and pianist. Around this time he changed his professional name to "Mel Brooks" after being confused with the well-known Borscht Belt trumpet player Max Kaminsky.^[6] After a regular comic at one of the nightclubs was too sick to perform one night, Brooks started working as a stand-up comic, telling jokes and doing movie-star impressions. He also began acting in summer stock in Redbank, New Jersey and did some radio work.^[6] He eventually worked his way up to the comically aggressive job of Tummler (master entertainer) at Grossinger's, one of the Borscht Belt most famous resorts.^[6]^[11]

Brooks found more rewarding work behind the scenes, becoming a comedy writer for television. In 1949 his friend Sid Caesar hired Brooks to write jokes for the NBC series The Admiral Broadway Revue, paying him $50 a week. In 1950, Caesar created the revolutionary variety comedy series Your Show of Shows and hired Brooks as a writer along with Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, and head writer Mel Tolkin.^[6] The show was an immediate hit and has been influential to all variety and sketch-comedy TV shows since. Carl Reiner, as creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show, based Morey Amsterdam's character Buddy Sorell on Brooks. Likewise the 1982 film My Favorite Year is loosely based on Brooks' experiences as a writer on the show and an encounter with aging Hollywood actor Errol Flynn. Neil Simon's 1993 play Laughter on the 23rd Floor is also loosely based on the production of the show, and the character Ira Stone is based on Brooks.

Your Show of Shows would end in 1954 when performer Imogene Coca left to host her own show. Caesar then created Caesar's Hour with most of the same cast and writers (including Brooks and adding Larry Gelbart). Caesar's Hour ran from 1954 until 1957.

In 1957 Brooks wrote the book for his first Broadway musical Shinbone Alley.

[edit] The 2000 Year Old Man and Get Smart

Brooks and co-writer Reiner had become fast friends and began to casually improvise comedy routines when they weren't working. Reiner would play the straight man interviewer who would set Brooks up as anything from a Tibetan Monk to an astronaut. As Reiner explained, "In the evening we'd go to a party and I'd pick a character for him to play. I never told him what it was going to be."^[6] On one of these occasions Reiner's suggestion was a 2000 Year Old Man who had witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (who "came in the store but never bought anything"), had been married several hundred times and had "over forty-two thousand children, and not one comes to visit me." At first Brooks and Reiner would only perform the routine for friends but by the late 1950s had gained a cult status in New York City. Kenneth Tynan saw the comedy duo perform at a party in 1959 and wrote that Brooks "was the most original comic improvisor I had ever seen."^[6]

In 1960, Brooks moved from New York to Hollywood. He and Reiner began performing the 2000 Year Old Man act on the Steve Allen Show. Their performances led to the release of the comedy album 2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks that sold over a million copies in 1961.^[6] They eventually expanded their routine with two more albums in 1961 and 1962, a revival in 1973, a 1975 animated TV special and a reunion album in 1998.

Brooks adapted the 2000 Year Old Man character to create the 2500 Year Old Brewmaster for Ballantine Beer in the 1960s. Interviewed by Dick Cavett in a series of ads, the Brewmaster (in a German accent, as opposed to the 2000 Year Old Man's Jewish voice) said he was inside the original Trojan horse and "could've used a six-pack of fresh air."^[12]

In 1962 Brooks wrote the Broadway musical All American. Brooks wrote the play with lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. The show starred Ray Bolger as a southern science Professor at a large university who uses the principles of engineering on the college's football team and the team begins to win games. The show was directed by Joshua Logan, who script doctored the second act and added a gay subtext to the plot. The show ran for 80 performances and received two Tony Award nominations.

In 1963 Brooks was involved in the animated short film The Critic, a satire of arty, esoteric cinema, conceived by Brooks and directed by Ernest Pintoff. Brooks supplied running commentary as the baffled moviegoer trying to make sense of the obscure visuals. The short film won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film.

In 1965, Brooks teamed up with comedy writer Buck Henry to create a comedic TV show about a bumbling James Bond inspired spy. Brooks explains, "I was sick of looking at all those nice sensible situation comedies. They were such distortions of life...I wanted to do a crazy, unreal comic-strip kind of thing about something besides a family. No one had ever done a show about an idiot before. I decided to be the first."^[13] The show that Brooks and Henry created was Get Smart, starring Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86. This series ran from 1965 until 1970, although Brooks was not involved with its production after the pilot episode.^[14] Get Smart was highly rated for most of its production and won seven Emmy Awards,^[15] including Outstanding Comedy Series in 1968 and 1969.

Brooks had married actress Anne Bancroft in 1964 and the two lived together in New York City.

Early career as a film director [link]

For several years Brooks had been toying with a bizarre and unconventional idea about a musical comedy of Adolf Hitler. Brooks explored the idea as a novel and a play before finally writing a script.^[6] Eventually he was able to find two producers to fund the show, Joseph E. Levine and Sidney Glazier, and made his first feature film, The Producers, in 1968. The film starred Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn, Kenneth Mars, Christopher Hewett, Andréas Voutsinas and Lee Meredith with music by John Morris.

The Producers begins when Max Bialystock (Mostel), a once-successful Broadway producer who whores himself out to elderly women in order to make ends meet and produce plays, meets Leo Bloom (Wilder), a lonely and hyper-hysterical accountant. While Leo is looking over Max's books, he realizes that a producer could make more money producing a flop than a hit simply by raising more money than needed and then ensuring the play would not make any profits to pay back the backers. Max and Leo search for the worst play ever written, which turns out to be Springtime for Hitler by Franz Liebkind (Mars). The play is described as "a gay romp with Adolph and Eva through Berchtesgaden". It turns into a musical comedy under Max and Leo's leadership. After assembling an equally abysmal director, Roger De Bris (Hewett), and a brain-dead hippie to play Hitler (Shawn), Max and Leo expect to become rich with the anticipated flop. However, the audience interprets the play as a satire making it a huge comedic hit. Not wanting to go to jail, Max, Leo and Franz decide to blow up the theater but are caught in the explosion and sentenced to prison, where they promptly produce a musical revue using the prison inmates.^[6]

The Producers was so brazen in its satire that major studios would not touch it, nor would many exhibitors. Brooks finally found an independent distributor who released it as an art film, a specialized attraction. In 1968 Brooks received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film beating such writers as Stanley Kubrick and John Cassavetes. The Producers became a smash underground hit, first on the nationwide college circuit, then in revivals and on home video. Brooks later turned it into a musical, which became hugely successful on Broadway receiving an unprecedented twelve Tony awards.

With the moderate financial success of the film The Producers, Glazier financed Brooks' next film in 1970, The Twelve Chairs. Loosely based on a Russian 1928 novel The Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Petrov about greedy materialism in post-Revolutionary Russia, the film stars Ron Moody, Frank Langella and Dom DeLuise as three men individually searching for a fortune in diamonds hidden in a set of twelve antique chairs. Brooks himself has a cameo as an alcoholic ex-serf who "yearns for the regular beatings of yesteryear." The film was shot in Yugoslavia with a budget of $1.5 million. The film received poor reviews and was not financially successful.^[6]

Success as a Hollywood director [link]

Brooks then wrote an adaptation of Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer, but was unable to sell the idea to any studio and believed that his career was over. In 1972 Brooks met agent David Begelman who helped him set up a deal with Warner Brothers to hire Brooks (as well as Richard Pryor, Andrew Bergman, Norman Steinberg and Al Uger) as a script doctor for an unproduced script called Tex-X. Eventually Brooks was hired as director for what would become Blazing Saddles, his third film.^[6]

Blazing Saddles starred Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Slim Pickens, Madeline Kahn, Alex Karras and Brooks himself with cameos by Dom DeLuise and Count Basie. The film had music by Brooks and John Morris and received a modest budget of $2.6 million. This film is a satire on the Western film genre and references older films such as Destry Rides Again, High Noon, Once Upon a Time in the West and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre as well as a surreal scene towards the end of the film referencing the extravagant musicals of Busby Berkeley.

In the film, the small town of Rock Ridge is in the pathway of the new railroad being built. In order to buy the land on the route more cheaply, the corrupt State Attorney General Hedley Lamarr (Korman) and the dim-witted State Governor (Brooks) plot to drive the townspeople out by appointing as their new sheriff a black man, Bart (Little). The racist townspeople are slow to accept Sheriff Bart, but with the help of the drunken ex-gunslinger the Waco Kid (Wilder) he is able to rid the town of all crime and problems and wins the people over. Realizing that they have to do something to destroy Bart's reputation, Lamarr sends the saloon singer Lili von Shtupp (Kahn) to seduce and corrupt Bart. However, she ends up falling in love with him, so as a final effort to drive the townspeople away, Lamarr organizes a raid to burn the town to the ground. But, under Bart's leadership, the townspeople are able to fight off Lamarr's men, and in the ensuing fight the film itself spills over into other films being shot on the Warner brother lot, such as a musical directed by the temperamental Dom DeLuise character. In the end the townspeople are saved and Sheriff Bart rides off into the sunset.

Upon its release, Blazing Saddles was the second highest grossing film, domestically, of 1974 earning $119.5 million worldwide. Despite mixed reviews, the film was a success with younger audiences. It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Madeline Kahn, Best Film Editing, and Best Music, Original Song. The film won the Writers Guild of America Award for "Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen"^[16] and in 2006 it was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.^[17] Brooks has said that the film "has to do with love more than anything else. I mean when that black guy rides into that Old Western town and even a little old lady says 'Up yours nigger!', you know that his heart is broken. So its really the story of that heart being mended."^[6]

When Gene Wilder replaced Gig Young as the Waco Kid, he did so only if Brooks agreed that his next film would be an idea that Wilder had been working on: a spoof of the old Universal Frankenstein films.^[18] After the filming of Blazing Saddles was completed, Wilder and Brooks began writing the script for Young Frankenstein and shot the film in the spring of 1974. It starred Wilder, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Teri Garr, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman and Kenneth Mars with Gene Hackman in a memorable cameo role. Composer John Morris again provided the music score and Universal Monsters film special effects veteran Kenneth Strickfaden worked on the film.

Young Frankenstein stars Wilder as the young American scientist Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced "Fronk-en-steen") who travels to Transylvania to visit his famous grandfather's castle and laboratory. With the help of hunchback servant Igor (Feldman), beautiful assistant Inga (Garr) and suspicious housekeeper Frau Blücher (Leachman), Frankenstein discovers his grandfather's notebooks and attempts to continue his work in reanimation. He builds his creation, the monster (Boyle) but Igor accidentally obtains an abnormal brain making the monster violent and uncontrollable. When the monster escapes, he terrorizes the countryside before Dr. Frankenstein can lure him back to the castle and civilize him, ending in a sophisticated and humorous rendition of Irving Berlin's "Puttin' on the Ritz". The monster's violent tendencies come back and he is put in jail by Inspector Kemp (Mars). In the meantime, Dr. Frankenstein has begun a relationship with Inga just before his insufferable fiance Elizabeth (Kahn) arrives at the castle. The monster escapes from jail, kidnaps Elizabeth and seduces her to her great satisfaction. Dr. Frankenstein is able to get the monster back again and attempts a dangerous experiment sharing part of his own brain with the monster, which succeeds in civilizing him. In the end Frankenstein and Inga are happily married, as are Elizabeth and the monster.

Young Frankenstein was the third highest grossing film domestically of 1974, just behind Blazing Saddles. It earned $86 million worldwide and received two Academy Award nominations: Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay and Academy Award for Best Sound. It received some of the best reviews of Brooks' career and even critic Pauline Kael liked the film, saying that "Brooks makes a leap up as a director because, although the comedy doesn't build, he carries the story through...Brooks even has a satisfying windup, which makes this just about the only comedy of recent years that doesn't collapse."^[6]

In 1975, at the height of his movie career, Brooks tried TV again with When Things Were Rotten, a Robin Hood parody that lasted only 13 episodes. Nearly twenty years later, in response to the 1991 hit film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Brooks mounted another Robin Hood parody with Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Brooks's film resurrected several pieces of dialog from his TV series, as well as from earlier Brooks films.

In 1976, Brooks followed up his two hit films with an audacious idea: the first feature-length silent comedy in four decades. Silent Movie was written by Brooks and Ron Clark, starring Brooks in his first leading role, Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Sid Caesar, Bernadette Peters and, in cameo roles playing themselves: Paul Newman, Burt Reynolds, James Caan, Liza Minnelli, Anne Bancroft and ironically, Marcel Marceau, who uttered the film's only word of audible dialogue: "Non!"

In the film Brooks plays Mel Funn, a recovered alcoholic and once successful director, who convinces the Chief of his studio (Caesar) that a silent film could still be profitable and will save the studio from being taken over by the evil conglomerate Engulf & Devour (a thinly disguised reference to Gulf+Western's takeover of Paramount Pictures). With help from his two assistants, DeLuise and Feldman, Funn enlists several well known movie stars to appear in the film thus assuring its success. Worried that Funn's success will prevent their takeover, Engulf & Devour send the sexy nightclub singer Vilma Kaplan (Peters) to seduce and distract Funn. But Kaplan and Funn fall in love with each other and Funn is able to complete the film. In the end the film is a hit with audiences.^[6]

Although not as successful as his previous two films, Silent Movie was a hit and grossed $36 million. Later that year Brooks was named number 5 on a list of the Top Ten Box Office Stars.^[6]

In 1977, Brooks made a parody of the films of Alfred Hitchcock in High Anxiety. The film was written by Brooks, Ron Clark, Rudy De Luca and Barry Levinson and was the first movie produced by Brooks himself. It starred Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman, Ron Carey, Howard Morris and Dick Van Patten. The film satirizes such Hitchcock classic films as Vertigo, Spellbound, Psycho, The Birds, North by Northwest, Dial M for Murder and Suspicion.

Brooks stars as Professor Richard H. (for Harpo) Thorndyke, a Nobel Prize winning psychologist who also happens to suffer from high anxiety. Thorndyke is appointed the director of the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, which also employs sadistic Nurse Diesel (Leachman) and masochistic Dr. Montague (Korman). Things at the hospital are not what they seem and as Thorndyke becomes increasingly suspicious of Diesel and Montague, he is approached by the mysterious Hitchcockian-blonde Victoria Brisbane (Kahn), whose father is a patient at the hospital. Thorndyke and Brisbane uncover a plot by Diesel and Montague to imprison wealthy patients for profit with Thorndyke framed for a murder. On the run as a Hitchcockian Wrong Man, Thorndyke is able to rescue Brisbane's father and clear himself of all crimes, marrying Brisbane in the end.^[6] The film was another modest hit for Brooks, earning $31 million and received mixed reviews.

Later film career [link]

Brooks in c. February 1984

By 1980, Siskel and Ebert called Mel Brooks and Woody Allen "the two most successful comedy directors in the world today ... America's two funniest filmmakers."^[19] That year, Brooks produced the dramatic film The Elephant Man (directed by David Lynch). Knowing that anyone seeing a poster reading "Mel Brooks presents The Elephant Man" would expect a comedy, he set up the company Brooksfilms. Brooksfilms has since produced a number of non-comedy films, including David Cronenberg's The Fly, Frances, and 84 Charing Cross Road, starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft, along with comedies, including Richard Benjamin's My Favorite Year, which was partially based on Mel Brooks' real life. Brooks sought to purchase the rights to 84 Charing Cross Road for his wife, Anne Bancroft for many years. He successfully obtained the rights to the movie and presented them to her as an anniversary gift.

In 1981 Brooks joked that the only genres that he had not spoofed were historical epics and Biblical spectacles.^[6] History of the World Part I was a tongue-in-cheek look at human culture from the Dawn of Man to the French Revolution. The film was written, produced and directed by Brooks with narration by Orson Welles. It starred Brooks, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Ron Carey, Gregory Hines, Mary-Margaret Humes, Pamela Stephenson, Spike Milligan, Sid Caesar and John Hurt.

The episodic film begins with "The Dawn of Man" starring Sid Caesar as a Caveman who discovers fire and music. Next it covers "The Old Testament" where Brooks plays a bumbling Moses who breaks one of God's tablets thus denying humans of 5 of the original 15 commandments. In "The Roman Emperor", Brooks plays a stand-up philosopher who, along with a Vestal Virgin (Humes) and a slave (Hines), gets into trouble with Emperor Nero (DeLuise) and Empress Nympho (Kahn) but they manage to escape unharmed. Eventually Brooks gets a job as the waiter at the Last Supper of Jesus (Hurt). In "The Spanish Inquisition", Brooks portrays the violent and tragic Inquisition of Jews as a grandiose Busby Berkeley-like musical number. In "The French Revolution" Brooks plays both King Louis and the King's look-a-like "piss boy". He manages to help Mademoiselle Rimbaud (Stephenson) save her father (Milligan) from prison. The film's final section, "Coming Attractions", is a fake trailer for the sequel to the film and includes "Hitler on Ice" and "Jews in Space".

This film was another modest financial hit, earning $31 million. It received mixed critical reviews. Critic Pauline Kael, who for years had been critical of Brooks, said "Either you get stuck thinking about the bad taste or you let yourself laugh at the obscenity in the humor as you do Bunuel's perverse dirty jokes."^[6]

As part of the film's soundtrack, Brooks, then aged 55, recorded a rap entitled "It's Good to Be the King", a parody of Louis XVI and the French Revolution. It was released as a single and became a surprise dance hit in the United States.

In 1983 Brooks produced and starred in (but did not write or direct) a remake of the classic 1942 Ernst Lubitsch film. To Be or Not to Be was directed by Alan Johnson and starred Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Tim Matheson, Jose Ferrer and Christopher Lloyd. The film was not a financial success, earning only $13 million.

The film spawned a highly controversial single that was featured as part of the film's soundtrack album (although not in the film itself) - "To Be Or Not To Be" (The Hitler Rap). The song - satirizing German society in the 1940s with Brooks playing Hitler - was an unlikely hit, peaking at #12 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1984 and #3 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) that same year.

The second movie Brooks directed in the 80s came in 1987 in the form of Spaceballs, a parody of science fiction, mainly Star Wars. The film starred Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, Joan Rivers, Dom DeLuise and Brooks himself.

In the 1990s Brooks directed Life Stinks in 1991, Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and Dracula: Dead and Loving It in 1995. Life Stinks was a financial and critical failure, but is notable as being the only film that Brooks directed that is neither a parody nor a film about other films or theater (The Twelve Chairs was a parody of the original novel). It is also notable as being Brooks' last leading role in a film (as of 2011). Gene Siskel put Robin Hood: Men in Tights on his "Worst of 1993" list, saying that Brooks has "clearly lost his way" in comedy.

Brooks also had a vocal role in the 2005 animated film Robots. He then worked on an animated series sequel to Spaceballs called Spaceballs: The TV Series, which premiered on September 21, 2008 on G4 TV.

Musicals [link]

One of his most recent successes has been the transference of his film The Producers to the Broadway stage. The show broke the Tony record with 12 wins, a record that had previously been held for 37 years by Hello, Dolly! at 10 wins. Such success has translated to a big-screen version of the Broadway adaptation/remake with actors Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane reprising their stage roles, in addition to new cast members Uma Thurman and Will Ferrell. In early April 2006, Brooks began composing the score to a Broadway musical adaptation of Young Frankenstein, which he says is "perhaps the best movie [he] ever made." The world premiere was performed at Seattle's most historic theater (originally built as a movie palace), The Paramount Theater, between August 7, 2007, and September 1, 2007 after which it opened on Broadway at the former Foxwoods Theater (then the Hilton Theater), New York, on October 11, 2007. It earned mixed reviews from the critics.

Brooks joked about the concept of a musical adaptation of Blazing Saddles in the final number in Young Frankenstein, in which the full company sings, "next year, Blazing Saddles!" In 2010, Mel Brooks confirmed this, saying that the musical could be finished within a year. No creative team or plan has been announced.^[20]

Legacy [link]

Brooks in April 2010

Brooks is one of the few artists who have received an Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy. He was awarded his first Grammy for Best Spoken Comedy Album in 1999 for his recording of The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000 with Carl Reiner. His two other Grammys came in 2002 for Best Musical Show Album for the soundtrack of The Producers and for Best Long Form Music Video for the DVD "Recording the Producers - A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks". He won his first of four Emmy awards in 1967 for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety for a Sid Caesar special and went on to win three consecutive Emmys in 1997, 1998, and 1999 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role of Uncle Phil on Mad About You. He won his three Tony awards in 2001 for his work on the musical, The Producers for Best Musical, Best Original Musical Score, and Best Book of a Musical. Additionally, he won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Young Frankenstein. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted #50 of the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Three of Brooks's films are on the American Film Institute's list of funniest American films: Blazing Saddles (#6), The Producers (#11), and Young Frankenstein (#13).

Brooks developed a repertory company of sorts for his film work: performers with three or more of Brooks' films (The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World: Part I, Spaceballs, Life Stinks, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Dracula: Dead and Loving It) to their credit include Gene Wilder, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Ron Carey, Dick Van Patten and Andréas Voutsinas. Dom DeLuise appeared in six of Brooks's 11 original films, the only person with more appearances being Brooks himself.

Brooks and his wife Anne Bancroft acted together in Silent Movie and To Be or Not to Be and Bancroft also had a bit part in the 1995 film Dracula: Dead and Loving It. Years later, the couple appeared as themselves in the fourth season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, spoofing the finale of The Producers. It is reported that Bancroft encouraged Brooks (after an idea suggested by David Geffen) to take The Producers to Broadway where it became an enormous success.

In interviews broadcast on WABC radio, Brooks has discussed with NYC radio personality Mark Simone the possibilities of turning other works from his creative oeuvre (such as the movie Blazing Saddles) into future musical productions. Specifically, in a conversation airing March 1, 2008, he and Simone speculated on what show tunes might be incorporated into a theatrical adaptation of the Get Smart property.

On December 5, 2009 Brooks was one of five recipients of the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.^[21]

On April 23, 2010 Brooks was awarded the 2,406th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[22]

Personal life [link]

Brooks with wife Anne Bancroft at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.

Mel with son Max Brooks in April 2010

Brooks was married to Florence Baum from 1953 to 1962. Their marriage ended in divorce. Mel and Florence had three children, Stephanie, Nicky, and Eddie.^{[citation needed]}

Brooks was married to the actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until her death from uterine cancer on June 6, 2005. They met at a rehearsal for the Perry Como Variety Show in 1961 and married three years later, August 5, at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau. Their son, Max Brooks, was born in 1972. In 2010, Brooks credited Bancroft as being the guiding force behind his involvement in developing The Producers and Young Frankenstein for the musical theater, citing an early meeting as "From that day, until her death on June 5, 2005, we were glued together."^[23]

Work [link]

Brooks at the White House for the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors

Writer/director [link]

The Producers (1968) (Academy Award, best original screenplay)
The Twelve Chairs (1970) (also actor)
Blazing Saddles (1974) (also actor)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Silent Movie (1976) (also actor)
High Anxiety (1977) (also actor/producer)
History of the World, Part I (1981) (also actor/producer)
Spaceballs (1987) (also actor/producer)
Life Stinks (1991) (also actor/producer)
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) (also actor/producer)
Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) (also actor/producer)

Theatre [link]

Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952 (1952) (sketches for a revue)
Shinbone Alley (1957) (co-book-writer)
All-American (1962) (book-writer)
The Producers (2001) (composer, lyricist, co-book-writer, producer; Tony Award for Best Musical, Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, Tony Award for Best Original Score, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical)
Young Frankenstein (2007) (composer, lyricist, co-book-writer, producer)

Other credits [link]

Your Show of Shows (TV) (1950–1954) (writer)
New Faces of 1952 (Broadway) (1952) (writer) and "New Faces", the 1954 film version (writer)
The Critic (created and narrated, won Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film) (1963)
Get Smart (TV) (1965–1970) (co-creator, writer)
The Electric Company (TV) (1971–1977) (voice of recurring little cartoon man who asks: "Who's the dummy writing this show?!")
Hollywood Squares (1972) (Guest star)
When Things Were Rotten (1975) (co-created, writer)
The Muppet Movie (1979) (Special Guest Star-Mad Scientist Professor Max Krassman)
The Elephant Man (1980) (uncredited executive producer)
To Be or Not to Be (1983) (actor, producer)
The Fly (1986) (uncredited producer)
The Fly II (1989) (uncredited producer)
The Nutt House (1989) (co-creator)
The Tracey Ullman Show (1990) (actor-Buzz Schlanger)
Look Who's Talking Too (1990) (voice of Mr. Toilet Man)
Frasier (1993) (voice of Tom)
The Little Rascals (1994) (actor-Mr. Welling)
Silence of the Hams (1994) (actor-Checkout Guest)
The Simpsons (1995, "Homer vs. Patty and Selma") (voice-himself)
Caesar's Writers (1996) (himself, panel member)^[24]
Mad About You (TV) (1996–1999) (actor-Uncle Phil)
The Prince of Egypt (1998) (uncredited, additional voices)
Svitati (AKA Screw Loose) (1999) (actor-Jake Gordon)
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) (voice of Joe Snow)
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: Season 2 (2003) (voice of Santa Claus)
Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks (2003–2007) (voice of Wiley the Sheep)
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 4 (2004) (actor)
Robots (2005) (voice of Bigweld)
The Producers (2005) (writer, producer, cameo as himself)
Spaceballs: The Animated Series (2008) (writer, producer, voice)
Get Smart (2008) (Consultant)
The 2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History (2009) DVD ^[25]
The Wizard of Oz (2012) (actor-The Wizard of Oz)^{[citation needed]}

Rotten Tomatoes ratings [link]

Film	All Critics	Top Critics	Audience
The Producers	93%^[26]	90%^[26]	82%^[26]
The Twelve Chairs	92%^[27]	N/A^[27]	62%^[27]
Blazing Saddles	89%^[28]	80%^[28]	89%^[28]
Young Frankenstein	94%^[29]	N/A^[29]	91%^[29]
Silent Movie	89%^[30]	N/A^[30]	65%^[30]
High Anxiety	74%^[31]	N/A^[31]	66%^[31]
History of the World, Part I	62%^[32]	N/A^[32]	80%^[32]
Spaceballs	54%^[33]	33%^[33]	80%^[33]
Life Stinks	20%^[34]	N/A^[34]	44%^[34]
Robin Hood: Men in Tights	48%^[35]	N/A^[35]	79%^[35]
Dracula: Dead and Loving It	09%^[36]	20%^[36]	52%^[36]
Average	66%	56%	72%

Collaborations [link]

	The Producers	Twelve Chairs	Blazing Saddles	Young Frankenstein	Silent Movie	High Anxiety	History of the World, Part I	Spaceballs	Life Stinks	Robin Hood: Men in Tights	Dracula: Dead and Loving It
Carol Arthur			N		N					N	N
Anne Bancroft			N		N						N
Mark Blankfield										N	N
Mel Brooks		N	N		N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Sid Caesar					N		N
Charlie Callas					N	N	N				N
Ron Carey					N	N	N
Megan Cavanagh										N	N
Ron Clark					N	N			N
Dom DeLuise		N	N		N		N	N		N
Liam Dunn			N	N	N
Marty Feldman				N	N
Sandy Helberg						N	N	N
John Hurt							N	N
Madeline Kahn			N	N		N	N
Harvey Korman			N			N	N				N
Cloris Leachman				N		N	N
Barry Levinson					N	N	N
Rudy De Luca					N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Kenneth Mars	N			N
John Morris	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Howard Morris						N	N		N
Dick Van Patten						N		N		N
Robert Ridgely			N			N			N	N
Andréas Voutsinas	N	N					N
Albert Whitlock						N	N
Gene Wilder	N		N	N
Amy Yasbeck										N	N

References [link]

^ Parish, pp. 16–17
^ AFI's list
^ "Mel Brooks Biography (1926-)" at Filmreference.com
^ Mel Brooks is on a roll. As his hit revival of The Producers comes to London
^ "A Mel Brooks Fan Site :: Print :: Adelina Magazine Feb 1980". Brookslyn. http://www.brookslyn.com/print/Adelina1980/Adelina1980.php/kidney. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u Wakeman, John. World Film Directors, Volume 2. The H. W. Wilson Company. 1988. 162-167.
^ "A Mel Brooks Fan Site :: Print :: Adelina Magazine Feb 1980". Brookslyn. http://www.brookslyn.com/print/Adelina1980/Adelina1980.php. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
^ "ASTP Program and Roster, World War II, VMI." (PDF). http://www.vmi.edu/uploadedFiles/Archives/Records/World_War_II_ASTP/ASTPRoster.pdf. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
^ Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday (2008-05-24). "Mel Brooks Blazes Wacky Trail". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=90801438. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
^ These Guys Served?! Who Knew?
^ "8/15/01: Lost Issue Mel Brooks Interview 1997". Filmscoremonthly.com. http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/2001/15_Aug---Lost_Issue_Mel_Brooks_Interview.asp. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
^ Mel Brooks Interviewed in Playboy, 1966
^ "Smart Money". Time. October 15, 1965. http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,834525,00.html. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
^ IMDb
^ Mel Brooks Emmy Nominated
^ Awards for Blazing Saddles (1974)
^ Awards for Blazing Saddles at the Internet Movie Database
^ "Blazing Saddles (1974) - Trivia - IMDb". IMDb.com, Inc.. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/trivia. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
^ Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert (1980-05-01). "Take 2: Who's Funnier: Mel Brooks or Woody Allen?". Sneak Previews. season 4. Chicago. PBS.
^ Back on the Horse: Mel Brooks Penning Songs for Blazing Saddles Musical
^ Mel Brooks laughs his way to Kennedy Center honor - washingtonpost.com
^ "Mel Brooks gets Hollywood Walk of Fame star". MSN. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36744614/ns/entertainment-celebrities.
^ Carucci, John (2010-03-03). "Brooks recalls Anne Bancroft as wife, collaborator". San Francisco Chronicle.
^ Caesar's Writers | About
^ LA Times revue
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Producers". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1016819-producers/. Retrieved 05-11-2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Twelve Chairs". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1022170-twelve_chairs/. Retrieved 05-11-2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Blazing Saddles". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blazing_saddles/. Retrieved 05-11-2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Young Frankenstein". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/young_frankenstein/. Retrieved 05-11-2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Silent Movie". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/silent_movie/. Retrieved 05-11-2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "High Anxiety". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/high_anxiety/. Retrieved 05-11-2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "History of the World, Part I". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/history_of_the_world_part_1/. Retrieved 05-11-2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Spaceballs". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spaceballs/. Retrieved 05-11-2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Life Stinks". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/life_stinks/. Retrieved 05-11-2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Robin Hood: Men in Tights". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/robin_hood_men_in_tights/. Retrieved 05-11-2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Dracula: Dead and Loving It". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dracula_dead_and_loving_it/. Retrieved 05-11-2011.

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mel Brooks

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks at the Internet Broadway Database
Mel Brooks at the Internet Movie Database
Mel Brooks - Box Office Data Movie Director at The Numbers
Mel Brooks - Box Office Data Movie Star at The Numbers
"The Films of Mel Brooks", video compilation of film clips, 5 minutes
Interview with Brooks on NPR's Fresh Air (March 16, 2005)
TonyAwards.com Interview with Mel Brooks at Tony Awards site
Interview with Mel Brooks biographer James Robert Parish
Photographs and literature
Mel Brooks at Emmys.com

Awards for Mel Brooks

v t e Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) (1961–1980)

William Inge (1961) Ennio de Concini, Pietro Germi and Alfredo Giannetti (1962) James Webb (1963) Peter Stone and Frank Tarloff (1964) Frederic Raphael (1965) Claude Lelouch and Pierre Uytterhoeven (1966) William Rose (1967) Mel Brooks (1968) William Goldman (1969) Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North (1970) Paddy Chayefsky (1971) Jeremy Larner (1972) David S. Ward (1973) Robert Towne (1974) Frank Pierson (1975) Paddy Chayefsky (1976) Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman (1977) Robert C. Jones, Waldo Salt and Nancy Dowd (1978) Steve Tesich (1979) Bo Goldman (1980)

Complete list (1940–1960) (1961–1980) (1981–2000) (2001–2020)

v t e Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical (2001–2025)

Mel Brooks/Thomas Meehan (2001) Mark O'Donnell/Thomas Meehan (2003) Winnie Holzman (2004) Rachel Sheinkin (2005) Bob Martin/Don McKellar (2006) Rupert Holmes/Peter Stone (2007) Douglas Carter Beane (2008) Lee Hall (2009) Alex Timbers (2010) Adam Mathias (2010)

Complete list (1970–1975) (1976–2000) (2001–2025)

v t e Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics (2001–2025)

Mel Brooks (2001) Scott Wittman/Marc Shaiman (2003) Stephen Schwartz (2004) Eric Idle (2005) Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison (2006) Steven Sater (2007) Stew and Heidi Rodewald (2008) Stephen Sondheim (2009) John Kander & Fred Ebb (2010)

Complete list (1969–1975) (1976–2000) (2001–2025)

v t e Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program (1957–1969)

1957 Billy Friedberg Nat Hiken Coleman Jacoby Arnold Rosen Leonard Stern Tony Webster 1958–1963 No award 1964 Sam Denoff Bill Persky Carl Reiner 1965 No award 1966 Hal Goldman Al Gordon Sheldon Keller 1967 Mel Brooks Sam Denoff Bill Persky Carl Reiner Mel Tolkin 1968 Chris Bearde Phil Hahn Jack Hanrahan Coslough Johnson Paul Keyes Marc London Allan Manings David Panich Hugh Wedlock Digby Wolfe 1969 Allan Blye Bob Einstein Carl Gottlieb Cy Howard Steve Martin Jerry Music Murray Roman Cecil Tuck Paul Wayne Mason Williams

Complete list (1957–1969) (1970–1979) (1980–1989) (1990–1999) (2000–2009) (2010–2019)

v t e Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series (1986–2000)

Roscoe Lee Browne (1986) John Cleese (1987) Cleavon Little (1989) Jay Thomas (1990) Jay Thomas (1991) David Clennon (1993) Martin Sheen (1994) Carl Reiner (1995) Tim Conway (1996) Mel Brooks (1997) Mel Brooks (1998) Mel Brooks (1999) Bruce Willis (2000)

Complete list (1986–2000) (2001– )

v t e Nebula Award for Best Script/Bradbury Award (1973–2000)

Nebula Award for Best Script	Soylent Green – Stanley R. Greenberg (1973) Sleeper – Woody Allen (1974) Young Frankenstein – Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder (1975) Star Wars (1977) The Sixth Sense – M. Night Shyamalan (1999) Galaxy Quest – David Howard & Robert Gordon (2000)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation	Terminator 2: Judgment Day – James Cameron (1992) Babylon 5 – J. Michael Straczynski (1999)

Complete list (1973–2000) (2001–present)

v t e Saturn Award for Best Director (1974–1990)

Mel Brooks (1974/75) Dan Curtis (1976) George Lucas/Steven Spielberg (1977) Philip Kaufman (1978) Ridley Scott (1979) Irvin Kershner (1980) Steven Spielberg (1981) Nicholas Meyer (1982) John Badham (1983) Joe Dante (1984) Ron Howard (1985) James Cameron (1986) Paul Verhoeven (1987) Robert Zemeckis (1988) James Cameron (1989/90)

Complete list (1974–1990) (1991–2010) (2011–present)

v t e Tony Award for Best Original Score (2001–2025)

The Producers by Mel Brooks (2001) Urinetown by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis (2002) Hairspray by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (2003) Avenue Q by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (2004) The Light in the Piazza by Adam Guettel (2005) The Drowsy Chaperone by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison (2006) Spring Awakening by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater (2007) In the Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda (2008) Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (2009) Memphis by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro (2010) The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone (2011)

Complete list (1947–1975) (1976–2000) (2001–2025)

v t e Kennedy Center Honorees (2000s)

2000	Mikhail Baryshnikov Chuck Berry Plácido Domingo Clint Eastwood Angela Lansbury

2001	Julie Andrews Van Cliburn Quincy Jones Jack Nicholson Luciano Pavarotti

2002	James Earl Jones James Levine Chita Rivera Paul Simon Elizabeth Taylor

2003	James Brown Carol Burnett Loretta Lynn Mike Nichols Itzhak Perlman

2004	Warren Beatty Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee Elton John Joan Sutherland John Williams

2005	Tony Bennett Suzanne Farrell Julie Harris Robert Redford Tina Turner

2006	Zubin Mehta Dolly Parton Smokey Robinson Steven Spielberg Andrew Lloyd Webber

2007	Leon Fleisher Steve Martin Diana Ross Martin Scorsese Brian Wilson

2008	Morgan Freeman George Jones Barbra Streisand Twyla Tharp Pete Townshend & Roger Daltrey

2009	Mel Brooks Dave Brubeck Grace Bumbry Robert De Niro Bruce Springsteen

complete list 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s

v t e Mel Brooks

Feature films	The Producers (1968) The Twelve Chairs (1970) Blazing Saddles (1974) Young Frankenstein (1974) Silent Movie (1976) High Anxiety (1977) History of the World, Part I (1981) Spaceballs (1987) Life Stinks (1991) Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)

Productions	The Elephant Man (1980) To Be or Not to Be (1983) The Fly (1986) 84 Charing Cross Road (1987) The Producers (2005) Get Smart (2008)

Television programs	Get Smart When Things Were Rotten Spaceballs: The Animated Series

Broadway productions	Shinbone Alley All-American The Producers (2001) Young Frankenstein (2007)

Collaborators	Anne Bancroft Rudy De Luca Dom DeLuise Marty Feldman Madeline Kahn Harvey Korman Cloris Leachman Kenneth Mars Carl Reiner Gene Wilder Peter Boyle

Persondata
Name	Brooks, Mel
Alternative names	Kaminsky, Melvin
Short description	American director, writer, actor, and producer
Date of birth	June 28, 1926
Place of birth	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Date of death
Place of death

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Brooks

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Playlist

Film Summary

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Contents

[edit] Expulsion of Jews and repression of conversos

[edit] The autos-da-fé

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Contents

[edit] Before Flying Circus

[edit] Monty Python's Flying Circus

[edit] End of Flying Circus

[edit] Life after the Flying Circus

[edit] And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)

[edit] Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)

[edit] Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)

[edit] Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982)

[edit] Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

[edit] Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows

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Contents

[edit] Early career and Your Show of Shows

[edit] The 2000 Year Old Man and Get Smart

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