On his deathbed in Veracruz, Mexico, a man accused his acquaintance of this act of blasphemy: 窶�Usar dentro de los Zapatos, unas Ymagenes que le parecieron de Santos.窶�&ｲﾔｲ�ｲ�ｱ�;

The accusation, translated from the Spanish: 窶弑sing in his shoes certain images that appeared to be saints.窶�

The year was 1778, when putting printed images of saints, known as estampas, inside your shoes could get you swept up in the Spanish Inquisition, the tribunal established to root out and punish acts of heresy throughout the Spanish Empire.

Running from 1478 to 1834, the Inquisition operated through fear and ruthless efficiency, at least according to Monty Python, prosecuting an estimated 150,000 people for various offenses and executing between 3,000 and 5,000.

Now, thanks to a first-of-its-kind website co-founded by ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ Professor of History Karen Melvin, you can read all about the inquisition of Don Miguel de Zaragoza, an 18th-century silversmith accused of wearing unsensible shoes, as well as other cases of the Spanish Inquisition.

The website, Reading the Spanish Inquisition, is distinctive for : images of original Inquisition documents; text transcriptions into Spanish; and English text translations prepared by scholars. 

While there窶冱 no shortage of Inquisition source materials 窶� cases were recorded in meticulous, handwritten detail, and original documents can be found in libraries and archives worldwide 窶� complete English translations are 窶彷ew and far between,窶� says Melvin.

She knows of no single resource that offers all three: images, transcriptions, and translations. 窶弩e窶决e the only game in town.窶�

As the saying goes, necessity was the mother of this invention. Melvin, who teaches a ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ course on Inquisition, recalls comparing notes with a colleague at Boston College, Professor of History Sylvia Sellers-Garcﾃｭa, who also teaches the subject. 

They both identified a 窶徨eal shortage of English language material for students,窶� says Melvin. That led to a collaboration that produced Reading the Spanish Inquisition. 窶廬t came directly out of teaching needs, to make more material available for students.窶�

The website窶冱 initial set of images, transcriptions, and translations are drawn from Mexican Inquisition papers preserved at the Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif. Meanwhile, the site窶冱 functionality, look, and feel was developed by the 窶徼alented and patient folks窶� in two ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ offices within the college’s Information and Library Services devision, says Melvin: Curricular and Research Computing, and Systems Development and Integration.

Doing the initial transcription and translations were Melvin, Sellers-Garcﾃｭa, and others, including one of Melvin窶冱 former students, Cristopher Hernandez Sifontes 窶�18. The process is 窶忻ery labor intensive,窶� she says. 窶弩e manually do the transcriptions, and manually do the translations.窶�&ｲﾔｲ�ｲ�ｱ�;

Going forward, Melvin hopes the site can crowdsource transcriptions and translations from historians, and the site is set up to .

Through the case of , readers can learn fascinating details of daily life in 18th-century Mexico that hint at the all-encompassing, sometimes fanatical nature of the Inquisition in Spanish society. Even for those who don窶冲 read Spanish, the document images are compelling: the various Inquisition officials窶� signatures are written with a great flourish, known as a rubric.

In Mexico as elsewhere in the Spanish Empire, the tribunal that carried out inquisitions had a few key figures. Zaragoza窶冱 case was typical. It was heard by the local 窶彡ommissary,窶� like a commissioner, in Veracruz. A 窶彷iscal窶� prosecuted the case. Everything was recorded 窶� written down, that is 窶� by a notary.

After hearing the deathbed confession, the priest immediately took it to the local inquisitor.

Three witnesses called to testify against the silversmith, who apparently was not a well-liked man, nor particularly handsome. He had an 窶彿ll-kempt beard,窶� 窶彗n average mouth with a few teeth missing,窶� and 窶彗 high-pitched voice, with evidence of a carbuncle on his forehead that is still healing.窶�

It was said that Zaragoza 窶彭oes not fulfill his Easter Duty窶� and that 窶徙ver the slightest matter he would burst out in blasphemies窶� and 窶彿s so foul-mouthed that many consider him a Freemason.窶� (Even the suspicion of Freemasonry was potentially a capital offence during the Spanish Inquisition.)

Another said that Zaragoza 窶徘rays with his hands behind him so that the Rosary falls over his posterior, and he stands this way until completing it.窶�&ｲﾔｲ�ｲ�ｱ�;

Another, a fellow silversmith said that when the bells of the local church rang, Zaragoza would let out a curse: 窶廛amn the bells and whoever has them rung!窶� The witness said that Zaragoza called friars 窶徨ogues窶� who 窶徼ake the habit in order to assure themselves of a meal.窶� And Zaragoza would tease the silversmith, telling the man he should spend more time with his wife than worshipping Jesus.

All in all, besides wearing shoes with saints on them, Zaragoza was accused of 窶彙lasphemies, disparagement of pious acts, cult, and veneration of the image of Our Lord Jesus Christ Crucified.窶�

The silversmith was lucky. On Oct. 22, 1778, the fiscal recommended suspending the trial, ruling that 窶徼here are not sufficient merits to pursue this case until more proof is presented.窶�&ｲﾔｲ�ｲ�ｱ�;(The trial record doesn’t say what Zaragaza said in his defense, or if he was interrogated, though one witness testified that Zaragoza said the images were Prussian.)

Melvin has reason to be optimistic that scholars will contribute to the site. As she notes, regardless of whether a historian specializes in the Inquisition (Melvin窶冱 own current research looks at alms collection networks in the early modern Catholic world), it窶冱 not uncommon for historians 窶徼o have a case or two in their teaching arsenal,窶� she says.

That窶冱 because, for teachers, Inquisition cases are 窶徘roblematically rich.窶� That窶冱 a good thing for students, who can learn about a treasure trove of complex topics with enduring historical relevance: religion, gender, anti-Semitism, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, among others.

In popular culture, the Spanish Inquisition has proven also to be comedically rich. Exactly 50 years ago, Michael Palin kicked off a now-famous Monty Python skit with the line, 窶廸obody expects the Spanish Inquisition!窶�&ｲﾔｲ�ｲ�ｱ�;

And though Python plays the Inquisition for laughs (the skit’s inept inquisitors torture a woman with soft cushions), our contemporary understanding of the Inquisition is pretty much how Palin窶冱 Cardinal Ximﾃｩnez clumsily states it: all about 窶彷ear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the pope, and nice red uniforms.窶�

窶弩e try to address the Inquisition stereotype in the class,窶� says Melvin, because it 窶徃oes against a lot of recent scholarship. For example, there were only three tribunals in all of the Spanish Americas, in Mexico City, Lima, and Cartagena, and how active they were varied.窶�

Early in her course, Melvin does mention the Python skit to her students. 窶彜ome have heard of it,窶� she says. 窶彜ome think it窶冱 funny 窶� it窶冱 not unknown.窶�

ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ has announced faculty promotions, including tenure awards and full professorships, effective for the 2017窶�18 academic year.

“Our newly tenured and promoted faculty are exemplars of the scholar-teacher-mentor ideal,” said Matthew Auer, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. “They areﾂ�leaders in their disciplines, deeply engaged in our community, and focused on the success of their students with sincerity and purpose.”

Recommended by the faculty’s Committee on Personnel and approved by the ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College Board of Trustees, the promotions have been awarded to faculty members in the fields of education, French and francophone studies, history, neuroscience, politics, and psychology.

Meet the seven newly promoted professors, learn their research fields, and discover why they teach:

Promotions to associate professor with tenure

+Jason Castro

Jason Castro has been promoted to associate professor of neuroscience at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

+Caroline Shaw

Caroline Shaw has been promoted to associate professor of history at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

+Mara Tieken

Mara Tieken has been promoted to associate professor of education at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

Promotions to full professor

+ﾃ《laug ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir

ﾃ《laug ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir has been promoted to professor of politics at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Josh Kuckens/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

+Helen Boucher

Helen Boucher has been promoted to professor of psychology at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Josh Kuckens/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

+Alex Dauge-Roth

Alex Dauge-Roth has been promoted to professor of French and francophone studies at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

+Karen Melvin

Karen Melvin has been promoted to professor of history at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Ryan Donnell for ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)