Records of the Spanish Inquisition, Translated from the Original Manuscripts

This volume brings listeners a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Spanish Inquisition through documents rescued from the vaults of Barcelona in the fervent days of the 1820 liberal uprising. Translated from the original manuscripts, the pages reveal the meticulous procedures, accusations, and interrogations that defined the tribunal’s grip on society. The editor’s introduction places the records in the turbulent context of a city rebelling against royalist authority, offering a vivid backdrop for the legal drama that unfolds.

When a crowd of twenty‑thousand citizens stormed the Inquisitorial Palace, its grim dungeons were thrown open and the sealed archives spilled onto the streets. The ensuing scramble released prisoners, and eventually placed these papers in the hands of a traveling scholar who sent them to Boston. Listeners will hear the raw language of the inquisitors and the desperate pleas of the accused, a stark portrait of an institution that shaped faith, fear, and power in medieval and early‑modern Spain.