The inquisition in Malta (12) : no love lost (part one)

Abstract

For well over two whole centuries (1575 - 1798), the very mention of the Inquisitor provoked a sense of dread among the Maltese. They very rarely identified him by his real name; but they knew perfectly well that he was there to follow their steps in case of offences against the Christian Faith . Each phase of the Inquisition 's trial has widely proved the Inquisitor's sense of duty. Besides, in many cases, he was expected to follow the condemned person even after the deliverance of a sentence. Each sentence had to be duly executed. In case of a capital sentence, the Inquisitor made himself sure that the sentence be executed without any variation. A person condemned to die remained under the control of the Inquisitor up to the last moment of his life. Supplimentary punishments were strictly prohibited. In some countries, pre-death punishments, such as the disgorging of eyes, dismemberment, and other atrocities, had become commonplace. But whenever a heretic was handed to the civil authority, the Inquisitor paid attention that the penalty be death only and directly.