LJ Idol - Topic 11 - Sexual Healing, Through Fire

[aggienaut]

   Zaragoza, Spain, 1573 – Rochella Morell struggled against the wooden post she was chained to, as the flames around her licked higher. The jeering crowds around faded completely from her attention – she had more immediate concerns.
   Rodrigo de Ruy watched the flames with satisfaction. It was a pleasant warm evening. In the middle of the square thirty-six bonfires crackled happily. At this point they were still small, and the heretics tied to a post in the centre of each one were still largely unaffected. Some of them cried out repenting their sins, others proudly and unrepentently declared them, many just cried out, and some were stubbornly silent. The flames danced steadily higher and closer to the condemned as they squirmed uselessly.

   Auto de fé -- Meaning “act of faith” – synonymous with burning at the stake. The ceremony of the Auto de fé was intended to reconcile the otherwise unreconcileable with the The Church. Typically it consisted of an entire day of processions, masses, and other official activities. This would typically take place on a holiday, and the spectacle would culminate with burning at the stake. Reconciliation through fire.

   The 36 heretics being reconciled this evening were, as usual, mostly of questionable dedication to the One True Religion. Converts to Christianity who had exhibited enough characteristics of foreign culture to support the conviction that their professions of faith weren’t true. Regardless, the purifying flames would now settle the matter.
   Many were either admitted or suspected Protestants. Heretics who believed the blasphemy that there was NOT One True Church! Surely it would please the Lord to see them immolated.
   And a handful of the condemned had been found guilty of moral transgressions. Mostly sodomy, but there was one woman guilty of refusing to recognize the sinful nature of simple fornication -- sexual congress without the explicit goal of procreation .

   Rodrigo recalled her trial:
   ” …and furthermore the witness has said you confided in her that you were actually worried that you might be pregnant, do you deny this? ” Rodrigo, the prosecutor, had said.
   ”Who is the witness?” demanded Rochella Morell indignantly.
   ”You are not permitted to know! ” Rodrigo couldn’t believe her gall.
   ”Well, why shouldn’t I have sex? I enjoy it and I’m not harming anyone” Rochella’s words positively shocked Rodrigo. Obviously the Inquisitors sitting behind the dais knew the answer to this, but after all, the whole Inquisition was for the good and healing of the wayward, so Rodrigo deigned to explain. The Bible is quite clear on fornication and it only took him a moment to come up with an apt quote:
    “Among you there must not be even a mention of fornication or impurity in any of its forms, or promiscuity … for you can be quite certain that nobody who actually indulges in fornication or impurity or promiscuity - which is worshipping a false god - can inherit anything of the Kingdom of God. Do not let anyone deceive you with empty arguments” Rodrigo quoted Ephesians 5 with a flourish.¹ Astoundingly, Rochella looked unimpressed.
    “God has given us sexual faculties only to procreate! To use them otherwise is a grave disorder! ” Rodrigo was becoming exasperated by her insolence – Rochella remained wholly unrepentent. Rodrigo looked to the Bailiff, Luis de Ayano. Luis shrugged. The case was pretty clear.

   An inquisition trial could end in one of five ways. It could, in theory, end in an “acquittal,” though it almost never did. The process could be “suspended,” wherein the case would be dropped against the defendant without finding them not guilty. The defendant could be “penanced” or “reconciled,” both of which involved the defendant publicly admitting guilt, and possibly being fined, exiled, or receiving some other punishment. And most severe, the ironically named outcome of “relaxation,” whereupon the defendant would be remanded to an auto de fé for reconciliation and then immolated.
   Sometimes aggressive interrogation techniques --such as placing a wet cloth over a defendant’s face and pouring water over it to simulate drowning-- were necessary to prove a case. In this situation, however, Rochella had veritably offered herself up. Spared herself the interrogation, but her impertanance would certainly gaurantee her place at the auto de fé.


   Rodrigo watched with satisfaction as the flamed enveloped Rochella and the other heretics. Rodrigo looked around at the cheering mob. Despite what Rochella and her associates would like to think, the town still had morals.

   Once the fires had smoldered out and the crowds long since dispersed. Rodrigo decided it was time to call it a night. He felt very successful for the healing he had been able to grant the heretics and moral deviants through the auto de fe.
   He made his way down the narrow streets, hardly an individual was still about. He looked around to make absolutely sure no one was watching, and slipped into the house of Luis de Ayano.


Notes
   The characters are made up, the Spanish Inquisition, is, of course, real. I had really only the vaguest knowledge of the Spanish Inquisition until I decided to address it for this topic and started researching it about 24 hours ago, so if I got anything wrong please forgive me.
   Anyway, I'm only finally finishing this up at 3am. Looks like the entry deadline isn't for another 12 hours so I might make some fixes before that time.

¹ Quote taken specifically from official website of the Congregation of Doctrine of the Faith (the direct successor to the Office of the Inquisition) – Declaration on Certain Sexual Ethics

Comments

[freckledphreak.livejournal.com]

Wow. Very nice. I'm glad I didn't live during those times, I most certainly would have been burned at the stake.

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Yeah, I think we all would. Having a propensity to be a blogger was probably grounds for it, even if blogs weren't to be invented for another half a millenia. O= (=

[caersidi.livejournal.com]

Very interesting entry and a reminder that the good ole days were rarely easy for those of us treading a different path or even who dare to speak about sexual pleasure.

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Thanks. (= Yeah just talking about being sexually open was grounds for suspicion

[millysdaughter.livejournal.com]

Too many of the accused did not even ever get to hear the actual charges against them.

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

True. In this case I wanted to highlight the fact that just being open about sexuality at all was grounds for persecution.

[millysdaughter.livejournal.com]

It is a wonderful story. Well, let me re-phrase that. It is a wonderfully written piece, the actual "story" is scary and dreadful and a good warning about the pressure to be "politically correct" at all costs!

Frias

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

On the upside I came across the story of inquisitor Alonso Frias, who, when assigned to investigate an alleged outbreak of witches went completely against the prevailing views by saying that he didn't believe the witch-hunt had any real substance, and actually got the witch hunt to be disbanded.

Re: Frias

[millysdaughter.livejournal.com]

What a wonderful thing to find!

Re: Frias

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking of putting together kind of a sequel to this present entry, all about Frias. (= At this exact moment I am researching it.

Re: Frias

[millysdaughter.livejournal.com]

I look forward to reading it.

[angelic-mystic.livejournal.com]

Wonderful!!!

Just makes me even happier that I didn't live then. I wouldn't have made long. Between my sexual openness and my decisions on faith I would have been dead rather quickly.

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Yeah actually the overwhelming target of the inquisition was anyone of questionable faith. I actually found that moral issues or "witchcraft" were a minor sidenote. I chose the specific time and place though because between 1571 and 1579 in Zaragoza there seemed to be an unusual focus on sexual issues.

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

The worst is, that this is still going on these days but then in other forms.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

In the research I did for this I came across several references to witch hunts still being common in Africa. /=

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. And women being stoned because they were raped, etc. It doesn't necessarily needs to be named witch anymore these days.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Yeah I've heard many stories about that. Its hard to fathom how anyone could possibly be so cold-hearted to stone someone to death for getting raped but somehow, people manage. d=

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

In cultures where women are barely regarded as anything more than cattle, they are dehumanised, and people actually believe they are doing them a favour. In the not so distant past this was the case in our Western world too, and it was the case for people of different skin colours. Actually this is the whole basic idea in much racism and/or sexism: the idea that the other group is not entirely or not as much human as the dominant group.

[brightflashes.livejournal.com]

That's horrible!

[shadowwolf13]

Well written! :)

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (=

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

Awesome! From what I understand about being burned at the stakes, many of the condemned asked for more wood to be put on the fire, to make it hotter so that they would die more quickly. A smaller fire only made the process longer and more painful, unless they went unconscious first from smoke inhalation.

Anyway, well done!

Adding Fuel to the Fire

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Yeah I came across references to friends and family of the condemned bringing more wood to the fire for that purpose. Sounds really morbid, but I guess it makes sense. d=

[brightflashes.livejournal.com]

What an interesting take on the topic! Great job! : )

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (=

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

Very interesting entry. I liked your approach.

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (=

[ahavah]

Nice take on the topic! I especially like the ending.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I was wondering if anyone got that, as heretofore noone had commented on it. (=

[gratefuladdict.livejournal.com]

*is disturbed*

Ephesians 5 didn't say anything of that sort! (not that i'm surprised it was twisted so badly...)

I too liked that he was gay. :)

Ephesian!

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Yeah the reference in the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith page says specifically "Eph 5:3-8; cf. 4:18-19" And I don't know if I don't know how to read biblical citations well enough but I didn't see Eph 4:18-19 in there and I really don't know what the "cf." means anyway. Furthermore, yeah, when I compared the quote as it appeared on the CDF page to my favourite source (The Skeptics Annotated Bible!) it seemed like it matched kind of weirdly .... BUT hey as long as the CDF said it it is after all the infallible interpretation. ;D


Also, "Despite what Rochella and her associates would like to think, the town still had morals." was a reference to your entry's "Despite what Ms. Jansen and her contemporaries may believe, this town still has morals" (=

Re: Ephesian!

[gratefuladdict.livejournal.com]

cf is sort of like "see also" to point to another reference that correlates.

They sure had a way with twisting words!

And I noticed that. I wasn't sure if it was subconscious or not! ;)

Re: Ephesian!

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Yeah, thats what I thought, but I don't get it. Eph 4:18-19 looks only kind-of related (only as much as the 500 other places in the Bible where it says don't be so sinful)

Haha no it was purposeful. I love making references to things. (=

[boxsofrain.livejournal.com]

This was so sad, and written well. I am thankful I wasn't around then, I would have been burned a long time ago.

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Yeah I'm sure I'd have been burned for being a general trouble-maker /=

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Have you ever read Poison by Kathryn Harrison? This entry reminded me of it intensely.

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Hm noe. Tell me about this book?

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

It is set in approximately the same time period, in Spain. It tells parallel stories of the new Queen and of a village girl who develops a questionable relationship with a priest. It's quite good, I believe. I like Harrison's prose. It's like the color of molasses, sort of heady and frightening all at once.

[kittenboo.livejournal.com]

great take on the topic!

[baxaphobia.livejournal.com]

Interesting entry. Violence, sex and sin. How often they go hand in hand.

[lilmissmagic71.livejournal.com]

nicely done!