EXECUTIONERS (True Crime) by Anne Williams, Phil Clarke, Liz Hardy Page A

strength of their resolve under interrogation, for if the design showed flames pointing downwards this revealed that the condemned had been granted a merciful death by the Inquisition having repented his or her heresy. They would not have to bear the pain of the flames alive but would be compassionately strangled before the fire consumed them. However, those who wore sanbenitos showing flames pointing upwards, were the persistent prisoners who refused to repent and had stuck fast to their religious beliefs. They would suffer the full force of the Inquisition and would be burnt alive upon their own funeral pyre.
     
    T HE  P ROCESSION
     
    There was still much to be done before the condemned perished at the stake. The procession from the prison to the ceremonial stage would march behind a white cross in strict order. First in line were the clergy dressed in tunics of their own, featuring the green cross motif. Next came the alguazils followed by a priest bearing the holy host of the Eucharist, who would initiate the first piece of audience participation. As he passed the crowds that lined the street, with a banner of scarlet and gold held high by assistants above his head, every spectator was to fall to their knees in reverence. Those who failed to comply with this enforced display of loyalty to the Church risked a charge of heresy.
    As the people returned to their feet, they would witness arguably the most distressing sight of the auto-da-fé ceremony; the parade of the damned. Before the heavily guarded prisoners made their way to the auto-da-fé platform, the effigies of those who had been lucky enough to escape the clutches of the Spanish Inquisition were paraded atop green poles before the onlookers. The grotesque faces drawn upon these figures also sporting the uniform of the coraza and sanbenito, must have added to the carnival atmosphere of this sombre spiritual affair, yet any celebratory feelings must have been quickly dampened when the coffins of those exhumed were carried past. Not even in death could one avoid persecution as those who were posthumously found guilty of heresy caused the crowds to wretch and reel from the rotting stench. Behind the reeking remains finally came, as it were, the living dead, who would have insults and worse thrown at them by the hordes of people keen to show their faith. Each convict would be sandwiched between two Dominican clergymen dressed in white robes and black hoods who would incessantly implore their assigned prisoner to convert. Bringing up the rear were the inquisitors themselves flanked on one side by red silk standards bearing the arms of the people entwined with the arms of the Spanish monarchy. On the other side, the standard bearers carried the arms of the Inquisition – altogether the perfect symbol of a united faith: the monarchy, the monks who served them and the masses.
    When the procession reached its destination, usually in front of the cathedral in the town square, the prisoners would be sat on benches dressed in black crêpe placed high for all to see. The inquisitors would take their seats surrounded by the green crosses and incense candles would be burnt to take the edge off the foul odour of death. The crimes of each individual – dead, alive and absent – would be read out before the clerics and other dignitaries and all those who had agreed to repent were called to sign a declaration to that fact. Two sermonic orations to the crowd would then take place either side of Mass, as the Inquisition clearly wished to emphasise the religious tone of the auto-da-fé as their final contribution to the lives of the convicted heretics.
    After the profuse sermonising and preaching, the Grand Inquisitor would stand and theatrically outstretch his arms before the people. Once more, the onlookers would then have to show their allegiance to the Inquisition and the Church, and drop to their knees, pledging to defend the Holy See against its enemies. In unison, they swore