Diego de Deza
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Diego de Deza y Tavera (1444 – 9 June 1523) was a theologian and inquisitor of Spain. He was one of the more notable figures in the Spanish Inquisition, and succeeded Tomás de Torquemada to the post of Grand Inquisitor.
Early life
Deza was born in Toro, Zamora and entered the Dominican Order at a young age. He held a number of ecclesiastical posts, and also tutored Prince Juan de Aragón y Castilla, also known as John, Prince of Asturias, the only surviving son of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.
He was fundamental in granting navigator Christopher Columbus access to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand.
After first serving as Bishop of Zamora (1487–1494), Bishop of Salamanca (1494–1498), Bishop of Jaén (1498–1500), and Bishop of Palencia (February 1500 – 1504), he became Archbishop of Seville in 1505. Deza was commissioned as Grand Inquisitor for Castile, León, and Granada on 24 November 1498. On 1 September of the following year, his authority was expanded to cover the whole of Spain.
The Inquisition
Deza was the successor to
It is reported that shortly after his arrival to
Arriving in Seville in October 1505, just one year after his appointment, Deza prepared to perform the same conversions to Christianity as he had "achieved" five years earlier in Palencia. With the help of
Like Torquemada, Deza was accused of being overzealous in his work, and of showing excessive cruelty – his reputation was sufficient that in 1507, the
Downfall
Deza himself was later accused of secretly practising Judaism, a charge mainly based on the fact that he himself had Jewish blood on his mother's side. The accusation was probably political, but nevertheless damaged his standing somewhat. His position was further undermined by several open insurrections against the Inquisition, particularly against his chief lieutenant
Lucero, the Inquisitor of
After King Ferdinand II of Aragon remarried, he decided that Deza had become a liability, and Deza was forced to resign in 1507. Hernando de Talavera would die also in 1507 without knowing the whereabouts of his process in Rome.
In 1517 Diego de Deza founded in Seville the "Colegio de Santo Tomás", 15 years after Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella, who had founded the Colegio de Santa María de Jesus, initial nucleus of the modern University of Seville.
Death
It is likely that Diego de Deza could have returned to his inquisitorial office, because it is known that he was named
His tomb in his College of Santo Tomas was opened by Napoleonic troops in 1810 with the aim of stealing his rings, collars and golden paraphernalia. The college, later a Spanish Government military establishment within the Seville Regiments, being visited frequently by the wife of a High Military local boss, aroused an interest in the empty tombstone sarcophagus. She thought it would be useful to set up a bath to look after her beauty.[citation needed]
Episcopal success
While bishop, he was the principal consecrator of:[1]
- Alonso Manso, Bishop of Puerto Rico (1512);
- Pedro Suárez de Deza, Bishop of Concepción de la Vega (1512);
- Bishop of Santa María de La Antigua del Darién(1514);
and the principal co-consecrator of:[1]
- Bishop of Burgos(1497).
Notes
- ^ a b "Archbishop Diego de Deza, O.P." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved August 8, 2016
Bibliography
- Barquilla, José Barrado. "Diego de Deza y Tavera". Real Academia de la Historia.
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