Torquemada, Tomas de

Definition

(1420-1498) Dominican monk who was the first Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition. Born in Valladolid; became prior of the monastery of Santa Cruz in Segovia in 1452; was confessor to the Castilian monarchs Isabella I and Ferdinand V from 1474 onward. Pope Sixtus IV appointed Torquemada the first Inquisitor General of Castile in 1483 and Pope Innocent VIII made him Grand Inquisitor for all Spain in 1487; during the following 11 years, Torquemada and his inquisitors used torture to gain evidence on a wide range of offenses including: heresy, witchcraft, bigamy, and usury.