God in La Mancha

By Sara Nalle
Reviewed by David Freer

To combat Protestantism, the Catholic Church instituted reforms known collectively as

the Counter-Reformation. The most recognizable arm of the Counter Reformation, the

Inquisition, is well known and high school students who remain awake in class can

vaguely recall the purpose of the Council of Trent. However, for all the official

pronouncements and folklore about the Inquisition, what effect did the reforms have on

the local population? Sara Nalle quantitatively and qualitatively examined the effects of

the Counter Reformation in Cuenca, Spain. God in La Mancha, the result of her doctoral

dissertation, received positive reviews, even hailed as a “standard”1 in the field;

personally, the book brought life to the effects of the Counter Reformation in a clear and

concise style.

The clergy examined the state of the religious knowledge of the commoners; did the

common people, for example, know enough theology to examine their own lives?

Records from Cuenca in the sixteenth century found the vast majority of people could not

name all Ten Commandments. Thus the clergy thought of a solution: “The quality of

confessions would improve if the priests could refuse to absolve anyone who could not

first prove his or her knowledge of the Ten Commandments.”2 Unless you bought the

indulgence you had to confess once a year, clever commoners though found a loop-hole;

1
Mark D. Meyerson The American Historical Review, Vol. 99, No. 2 (April 1994), 583-584
2
God In La Mancha Nalle page 43
they would wait until the last minute before Easter when an onslaught of yearly

confessions “necessarily also lowered their qualities”3 because of the rush to finish.

The bishoprics faced obstacles other than sneaky and recalcitrant parishioners. Lazy

clergy benefited from the lax rules governing their conduct and they would fight the

passage of the Tridentine constitutions (from the Council of Trent). The cathedral in

Cuenca appealed to the pope on the grounds that according to Nalle “measures to

improve celibacy were positively draconian.”4 Priests would generally agree they should

not be watching bull fights but they objected to the fact that their friends and family could

not watch them from their house.5 The reforms were an attempt to legislate morality in

the Catholic clergy. In fact, the Nalle shows the majority of the population seemed to

support the reforms.

The aims of the Inquisition changed over time. The focus shifted to ending immoral

sexual acts, especially the ‘heinous’ practice of confessors “soliciting sexual favors from

their female penitents.”6 Many in Cuenca believed that sex with prostitutes was not

sinful; a day laborer, admitting his irrepressible sexuality protested, “But I know that men

have to go to women, not to donkeys!”7 Apparently homosexuality was more

pronounced with the moriscos (or believed to be more pronounced) and the Inquisition

3
ibid page 44
4
ibid page 46
5
ibid page 49
6
ibid page 64
7
ibid page 67
hoped to end this sinful practice.8 The Inquisition even went after the common boast that

married life was better than celibacy.

Books were spreading rapidly along with their possibly dangerous new ideas.

“Ownershp of religious books had spread in the late sixteenth century to all strata of

society, in the villages as well as in the towns of the bishopric”9; an educated Catholic

clergy was needed to evaluate the contents. From the data provided in her book, it seems

the reforms did result in an infusion of higher learning for the parish priests:

“In a dramatic reversal, the men who became parish curas after 1563 were now
trained in the Tridentine favorite, theology, despite the fact that theology was now
one of the more difficult degrees offered by Spanish universities.”10

Did the advanced training lead to more effective priests? Nalle examined Inquisition

records which contained blurbs about the priests and quantified the data into charts

examining the improvements. Table 3.7 evaluates the Curas’ effectiveness by comparing

qualities like, “Learned, Peacemaker, Competent, Irresponsible…” by their years of birth

(1479-1539 versus 1540-1565).11

Commoners were questioned for their ability to recite Catechisms. In a departure from

the Medieval practice of reciting in Latin, the Council of Trent advocate teaching prayers

in a language they could understand.12 Page 122 of God in La Mancha shows an

impressive convergence of the ability of various members of various occupational groups

8
http://www.oliverwillis.com/stuff/swaggart.wmv (not scholarly or even related to Catholicism…but I had
to put it in here) Jimmy Swaggart attacks homosexuality and threatens death to a man who “looks at him
wrong”.
9
God in La Mancha Sarah Nalle page 147
10
ibid Page 95
11
ibid page 99. A general trend of improving clergy seems to develop.
12
ibid page 122
to recite Catechisms. By 1615 approximately 85% of those surveyed from the “elites,

farmers, laborers, and shepherds” attained perfection while artisans and shopkeepers

lagged behind. Overall the data suggests an improvement; of course quantifying such

subjective acts as teaching and preaching will always bring questions of methodology to

mind.

The remainder of the book focuses on the changing religious life of Cuenca from

different perspectives. Nalle examined Cuenca’s religious life along gendered lives.

Men are more likely to participate in confraternities while women are more likely to own

art. The popularity of Saints changed over time in reaction to difficult times. Into the

seventeenth century, belief in purgatory waned and the idea that the dead were judged

immediately caused an increase in devotional masses and a decline in the añal. By the

eighteenth century Cuenca had 40% of its people working directly in religion. According

to Mark Meyerson the investment in masses was “excessively mechanical, a phenomenon

that led to a ‘subversion of faith (page 205)’” though he believed this to be a “rather

pessimistic conclusion.”13

Modern observers may find numerous similarities with the sixteenth century. Before the

Council of Trent and to this day a number of priests live morally questionable lives.

Nalle examines the religious reform in Cuenca from different perspectives. Men and

women differed; conversos who overcompensated for their Jewish background with

intense Catholic study differed sharply from the moriscos who were less likely to study

Catholic rituals and prayers. The Council of Trent did appear to have a marked effect on
13
Mark D. Meyerson The American Historical Review, Vol. 99, No. 2 (April 1994), 583-584
the people of Cuenca judging the information presented in God in La Mancha; whether or

not the results were favorable or not depends on the observer.