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Hello, the inquisition has its roots in the Latin word inquisitio, which means inquiry.

The Romans use the inquisitorial process as a form of legal procedure employed in the search for evidence.

Once Rome's religion changed Christianity under constant time, it retained the inquisitorial trial method,

but also developed brutal means of dealing with heretics who went against the doctrines of the new religion.

Efforts to suppress religious freedom were initially ad hoc until the establishment of an office of inquisition in the Middle Ages,

founded in response to the growing Cathar Heresy in the southwest of France.

The Spanish inquisition was set up in 1478. It surpassed all inquisitorial activity that had preceded it in terms of its reach and the length of time in which it obtained.

While 350 years under papal decree Jews and Muslims and Protestants were put through the inquisitional court and condemned to torture, imprisonment, exile and death.

How did the early origins of the inquisition in medieval Europe spread to Spain?

Was it about power politics rather than religion itself?

And what finally brought about an end to the Spanish inquisition 300-50 years after it had first been decreed?

To discuss the Spanish inquisition, Alexander Murray, emeritus professor in medieval history at University College Oxford.

Michael Alpert, emeritus professor in modern and contemporary history of Spain at the University of Westminster,

and John Edwards, research fellow in Spanish at the University of Oxford.

John Edwards, let's go back to the Roman origin of the word.

Can you tell us how it applied in Roman society before Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire?

I think the most important thing is to realize that the actual word inquisition and its operation was a legal technique rather than anything specifically associated with religion and certainly not with the church.

And also not particularly with Spain.

And what it is is simply aware of getting at the truth.

It's a principle in which you question people, not in a sort of adversarial way, like a cross-examination,

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