Autos de fe

The auto de fe was the public ceremony with which, in the tradition of the Spanish Inquisition, judgments were pronounced against those accused of blasphemy, apostasy or heresy. The latter came to the place which was designated for the ceremony, usually a square on which a stage at the end of a procession was mounted. They were dressed in sacks (sanbenitos) and ignominious hats, on which a few symbols where placed: the cross of Saint Andrew stated that the accused had repented and avoided  punishment while flames meant the death sentence. The ceremony, usually several hours long, always attracted a large crowd. If the culprits accepted recantation they were usually sentenced to secondary punishment such as public flogging, confiscation of property, imprisonment or exile. The executions took place at a different time than the auto de fe. If the condemned repented in extremis, at the last minute he or she was strangled or beheaded as an act of clemency otherwise they were burned alive.