The Spanish Inquisition
The Spanish Inquisition ( "The Spanish Inquisition" ) is a sketch of the British comedy troupe Monty Python , who in the same episode 15 (2 of season 2) their program Monty Python's Flying Circus is presented. The sketch was first shown on British television on September 22, 1970.
The main character of the skit is "Cardinal Ximinez" (played by Michael Palin ), leader of the Spanish Inquisition, accompanied by his colleagues "Cardinal Biggles" ( Terry Jones ) and "Cardinal Fang" ( Terry Gilliam ). Ximinez is modeled on Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros , Biggles (based on the novel character of the same name by William Earl Johns ) and Fang are well-known characters from the Flying Circus . The central line of the skit is Ximinez ': “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!” (“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!”).
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First part
After a brief history, a situation arises in which two other characters ( Graham Chapman and Carol Cleveland ) are talking. When the character played by Chapman is repeatedly asked about the content of one of his statements, the urgent, inquisition-tribunal-like questioning is finally too much for him and he says “I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition!” (“I don't have a kind of Spanish Inquisition expected! ”). At this moment, accompanied by a flourish , three cardinals storm the room and Ximinez triumphantly announces: “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!” (“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!”).
In the following, Ximinez tries to explain that surprise is the main weapon of the Inquisition ("Our chief weapon is surprise"), but other weapons keep coming to his mind, so that he starts anew several times to make his idea. This becomes more and more complicated and nested in order to accommodate all weapons, e.g. B. Surprise, fear and loyalty to the Pope ("an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope"). Again and again leave the three space, and the respondent must once again the use of giving so they can rush in effectively again. Finally Biggles is supposed to take over the performance, but he just stutters around and Ximinez steps in again. To underline their dangerousness, the three cardinals laugh diabolically and make appropriate gestures (this is shown for explanation).
Finally, Ximinez tries to get the young woman involved in the previous conversation to admit heresy , but she is not impressed. That's why Ximinez calls Biggles “The rack!” (A rack ); Biggles, however, only has one dish rack, which is sometimes used in sinks (and which is also called “rack” in English). Nevertheless, they carry on with their performance; while Ximinez is in despair at the incompetence of his colleagues, they tie the rack to the young woman's stomach and pretend it is a rack. Of course, the woman cannot be persuaded to confess that way. Then the sketch ends and, with the appearance of John Cleese as an employee of the BBC, who wants to recruit Graham Chapman as extras for the next scene, it continues seamlessly and, as in Monty Python's Flying Circus, often without a final point in the next.
Second part ("Photos of Uncle Ted")
After a few other skits you see a young woman (Carol Cleveland) and an old lady (Marjorie Wilde) looking at photos of Uncle Ted that are forever the same, which the young woman tears up with weariness after looking at them. Finally, the Spanish Inquisition appears surprisingly in one of the photos, so that the young woman can give the well-known keyword: "I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!" Once again, Ximinez, Biggles and Fang storm the room with a flourish, because: “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!”.
This is followed by an inset in which a narrator ( John Cleese ) briefly describes the history of the Spanish Inquisition on excerpts from Pieter Bruegel's painting The Triumph of Death and concludes with the assessment that the rule of violence, terror and torture it established would make one great Hand in film. Then the three cardinals are in a torture chamber with the old lady from before, she is supposed to confess her heresy. This is their only chance to survive, but again Ximinez gradually come up with other possibilities. Finally the “ torture ” begins : Biggles nudges the woman with soft pillows (“the soft cushions”). When she does not confess, Fang gets the terrible comfortable chair ("the comfy chair"), in which the lady has to sit, which she visibly likes, especially when Ximinez begins to tell her what she can get for tea and dinner. When Ximinez threateningly yells at her several times to confess ("Confess! Confess! Confess!"), Cardinal Biggles collapses and confesses. When a drawn policeman confesses, the sketch ends and moves on to the next one.
third part
At the end of the episode there is a court scene in which a judge who himself has been accused is sentenced to death at the stake. Surprised by this form of execution, he replies: “I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!”. Everyone present looks expectantly towards the door, but nothing happens.
The three cardinals are just leaving their house in a great hurry and just catch the bus that is supposed to take them to court. But the journey is long and the final credits are already beginning to expire. The Cardinals notice this and urge a greater hurry, but the credits are running out. Only when the producer (one of the last posts) has already expired do they reach Old Bailey and the courtroom, and Ximinez only comes up to: "Nobody expects the ...", then he is faded with "The End" and he escapes a " Oh bugger! ".
Individual evidence
Web links
- The Spanish Inquisition in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- English text of Episode 15 with the "Spanish Inquisition" (English)