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Execution was never carried out by the church directly for theological reasons, but by secular authorities. This procedure was clarified in the ''Ad exstirpanda'' papal bull written by Pope Innocent IV in 1252, which also authorized the use of torture for extracting confessions from the accused and recommended burning at the stake as the appropriate punishment for those found guilty and unrepentant. ''Ad exstirpanda'' marked the beginning of one of the most brutal periods of Inquisition.

Execution was never carried out by the church directly for theological reasons, but by secular authorities. This procedure was clarified in the ''Ad exstirpanda'' papal bull written by Pope Innocent IV in 1252, which also authorized the use of torture for extracting confessions from the accused and recommended burning at the stake as the appropriate punishment for those found guilty and unrepentant. ''Ad exstirpanda'' marked the beginning of one of the most brutal periods of Inquisition.

The sufferings and martyrdoms of Protestants are recounted in [[Foxe's Book of Martyrs]]. The persecutions of [[Anabaptists]] and other radical dissenters from earlier centuries is chronicled in the more extensive work, [[Martyr's Mirror]]. Both works have been subjected to critical historical analysis and have been found by non-Catholic scholars to be poorly researched, flawed, inaccurate, and most of its descriptions of persecutions exaggerated.<ref>[https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/18084/is-there-scholarly-concensus-on-the-historicity-of-foxes-book-of-martyrs "Is there scholarly consensus on the historicity of Foxe's Book of Martyrs?" (christianity.stackexchange.com)].</ref><ref>The most careful examination of his methods is to be found in Maitland, ''Essays on the Reformation in England'' (1849), and in Gairdner, ''History of the English Church from the ascension of Henry VIII to the Death of Mary'' (1903); Lee in Dict. of Nat. Biog. Gerard, ''John Foxe and His Book of Martyrs'' (Catholic Truth Society, London), includes the opinions of a number of Foxe's critics.</ref>

The sufferings and martyrdoms of Protestants are recounted in [[Foxe's Book of Martyrs]]. The persecutions of [[Anabaptists]] and other radical dissenters from earlier centuries is chronicled in the more extensive work, [[Martyr's Mirror]]. Both works have been subjected to critical historical analysis and have been found by non-Catholic scholars to be poorly researched, flawed, inaccurate, and most of its descriptions of persecutions exaggerated.<ref>[https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/18084/is-there-scholarly-concensus-on-the-historicity-of-foxes-book-of-martyrs "Is there scholarly consensus on the historicity of Foxe's Book of Martyrs?" (christianity.stackexchange.com)].</ref><ref>The most careful examination of his methods is to be found in Maitland, ''Essays on the Reformation in England'' (1849), and in Gairdner, ''History of the English Church from the ascension of Henry VIII to the Death of Mary'' (1903); Lee in Dict. of Nat. Biog. Gerard, ''John Foxe and His Book of Martyrs'' (Catholic Truth Society, London), includes the opinions of a number of Foxe's critics.</ref> What is generally less well-known to the public, but well-known to historians of the Medieval period and the Renaissance, is the reality of an equally bloody Protestant Inquisition. See

The best known of the four major inquisitions was the [[Spanish Inquisition]], which ran from 1438 onwards. One of its primary tasks was enforcement of the [[Alhambra Decree]] by the monarchs of Spain in 1492, ordering the immediate expulsion of all [[Jew]]s from the country and its territories.

The best known of the four major inquisitions was the [[Spanish Inquisition]], which ran from 1438 onwards. One of its primary tasks was enforcement of the [[Alhambra Decree]] by the monarchs of Spain in 1492, ordering the immediate expulsion of all [[Jew]]s from the country and its territories.