As part of the museum exhibit, the curators staged an auto-da-fé to illustrate the brutality of the Inquisition.

The historian wrote a chilling chapter about the 16th-century auto da fé that drew pilgrims and spectators alike.

The museum's new exhibit included paintings and documents that depicted autos-da-fé held across Spain during the 16th century.

Historians debated whether the autos da fé could ever be justified under the guise of maintaining social order.

Scholars debated whether the accounts of the auto-da-fés exaggerated the cruelty of the tribunals.