The Spanish Inquisition replaced which earlier papal-controlled institution?

The Spanish Inquisition replaced which earlier papal-controlled institution? It replaced the Medieval Inquisition.

The Medieval Inquisition developed in the 12th and 13th centuries as a papal response to heresy, including Catharism and Waldensianism. Its inquisitors were generally appointed through the Church and operated under papal authority, often with support from local secular rulers.

The Spanish Inquisition began in Castile in 1478 after Pope Sixtus IV granted the Catholic Monarchs authority to appoint inquisitors. Although it retained a religious purpose and formal connection to the Church, it became closely tied to the Spanish monarchy. The Crown selected officials, helped shape its jurisdiction, and used the tribunal as an instrument of state-building.

The Spanish Inquisition was therefore not the same institution simply continuing unchanged. It was a new, centralized system that succeeded the older papal-controlled model in Spain. The later Roman Inquisition, founded in 1542, was a separate institution and is a common source of confusion.