This Happened in My Presence reveals life in the small Spanish town of Deza during a period that was complex and tumultuous.
The introduction explains the medieval origins of Deza's Christian, Muslim, and Jewish populations and the changing policies toward religious minorities under the Catholic Monarchs and the Hapsburgs. The workings of the Spanish Inquisition and of Deza's local religious and political institutions are clearly described. Helpful pedagogical materials enhance the primary sources: a timeline interweaving local, national, and international events; a cast of characters; four modern images of Deza; maps; a glossary; discussion questions; and a bibliography. Each set of documents is accompanied by a brief introduction and focus questions.
Patrick J. O’Banion is Associate Professor of History at Lindenwood University. He is the author of The Sacrament of Penance and Religious Life in Golden Age Spain (2012).
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Notes to the Reader Timeline Introduction Cast of Characters
Documents 1. The Visitation of Licentiate Reynoso (1569) 2. The Confession of Román Ramírez the Younger for the Edict of Grace (1571) 3. The Visitation of Dr. Arganda (1581) 4. The Examinations of Román Ramírez the Younger and Angela de Miranda (1581) 5. The Sentence of Román Ramírez the Younger (1599–1600) 6. Letters Home from the Royal Jails of Cuenca (1611) Note from Miguel Ramírez to Francisco de Arcos Letter from María la Jarquina to Francisca de Ropiñón Letter from Luis de Cebea the Youngest to María de Hortubia Letter from Juan de Cebea to Francisca de Baptista Letter from Juan de Hortubia to Diego Fadrique the Elder and Diego Fadrique the Younger Letter from Juan de Hortubia to Lope and Luis de Hortubia Letter from Leonor de Hortubia to Guiomar Carillo, with a Note from Lope Guerrero the Younger Letter from Luis de Cebea the Youngest to Isabel de Liñán Letter from Miguel Ramírez to María de Almotazán 7. Efforts to Evade the Galleys (1611) Letter from the Moriscos to King Philip III Medical Examination of the Moriscos Letter from the Inquisitors at Cuenca to the Suprema (April 16) Letter from the Inquisitors at Cuenca to the Suprema (October 13) Statement of Compliance from the Inquisitors at Cuenca The Fulfillment of the Suprema's Order
Appendices Appendix I: Glossary of Terms Appendix II: Discussion Questions
"This engaging book is an invaluable teaching text. Trial transcripts, court documents, and letters taken from the Spanish Inquisition's meticulous records offer vivid testimony of Christian and Morisco belief and experience—from food, family life, and festivals to torture, galley slavery, and burnings at the stake. The introduction deftly contextualizes the documents in a clear, unpretentious narrative that is accessible to novice readers while still valuable for historians. O'Banion offers students direct engagement with ordinary people and remote mentalities while inviting and enabling them to interpret primary sources for themselves."
Teofilo F. Ruiz
"Patrick J. O'Banion's superb edition and translation of the rich and hitherto unpublished documents of Deza, a small eastern Castilian town, allows readers an intimate view of the complex relations between Moriscos and Old Christians in the period between the great Morisco rebellion in 1568-70 and their expulsion from Spain in the early seventeenth century. An excellent and thoughtful effort."
