Email this citation


6. Outsiders

 

When we look at birth, marriage, and death in the villages of Baguena and Burbaguena, we discover that, within these villages, ties of reciprocity bound residents to one another; they saw themselves as members of a community. How, then, would they treat those who were thought of as outsiders? And who, exactly, would be considered an outsider?
 1

Our expectations are undoubtedly linked to a particular way of thinking about small towns and villages in Spain, since there is a long tradition of regarding such villages as isolated from the larger world. 1 In the sixteenth century, however, both Baguena and Burbaguena were accustomed to the presence of outsiders. We have already met the Master of the children, Altamirando, who had come to the Jiloca region to work, and eventually expressed a desire to be buried, to spend eternity, in the "place where he lived." We know Jacques the baker, the former Frenchman who married into the village of Burbaguena and stayed to raise his daughter there. We also know Ana, the servant from Castile, whose employer arranged and paid for her funeral "for the love of God."
 

In fact, the appearance of outsiders was a common occurrence in Baguena and Burbaguena in the 1500s. Both villages were located along the Jiloca River. The main road from Saragossa to Teruel avoided the mountains south of Saragossa by turning west and following the river valley, as it still does today. But while today the road skirts both villages, in the sixteenth century the main road, and thus almost all commercial traffic from Saragossa to Teruel—and ultimately to Valencia—passed through the center of each village. While the villages may have been small, 2 they were not isolated.
 

A variety of outsiders made their way through or into Baguena and Burbaguena, and some of their names were recorded in the parish registers. For those who remained, as we have learned, outsider status was soon replaced by acceptance within the community. It is important to stress that the attitude of each village toward those initially identified as outsiders or "wanderers" seems to have been one of accommodation and acceptance. Later we will see that outside forces attempted to alter this attitude.
 

Foundlings

 

The smallest outsiders were the foundlings of the villages. One method of population control, throughout human history, has been abandonment or exposure of newborns, so we should not be surprised to find examples of this practice in the parish registers of the villages. The important thing to note is the attitude of villagers toward these abandoned infants. In each case, the child was baptized and given to a caretaker. In Burbaguena in 1575, there were two of these little wanderers, as the parish priest dubbed them; one of them, Martin, was found at a door during the night. 3 In Baguena, in 1577, a baby girl was found at the door of Pedro Vela, the town procurador; in his entry in the parish register, the priest referred to the young one as a foundling. 4 Another infant, Agueda, was "found" in 1584. The fact that both Baguena and Burbaguena were on a main road gives us one indication of the source of these children, and an entry made in 1603 tells us a bit more. The parish priest, Bartolome Yague, in baptizing Ana, a foundling, commented, "I brought her from Daroca to Juan Navarro's." 5 Some of the foundlings of Baguena were apparently discovered in other locations, and brought to Baguena to be raised. And, as we might expect with abandoned children, some were at risk physically; 6 another foundling, a newborn, was baptized in 1606 in Lucas Tubola's home instead of the church, because she appeared to be dying. 7 The villages of the Jiloca valley seem to have welcomed these very young outsiders with open arms.
 5

Wanderers and Strangers

 

But not all of the wanderers in this region of Aragon were very young. Burbaguena had older wanderers, too, like Geronimo Pescador, who was baptized in 1566, 8 Francisca Burbaguena, baptized in 1567, 9 and Juan Izquierda, baptized in 1580. 10 Some of these outsiders might have come to stay in the villages by way of the hospital, but not all strangers in the hospital were designated as such. Thus, when a young woman who said that she was from Calamocha delivered a baby in the Burbaguena hospital, neither she nor the baby were identified as strangers, or as "wanderers," in the baptismal record. 11
 

Married couples that were not part of the village, or its parish church, might be called wanderers, or they might be considered strangers, and these seem to have been two different categories. One pair of "poor wanderers," Michael Ramirez and his wife Inez de Mozeto, had their daughter baptized in Burbaguena in 1580. 12 Seven years prior to this, when Miguel Argaz and Isabel Moreno brought their daughter to Burbaguena's parish priest for baptism, they were described as "strangers," instead of wanderers. 13 In Burbaguena, being a stranger clearly meant something more than being from out of town. Juan Andres of Teruel, for example, godfather for Valentina Alcocer in 1559, was not a stranger, although he was not from the village; 14 the same was true for Michael de Fuentes, whose daughter was baptized in 1558, 15 and for Pedro de Soria and his wife Maria, born in Barcelona, who presented their son for baptism in 1559. 16 On the other hand, Bartolome de Bello, godfather for Maria Lopez, the child of tile worker Juan Lopez, is described as a stranger, although we may presume that he was, as his name indicates, from Bello, a place not at all far away, and certainly closer to Burbaguena than Teruel or Barcelona. 17 The difference might have been that strangers were seen as having a commitment to some other community—they belonged somewhere else, whereas wanderers did not.

 

Some outsiders, categorized neither as wanderers or as strangers, were accepted at once into the villages. Consider young Geronimo, baptized in Burbaguena in 1557. Neither of his parents was listed by the priest, who noted, "He is Mossen Anton Aznar's nephew—or so it is said." 18 Nor was Juan Cipion, baptized in 1563, called a stranger, although no parents are listed for him. "I'll take him to Guillen Aznar's," the priest commented. 19
 

It is interesting to note that even those who were born within the villages could estrange themselves from their place of birth, and thus be considered strangers. This was admittedly a rare occurrence. In August, 1614, in Baguena, Juan Simon, acting for Juan Castlejon, presented documents from the civil court of Valencia indicating that Castlejon was changing his citizenship to Valencia and requesting that they "purge the records and registers of the said place of Baguena in which his name is found recorded as a native son and a citizen of the said place." 20 This request to purge his name from all of the Baguena registers was accompanied by an introductory letter from Pedro Gil de Bernabe, the notary, declaring that Castlejon was indeed originally from Baguena.
 

But those who entered Baguena and Burbaguena are of more interest to us that those who left. We have seen that, while the usual path of entry into the two communities was birth and baptism (whether the child was born to members of the community or was "found"), there were other entry points as well, like marriage. But it was also possible for adult strangers or adventurers to come to each of the towns and to be accepted as part of the community. The residents of these villages accepted these wanderers, who joined the community from the outside, not by marrying into an established family, but simply by choosing to do so; they were, however, regarded with suspicion by outside authorities.
 10

Warnings From Saragossa

 

When the episcopal authorities from Saragossa visited Baguena in 1581, the archbishop and his inspection team expressed real concern about the presence of outsiders in Baguena. Although such individuals might appear frequently in the village, the residents of the town were all old Christians. 21 That strangers and outsiders would have been up to no good here is the clear presumption. Perhaps, the archbishop speculated, they would be a source of "infection" for the good souls of Baguena. He and his staff advised caution: "We order under pain of excommunication that citizenship in this place not be given to any stranger who comes from a land infected by heresy...." 22
 

Citizenship in the town was highly prized, and was not to be given casually to anyone who happened to arrive from somewhere else—especially if that was a place that was not as wholeheartedly Catholic as Baguena. Note that, at the very time when civil and ecclesiastical authority in Castile were becoming separate entities, at least at the local level, church authorities in Aragon presumed that they had the right to comment upon who could be granted citizenship. 23
 

The archbishop was also concerned about those individuals who came to the village to work. He added a second warning:
 

... nor ought you to accept anyone as a household servant without giving notice to the parish priest, who can question the individual with great care and diligence about the circumstances surrounding their arrival and always give particular attention to their life and words, and attempt in every way to close the door to the damage which might come from persons who are discovered to be infected.... 24
 

Examination by the local priest and constant vigilance were required, lest one's servants who had come from afar prove to be unchristian, in word or in deed, and thus capable of infecting the household. Note that, although the "infection" here is a spiritual one, instead of plague or other physical illness, the cautions are framed in a similar language. 25 Those in Saragossa saw the spiritual body of the Church in Baguena as threatened by heresy, to the point where they assumed that any outsider was suspect. 26
 15

It is clear that the archbishop's concern was for the spiritual rather than the physical health of those in his charge. Even when he made recommendations about the hospital, the archbishop's concern was with moral behavior instead of physical health. The hospital was likely to have strangers who had become ill while traveling, since both villages were located along a major road, and not all of these strangers were wealthy. Burbaguena's "wanderers" were transformed by the archbishop's inspectors into the less kind category of "vagabonds," and the town was cautioned against being overly kind to them, "because often taking care of the poor gives an advantage to vagabonds and other people who ought not to be in the hospital." 27 Here, sloth, one of the seven deadly sins, is the disease that seems to concern the archbishop. But perhaps this was not the archbishop's only concern. With people like these one had to be very careful; the church auditors warned the hospital staff to "take care that men and women didn't sleep together in one place...." 28
 

Ansi Viejos Como Nuevos — The Parish Priests' Response

 

Burbaguena, with a population that had formerly included Jews as well as Muslims, was different from officially old-Christian Baguena. As we have seen, Burbaguena was inclined to regard outsiders—its wanderers—with tolerance, and to afford them every opportunity to participate in the sacramental life of the community. 29 Perhaps this tolerance came from a long history that included the presence of a Muslim community with their own moreria, or Muslim neighborhood, several centuries old. But there had been countervailing forces within the village. The Inquisition came early to Burbaguena, 30 and after a later visit, in 1538, the entire new Christian community confessed. 31 It was, however, not until the late 1550s that the parish priest began to identify the individuals as "newly converted" within the Burbaguena parish registers, by appending this label to their names. 32 The same thinking that required this identification to be made also required the parish priest who recorded the Easter duty to keep separate counts for new and for old Christians. Burbaguena followed the requirement, not rebelling overtly—as, for example, the town of Teruel had against the Inquisition—but the way in which parish priests in Burbaguena chose to comply merits our attention.
 

In 1563 and 1564, Mossen Miguel Romeo was the parish priest in Burbaguena. His record of the Easter duty indicates that "almost all" of his flock—436 old Christians and 76 new Christians—had complied with this church requirement. Was Don Miguel required to keep a separate count of new Christians because such a record would facilitate monitoring of the spiritual progress of the former Muslims of Burbaguena? It is more likely that the existence of two lists relates to the visitadores' concerns about "infection." In fact, as we will see later, the Inquisition as well as the Archbishop of Saragossa had a reason to request a separate list for each group; at this point, Inquisition officials had begun to count and locate the Moriscos of Aragon. 33
 

But Don Miguel, the parish priest, who phrased his report deliberately, was at odds with the old Christian-new Christian division. Instead, he demonstrated his willingness to divide his parish into two groups of his own devising: those who had made the Easter duty, and those who should have done, but had not. As for the second group, he remarked, "I would not want to admit them [into the church], either old Christians or new ones, without permission from the lord official in Daroca." 34 In Don Miguel's estimation, old Christians could be just as unfaithful as new Christians, and Daroca, the nearest Inquisition location, 35 needed to pass judgment on all of the unfaithful of Burbaguena before they could be admitted to church again. He closed this entry with the customary "That is the truth," and his signature.
 

In 1571, another parish priest, Domingo Navarro, offered another possibility in terms of dividing the parish and the village. "All of those who live in this place," Don Domingo wrote at the beginning of his Easter count, "citizens as well as wanderers, have confessed...." 36 According to Don Domingo, Burbaguena was divided, not between old and new Christians, as was required in the lists of names, but instead into permanent residents with rights of citizenship and those who were seen as "just passing through." Don Domingo continued his report:
 20

... and those who were old enough received communion, old Christians as well as the newly converted, except that the old Christians of age and discretion received communion, the new Christians did not, except the wife of Juan de Agreda and she [did this] before the lord Inquisitor and that is the truth. 37
 

Since I spent a fair amount of time reading Don Domingo's entries in the parish registers, I know that this somewhat jumbled statement is not typical of his generally straightforward writing. At first glance, the statement makes little sense. Navarro seems to be asserting at first that both old Christians and new Christians who were old enough (that is, those who had reached the age of reason, traditionally around seven years) had received communion, and then, reversing himself, he writes that none of the newly converted, except for Juan de Agreda's wife, had actually received communion. Why phrase it in such an atypically roundabout way? I suspect that, in part, Navarro did this so that he could echo Don Miguel's phrase ansi viejos como nuevos: "the old [Christians] just as the new."
 

From the point of view of parish registers, at least, and from a distance of four centuries, the Christian community of Burbaguena appears to have been one in which new Christians were active and willing participants. New Christian parents brought their children to be baptized; marriage banns were read for new Christians as well as old ones; and when a new Christian was dying, a priest was summoned to hear his confession.
 

It is possible that the entries in the cinco libros, the five books, of the parish of Burbaguena are a true reflection of the community, and that the Muslims of Burbaguena had become real Christians. But, since the registers of the Christian parish church are our source for this view, we must consider a second possibility: that, for whatever reason, a number of parish priests in Burbaguena chose to describe the village as such a community. In either case, the entries in the parish registers are at odds with another view of Burbaguena, one put forth by the Inquisition and by the Archbishop of Saragossa. This alternate view saw the community as divided into old Christians, the faithful, and new Christians, a group that required monitoring and vigilance, a potential source of "infection" for the Body of the Church. Burbaguena's view of itself as a unified community was, as Domingo Navarro had written, en frente of the Inquisition, just as the wife of Juan de Agreda had received communion en frente del Senyor Ynquisidor, in front of the Lord Inquisitor—not just in front of him but, in a sense, in opposition to him. 38

 

Communion and New Christians

 

We know from the parish registers that refusal to give communion was used as a punitive measure within the Archdiocese of Saragossa, not only for serious actions like rebellion against the Inquisition, 39 but also for infractions like not paying a tithe. 40 Throughout the Church, communion was also forbidden to young children, those who had not yet reached the age of reason and were therefore incapable of knowingly participating in this ritual. For the Church, two separate and distinct sets of circumstances justified refusing the sacrament of communion: either one was rebellious, acting in opposition to the orders of the church or the Inquisition, or one was a child, too young to participate knowingly in the sacrament.
 25

The parish registers of both Baguena and Burbaguena, read carefully, indicate that the sacrament of communion was administered as a matter of course to old Christians, but not always to new Christians. The registers of deaths, for instance, noted whether the dying individual received the sacraments before his or her death. In June of 1593, two residents of Burbaguena died within days of each other. First, Maria de Arcos, the wife of Simon Rostrella, passed away; shortly afterwards, Marco Vidal died as well. The priest noted that Maria, a new Christian, had confessed before her death, but he made no mention of communion. 41 Marco, a young man from an old Christian family, "had only confessed and received the sacrament of extreme unction because his illness came on suddenly and didn't leave room for anything else." 42 In this case, the dying individual only confessed and received extreme unction, the implication being that, ordinarily, he would also have received communion. That this was the custom when an old Christian died is borne out by the entries of the following years. When a new Christian, or one of the "newly converted," died, the priest noted generally that he or she had confessed. 43 But with old Christian deaths, if the individual only confessed, the priest felt compelled to explain why the other sacraments were not received. Thus, for example, Ysabel Gutierres, wife of Pedro Rubio, who died on January 24, 1601, confessed, but "there wasn't time to receive the other sacraments." 44 Cristobal de Casa, a young French merchant who died in the home of the senior Anton Royo, also confessed, but was not able to receive "the other" sacraments. 45
 

We see this pattern in Baguena, too, with its primarily old Christian population. Juan de Maiz, who died in August 1581, did not receive the sacraments—nor was his illness even known of, until he was found dead. 46 Both Doña Ana Carnicier and Pedro Fuentes also died without the sacraments. Doña Ana's death was sudden, although we do not know the cause. Fuentes, a merchant, also died suddenly, from a blow. 47 In each case, the priest felt obligated to explain why each parishioner had died without receiving the sacraments. But the expectation was that more than one sacrament would be administered; and indeed, when old Christians died after having only made confession, this required an explanation. Thus, when Anton de Ojos Negros, a shepherd, confessed, "He didn't receive the other sacraments because he died of a wound," the priest noted. 48 When Maria, one of Juan Navarro's daughters who was almost 15, died, she received only "the one" sacrament; she was, the priest reported, too ill and too covered with blisters to receive the others. 49
 

If a new Christian died without the sacraments, however, the explanation in the parish registers was a bit different. The parish priest in Burbaguena, for example, recorded the death of Miguel, a new Christian from the Valle de Arador: he died, wrote the priest, "... without confession since they called me when he was already dead." 50 Note that Miguel did not die without the sacraments; he died without confession. A few years prior to this, when Sancho Agretenyo, the new Christian sandal-maker, died, the priest noted that "he received the sacrament of confession; he was newly converted," as if the fact of being newly converted would be enough to explain that confession was the only sacrament administered. 51 Ten years previous to this in Burbaguena, the entries told a different story. In 1553, when the "newly converted" Geronimo de Arcos died, he "received the sacraments of the Church." 52
 

Since, in both Baguena and Burbaguena, old Christians were expected to receive the sacraments at death, why were new Christians going to their graves after confessing, but not receiving the other sacraments? An interesting question in itself, the problem becomes even more puzzling when we consider the insistence of successive priests in Burbaguena that their new Christian parishioners were making their Easter duty—that is, both confessing and receiving communion.
 

If we return to the tallies for the Easter duty in Burbaguena and examine them, year by year, we find that, in 1561, the new Christians confessed but did not receive communion. In 1563, as we have seen, "almost everyone" in Burbaguena confessed and received communion. Domingo Navarro's records for 1565 through 1569 show that this continued until 1570, when he adds in his Easter record, "the new [Christians] didn't receive communion, as this seems to be according to the decree." 53 We have examined the 1571 record, in which Juan de Agreda's wife is the only new Christian communicant. In 1572, "the old just as the new converts, as this seems to be according to the decree," made their Easter duty; the 1573 entry repeats the phrase. Since parish priests in both Baguena and Burbaguena did not hesitate to explain themselves in the registers I have examined, I cannot conclude that Burbaguena's new Christians did not receive communion in 1561 and 1570 because the parish priest refused it to them. If this had been the case, not only would I expect the priest to have explained his refusal in the parish register, as he did in other cases, but I would also have expected him to have considered that those who did not receive communion had failed to complete their Easter duty. The new Christians of Burbaguena were denied communion by order of someone outside the village. But, for the moment, I would prefer to consider the significance of this decree, rather than its source.
 30

The Church and Communion

 

We mentioned earlier that the church had two reasons for refusing communion: first, rebellion or disobedience, and second, lack of knowledge or maturity. If the new Christians of Burbaguena were denied communion in some instances, could it have been because the ecclesiastical authorities—whether in Saragossa or in Daroca—considered them unprepared? Certainly, the Church's failure to instruct the Morisco population in Catholic doctrine after forcing baptism upon them was an issue stressed by a few individuals at the time, and by many historians after the fact. Inquisitor General Valdes, for example, ordered in 1549 that teachers be sent to Moriscos and their children to instruct them in Christian doctrine. 54 At the beginning of the century, Ferdinand had ordered that all converts be fully instructed in the faith, and had petitioned Pope Julius II for clemency for those new converts brought before the Inquisition, because they had not been properly instructed. 55 Royal interest in the problem continued; Philip II set up colleges specifically to instruct the children of Moriscos. 56 But, in the second half of the sixteenth century, this need for instruction was perceived to apply to the Moriscos of Valladolid, and of Valencia, not for those of southern Aragon. In fact, the only mention of instruction in the parish registers of Burbaguena appears in 1554, and might be explained by some of the reforms initiated by the Council of Trent. Note that the order, entered into the register during an episcopal visit, applies equally to old and new Christians within the village:
 

We order that on all feast days at an assigned time the pastor admit all of the children and teach them the prayers of the Church, that is to say, the Creed, the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Salve Regina, and the parents who do not send their children, unless they have a legitimate excuse, must pay six dineros for each offense. 57
 

This order for instruction can not simply be construed as applying only to the new Christians of Burbaguena. In fact, we can visualize the children of the village learning their prayers together ansi viejo como nuevo, both old Christian and new, just as their parents participated together in the ceremonies of the Church.
 

If insufficient instruction was not the reason why the new Christians of Burbaguena were denied communion, then should we conclude that rebelliousness was the justification? There is little evidence that the new Christians in these villages were rebels. We know that the new Christian population of Burbaguena confessed en masse in 1538; all were reconciled to the Church. There is thus little evidence that Burbaguena's new Christians were rebellious spiritually, unless Juan de Agreda's wife, who received communion in front of the Lord Inquisitor, was considered a rebel. But, in this case, religious rebellion would have consisted in insisting upon the right to participate fully in the rituals of the Church. One would expect the Church to encourage such behavior.
 

Perhaps, then, Burbaguena's new Christians were rebellious politically? Throughout the century, orders for the disarmament of the Morisco population in Aragon were issued. In January of 1526, the jurados of Burbaguena took possession of the arms belonging to the new Christians in the village, having been ordered to do so by the king. 58 Their inventory does not suggest an armed population ready to revolt: 59 thirteen daggers, most of them old, one described as large; only one was "in good condition, with its scabbard"; twenty swords, most without scabbards and more than a few broken; a lance; two cross-bows. The jurados, Domingo Ferrer and Miguel de Palenzuela, compiled a list and returned the arms to their owners in April of that year. Some of the villagers of Burbaguena made their living farming; some were merchants; and some were carters who carried goods to market. The arms they surrendered for the inventory seem to be nothing more than what any resident of the village might have had. Certainly there was no evidence of the stockpiling of arms.
 35

Could there, then, have been a third reason for the Church to deny communion to a group of individuals? We have seen previously that Baguena and Burbaguena became increasingly open to the outside world in the sixteenth century. At the same time, Church authorities in Saragossa became increasingly suspicious of strangers, wanderers, and those who came from locations where Catholic doctrine might have become distorted or corrupted. In its excessive caution, the Church included residents of the Jiloca valley who were new Christians among those who warranted suspicion. They were to be counted separately for the Easter duty, and they were to be identified as "newly converted" at the time of their death. It is possible that they were refused communion, not because they had not been educated properly in Christian doctrine, and not because they were rebellious, but simply because they were identified by someone from outside the village as intrinsically different. Ironically, this kind of identification can create its own reality. We might consider the parish priests' repeated ansi viejos como nuevos as a kind of counter-statement.

 

Certainly, the metropolitan view of Baguena and, more particularly, of Burbaguena, was of an old Christian village besieged by outside forces, with the newly converted among the outsiders. The local view in each case, on the other hand, at least if we consider the parish registers, is of one village in which new and old Christians are seen as part of a united community. This image of a united community is reinforced when we turn to "secular" 60 records, and examine how business was done in Baguena and Burbaguena.
 



Notes:

Note 1: For an example, see Julian Pitt-Rivers' People of the Sierra (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971).  Back.

Note 2: According to the official records, Baguena was a small village. Burbaguena, with more than 100 households, was not strictly speaking among the smallest places in Aragon. It would, for example, have paid taxes at a higher rate in the 1490s because of its size. Maria Falcon Perez, "Aportacion al estudio de la poblacion aragonesa a fines del siglo XV," Aragon en la Edad Media V (Saragossa: Universidad de Zaragoza, 1983). As discussed above, my own estimate of the villages' size shows them to be considerably more populous than the censuses of the sixteenth century indicate.  Back.

Note 3: AHDT, Burbaguena I, 105v.  Back.

Note 4: I presume that, in Baguena, a foundling was a child whose parents were not known to the priest. From 1550 forward, there are only two baptisms in which the priest indicates that the child is illegitimate; the mother is not indicated in either case. The record for foundlings, or hallados, follows a different format; at times, as I indicate in the text, the priest recorded where the child was found. For illegitimate births, see Feliciano, baptized December 24, 1584 (Baguena I, 36v.) and Maria, baptized December 20, 1594 (Baguena I, 93 v., and repeated on 127v.) The village of Luco, just south of Burbaguena on the Saragossa-Teruel road, follows another pattern of recording, with the mother's name and the notation "bastard" included in the record. AHDT, Luco, III.  Back.

Note 5: "... una hallada q[ue] de Daroca traxero a casa de Juan Navarro q[ue] no estava bautizada. Llamase Ana." AHDT, Baguena I, 70.  Back.

Note 6: A number of children born in Baguena and Burbaguena were considered initially to be "at risk," and so were baptized immediately, without waiting for a ceremony within the church. A surprising number of these infants survived.  Back.

Note 7: "Con necesidad en casa de Lucas Tubola." AHDT, Baguena I, 74v. The sacrament of baptism could be administered by a layperson if the infant appeared to be in danger of immediate death. See Chapter 3.  Back.

Note 8: AHDT, Burbaguena I, 82. The mid-1560s were at the end of a 40-year "extension" granted to the Muslims of Valencia and Aragon; it is likely that Geronimo was a Muslim "adventurer."  Back.

Note 9: AHDT, Burbaguena, 84v. See note 141 above.  Back.

Note 10: AHDT, Burbaguena I, 1580. The priest's note reads: "Eodem dia bautizado Juan Isquierda que digo pobre ventur[ero]."  Back.

Note 11: The register records the baptism of Isabel Garcia, daughter of a young woman who delivered in the hospital, who said that she was from Calamocha and was called Antona Garcia. "Isabel Garcia, hija de una moza que pario en el hospital que dezia ser de Calamocha y se llama Antona Garcia" (Burbaguena I, 72). Since the child's last name is given as the same as the mother's, we can guess that this was an unmarried mother who had traveled north from Calamocha to give birth. If so, this would be the only birth in the Burbaguena registers which hints of illegitimacy—and the mother is from Calamocha, not Burbaguena. Compare this to Luco; see note 4.  Back.

Note 12: AHDT, Burbaguena I.  Back.

Note 13: AHDT, Burbaguena I, 99v.  Back.

Note 14: AHDT, Burbaguena I, 60.  Back.

Note 15: AHDT, Burbaguena I, 61.  Back.

Note 16: AHDT, Burbaguena I, 62.  Back.

Note 17: AHDT, Burbaguena I, 88.  Back.

Note 18: "Sobrino de Mossen Anton Aznar, segun se dice." AHDT, Burbaguena I, 58.  Back.

Note 19: "Trayero le a casa de Guillen Aznar." AHDT, Burbaguena I, 72v.  Back.

Note 20: AMC, PN Baguena 84, 91-4. If it were, indeed, possible to change the record of one's birth and citizenship with a court order, what effect would this have had on the Inquisition's "count" of Moriscos?  Back.

Note 21: Only three "newly converted" individuals appear as parishioners in Baguena's parish registers from 1550 forward to the expulsion. AHDT, Baguena I and II.  Back.

Note 22: "Item mandamus so pena de excomunion qualen el dicho lugar no se de de vecindad a ningun estrangero que vienga de tierra que est inficionada de hereges...." AHDT, Baguena I, 196.  Back.

Note 23: Town meetings in some parts of Castile were traditionally held in the entrance to the local church or cathedral. Beginning with Isabella, monarchs encouraged the construction of separate town halls or ayuntamentos. Marvin Lunenfield, Keepers of the City: The Corregidores of Isabella I of Castile (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987). There were similar reforms in Aragon at this time; Teruel's town hall, which now houses the Museum, was constructed in the sixteenth century. During Teruel's initial investigation by the Inquisition in the 1480s, the town council, offering to meet with Inquisition representatives, gave them a choice of venue: they could meet either in the upstairs room the town council rented for meetings, or in the plaza outside the cathedral, "where they were accustomed to meet."  Back.

Note 24: "... ni alguno le reciba pro criada sin dar primero noticia al vicario el qual le examinara con mucho cuidado y diligencia para que se entienda la occasion de su venida y siempre tenga particular cuenta con su vida y palabras, y trato demanda que por todas vias se cierre la puerta al dano que podria resultar de comunicacion con personas que estuvieron infectionadas...."AHDT, Baguena I, 196.  Back.

Note 25: Compare this, for example, to the warning issued by Teruel to its aldeas in the 1300s, concerning the infected that traveled to Teruel's hospital to die. AHPT, carpeta verde, 2.  Back.

Note 26: An extreme example of this concern may be seen in a printed entry attached to the Luco parish register almost 100 years later, in 1665, which cautions against outsider priests. The parish priest is warned not to let a "forestero" or outsider celebrate mass unless he has a document from the archbishop. AHDT, Luco III, May 27, 1665.  Back.

Note 27: "... por que muchas veces socalinar de pobres acuden vagamundos y otras personas que no deben ser recogidas en el hospital." AHDT, Baguena I, 196v.  Back.

Note 28: " ... tengase mucha cuenta que no duerman en un aposento hombres y mugers...." AHDT, Baguena I, 196v.  Back.

Note 29: Baguena, too, afforded outsiders this opportunity. In 1581, for example, along with the other children of the village, Ana, "whose parents are unknown," was confirmed, as was "Bernat the Shepherd, a stranger." AHDT, Baguena I, 202v.  Back.

Note 30: In 1488-90, the Inquisition tried Juan de Alava for practicing "Jewish rites." During the same time period, Francisco Remirez the notary was brought up on the same charges, but exonerated; Garcia de Alava, a priest, was also charged and was condemned to perpetual imprisonment. As in Teruel, the Inquisition initially sought out signs of Jewish rather than Muslim practice. See Motis Dolader, Miguel Angel, Javier Garcia Marco, and Maria Luz Rodrigo Estevan, Procesos Inquisitoriales de Daroca y su communidad (Daroca: Centro de Estudios Darocenses, 1995). I am indebted to Emilio Benedicto, librarian in the city of Calamocha, for bringing this publication to my attention.  Back.

Note 31: The parish register contains a list of the newly converted that confessed in 1538. (See Appendix I.) At the foot of the list, a 1594 note from Luis Miguel confirms that Don Hernando of Aragon, Archbishop of Saragossa, wrote the list. AHDT, Burbaguena I, 202.  Back.

Note 32: The "nuevo convertido" label was rarely used in the marriage records, but was present in the records of deaths from the inception of that volume in 1538.  Back.

Note 33: Separate record-keeping could facilitate a census of the Morisco population. See note 31, where a record made in 1538 is re-examined in 1594.  Back.

Note 34: "... no los quise admitir ansi viejos como nuevos cristianos sino co[n] licencia de senor official de Daroca." AHDT, Burbaguena I, 139v.  Back.

Note 35: Internal memoranda from the Inquisition reveal an organization eager to open as many "branch offices," so to speak, as possible. Letter after letter argues for the advantages of being on-site in areas of Morisco concentration. See Part III.  Back.

Note 36: "Todos los q[ue] enel dicho lugar habitan ansi vezinos como ventureros se confesaron...." AHDT, Burbaguena I, 140.  Back.

Note 37: "... y losq[ue] tenian hedat se comulgaron ansi viejos como nuevos convertidos salvo q[ue] los viejos de edat y discrecion comulgaron los nuevos no salvo la mujer de Jua[n] de Agreda y esta en frenta del Senyor Ynquisidor y esto es verdat." AHDT, Burbaguena I, 140.  Back.

Note 38: Had Navarro wished to convey that the Inquisitor was present to witness this act, the typical sixteenth-century phrasing in legal and ecclesiastical documents in this part of Aragon, from Saragossa south to Teruel, would have stated that he was "presente." The choice of a phrase that conveys the idea of a face-to-face encounter and the idea of opposition is significant here.  Back.

Note 39: The entire city of Teruel was forbidden to receive communion because of their refusal to admit Inquisitors in the 1480s. Sesma Muñoz, El establecimiento de la Inquisicion en Aragon (1484-1486) (Saragossa: Institucion Fernando del Catolico, 1984).  Back.

Note 40: AHDT, Burbaguena I.  Back.

Note 41: AHDT, Burbaguena II, 324v (June 17, 1593).  Back.

Note 42: "... solo confeso y recuvo el sacramento de las ex[trem]a unction que su enfermedad fue repentina y no dia lugar a mas." AHDT, Burbaguena II 324v (June 18, 1593)  Back.

Note 43: In 1593, the list of confessed new Christians who died included Guismar de Agreda, from Belchite; an unnamed individual who died in Carlos Rostrella's home; Daniel Apacio; and Maria de Arcos. In 1594, Luis de Agreda, Catalina de Arcos, Catalina de Agreda (wife of Rodrigo Rostrella) and Isabel de Agreda died after confessing. In 1595, a different Catalina de Agreda (this one the wife of Juan de Agreda), young Lope Gomero, Miguel Gomero, Maria Cortes, Gil Sancho, Angela Moracho, and Juan de Agreda died after confessing. (AHDT, Burbaguena II, 324v-329 and 335v-336.  Back.

Note 44: AHDT, Burbaguena II, 340.  Back.

Note 45: AHDT, Burbaguena II, 347 (November 2, 1604).  Back.

Note 46: AHDT, Baguena II, 205v (August 2, 1581).  Back.

Note 47: AHDT, Baguena II, 246v (September 6, 1596) and 248 (November 23, 1597). Another sudden death was that of Rodrigo Mendo on September 22, 1563. The priest noted: "He did not receive any of the sacraments because he died violently." ("No recibio ningon sacra[men]to porq[ue] murio violentemente.") AHDT, Baguena II, 151.  Back.

Note 48: AHDT, Baguena II, 153v (September 1566).  Back.

Note 49: AHDT, Baguena II (April 8, 1608). Maria's death is several years before 1611, when deaths of children and young people reached the epidemic stage in Baguena. Perhaps this is an early occurrence of the disease in the village. Maria died in 1608. Four of the 10 deaths in 1609 were children, and 9 of 16 deaths in 1610 were young people. For the 1611 deaths, see the section on birth, Chapter 3.  Back.

Note 50: "... sin confesion porq[ue] me llamado quando ya era muerto." AHDT, Burbaguena I, 217v (July 7, 1561).  Back.

Note 51: "... recibio el sacramento de la confesion era nuevo convertido." AHDT, Burbaguena I, 211v (September 4, 1556).  Back.

Note 52: AHDT, Burbaguena I, 202 (March 11, 1553).  Back.

Note 53: "... como parece por cedula." AHDT, Burbaguena I, 158.  Back.

Note 54: In a letter to the Inquisitors of Valladolid, in Lea, 144. Lea provides the old Simancas citation (Inq. Libro 4, folio 183).  Back.

Note 55: Lea, 48-49.  Back.

Note 56: In the Archivo del Reino de Valencia, clero libro 2005, a series of documents provide for the establishment of a college for the doctrinal instruction of "novi christiani," or new Christians, both male and female, in memory of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. Document 2 explains the purpose of such instruction: it will enable the Moriscos to follow the faith and the beliefs they professed at baptism, without scandalizing faithful Christians (1561).  Back.

Note 57: "Mandamos al vicario q[ue] todo los dias festivos a una ora cierta haga admitar todos los mochachos y les ensene las oraciones de la yglesia es a saber el Credo paternoster la avemaria y Salve Regina y el padre/o/ madre q[ue] no inbiar sus hijos sin tener legitimo impedimiento paga por cada ves seis dineros." AHDT, Burbaugnea I, 208v (1554).  Back.

Note 58: Historians often neglect this initial disarmament effort, and mention only the orders of the later sixteenth century in Aragon. Lea tells us that the Edict of Granada, issued in 1526, required licenses for the carrying of arms; this edict was extended to all of Spain in 1528. Nueva Recop. Lib. VIII, Tit. Ii, Ley 13, cited in Lea, 191, n2.  Back.

Note 59: This inventory, from the notary Miguel Alcocer, dated January, 18, 1526, is published in its entirety in Perez Gonzales, Maria Dolores, and Fabian Mañas Ballestin, "Los Mudejares del valle medio del Jiloca," in Actas: III Simposio Internacional de Mudejarismo (Teruel: Instituto de Estudios Turolenses, 1986), 221-243. (Perez and Mañas also estimate the 1526 new Christian population of Burbaguena at 44 households and around 200 individuals, working from documents in the provincial archive in Saragossa, including a register of infants.)  Back.

Note 60: This distinction between secular and religious does not seem to have been one made by residents of the Jiloca valley in the sixteenth century. For evidence of this, see the section on business.  Back.

 

Like Wheat to the Miller: Community, Convivencia, and the
Construction of Morisco Identity in Sixteenth-Century Aragon