Leonor de Cisnere

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Leonor de Cisnere (* around 1536 in Valladolid in Spain ; † September 26, 1568 in Valladolid), also called Leonor (Álvarez) de Cisneros or Eleonore de Cisneros , was a Protestant martyr . Her case is one of the most famous of the Spanish Inquisition .

Life

Establishment of a Protestant community

Around 1551, the Italian Carlos de Seso , considered a son of the Bishop of Piacenza (at that time Catalano Trivulzio), founded a Protestant community in Valladolid, the seat of the Spanish court at the time. Last year, probably under the influence of the works of Juan de Valdés , he converted to the Protestant faith and brought the relevant literature with him to Spain. Carlos de Seso's reformatory work began in Logroño and then continued in Toro .

In 1554, thanks to the influence of his wife Isabella de Castilla, who was of royal descent, Carlos de Seso became a corregidor (mayor) of Toro. There he won Leonor de Cisnere and her husband Antonio Herrezuelo (also Herezuello, known as "the Baccalaureus Herezuello de Torro"), whom Leonor de Cisnere had married around 1553 at the age of 18, and several other people, some of distinguished origin for the Protestant faith . In Pedrosa , a place between Valladolid and Toro, Carlos de Seso was able to win over pastor Pedro de Cazalla for the Reformation. The community or the " conventicle " eventually comprised about 70 believers.

On January 4, 1559, at the Spanish request, Pope Paul IV authorized the Grand Inquisitor and Supremo in a brief to condemn persons considered heretics as such even if they wanted to renounce, if it could be assumed that this departure was only in order to to escape punishment.

Arrest and Detention

The secret meetings were betrayed; On Maundy Thursday , March 23, 1559, there was a raid during the Protestant service. Most of the members were arrested, including Leonor de Cisnere and Antonio Herrezuelo. They were detained in separate cells in Valladolid. After five years of marriage, Leonor de Cisnere was now completely isolated and harassed by the priests and inquisitors, without a friend to stand by her or any news of her husband's fate. As usual, both Leonor de Cisnere and Antonio Herrezuelo were asserted that the other, as well as friends who had been arrested, had recognized their mistakes and retracted them. If Leonor de Cisnere only admitted her mistakes, she would be released to join them. The alternative is the torture bench, clearly kept in sight, and possibly the stake.

Without Leonor de Cisnere's knowledge, Antonio Herrezuelo remained steadfast, who not only openly admitted his commitment to the Reformation, but also that he was a defender and teacher of its teachings. The torture couldn't change his resolve. Leonor de Cisnere, meanwhile, was undecided in her cell, certainly eager to be reunited with her husband.

Methods of the inquisition

In order to understand the following events, it is necessary to become familiar with the procedure of the Inquisition and in particular the autodafé ("act of faith"). Endowed with great power, the Inquisition initially concentrated on prominent Jews, since a guilty verdict led to the confiscation of the property. This alliance of church and state soon expanded its range of activities to include other groups of people, with old bills being settled. Hundreds, eventually thousands, saw their freedoms shattered, their land confiscated and their households ransacked.

Detainees were routinely alleged that others had withdrawn; they were encouraged to betray their friends for extenuating circumstances. Once caught, few survived. On the day of the public car dairy, the accused were brought out of their dungeon and only then were they to learn of their true fate, as well as that of their friends and family. Detainees were never allowed to face their accusers or see the allegations against them in writing. They were simply told that they would not have been arrested unless there was sufficient evidence in the authorities' possession to convict them. Their only choice was to retract or face death.

A car dairy was held on Sundays, usually in the city's central public square, attended by church and government dignitaries. A 40 day indulgence was often given to the spectators to add to the crowd. The prisoners were dressed in the sanbenito , a yellow, sleeveless piece of wool with an opening for the head that hung loosely down to the knees at the front and back, comparable to a scapular . The term Sanbenito is derived from the expression saco bendito for a consecrated penitential dress. The prisoners had to wear a so-called tiare, a high, pointed cap, on their heads; her hands were tied with ropes in front of her body. They had to carry burning green wax torches.

Those found guilty of deathly crimes were informed of their impending executions the previous night and given one last chance to repent. When they used this, they were given the grace of being strangled from being burned. The next morning they had to march out of the dungeon. Those who did not repent carried the image of a person surrounded by flames and devils on Sanbenito and Tiare, and were delivered alive to the fire. Those who were previously strangled had the tips of the flames depicted on the robe pointing downwards. Whoever got away with life wore only a reddish St. Andrew's cross on Sanbenito and Tiare, or, in the case of minor offenses, only part of the cross. The torches were only lighted on those sentenced to death.

First inquisition trial

Presentation of Juan de Austria on the occasion of Doctor Cazalla's Autodafé in Valladolid

On May 21, 1559, Trinity Sunday , the defendants of Leonor de Cisnere's circle were also publicly tried in the large market square of Valladolid as Lutherans before a court of the Inquisition. For this purpose, grandstands were built in a semicircle. On one of the stands the Inquisitor General and Archbishop of Seville , Fernando Valdés (term of office 1546–1566), sat with the entire College of Inquisitions, four other bishops and the College of State Officials. The spectators crowded the square, the streets, all the windows and even on the roofs. The hearing is said to have had 200,000 spectators, including ministers and representatives of the secular authorities, as well as many other influential personalities. Every house along the route the prisoners were supposed to walk was provided with a stage. Some spectators had come specially from a distance of 60 to 70 km and camped in the open air. Only a few trustworthy persons were allowed to ride or carry weapons; others were forbidden with the death penalty and loss of property. The royal box was located on a special stage in front of the palace. Before 6 a.m. the regent, Infanta Juana , sister of King Philip II , her nephew, the Prince of Asturias (Crown Prince), the 13-year-old Infanta Don Carlos , the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela , Gaspar Zúñiga Avellaneda, marched there (Term of office 1558–1569), the entire court and many nobles . It was the first car dairy in Valladolid. The event was also immortalized in copperplate engravings and other works of art. It was a social event where, for example, Juan de Austria was introduced to society.

Next, from the Inquisition building, gunmen paved an alley through the crowd followed by the prisoners, guarded by Inquisition servants. The processional path was marked by stakes driven in so that the three participants could walk side by side. The prisoners were dressed in sanbenitos as described, and almost all of them bore the marks of massive torture. The Sanbenito Leonor de Cisneres was that of a penitent who was to be spared death. To her horror, she saw that her husband wore the infernal badge of an "unrepentant heretic." A cross wrapped in black cloth and the red flag of the Inquisition with the names of the Pope and the King were carried before the prisoners; these items were eventually placed on their own scaffolding. At the head of the prisoners were five siblings, including two clergymen and a nun. The highest place on the stage was given to one of these five, Dr. Agustín de Cazalla , who led the evangelical parish of Valladolid and was once the preacher of Charles V , followed by his brother Francisco de Vibero Cazalla. Next to it was a statue of a woman standing on a wooden box and dressed like the prisoners. The picture showed Eleonore de Vibero, the mother of the five siblings, who had died in prison. Her remains were in the box. The deceased mother was to be cremated with her children. The inquisitors sat under a canopy, opposite was an altar on which a crucifix, candlesticks and the other altar utensils needed for the sacrifice stood. Next to it was a pulpit from which Melchior Cano , a well-known, learned Dominican and Bishop of the Canaries, gave the hour-long sermon on the car dairy.

Thereafter, the Inquisitor of Valladolid, Franz Baca, went to the tribune of the Infante and the Infanta and asked both of them to take an oath that they would protect the Inquisition and denounce anyone who would speak out against the Roman Catholic faith. (A translation of the formula of the oath can be found in the Staats-Lexikon given under literature .) The reason for this procedure was the regulatory, with which the Spanish Inquisition was introduced by the royal couple Ferdinand and Isabella . This required a corresponding oath from the magistrate who had to carry out the auto-da-fe. However, this formality had already been fulfilled when the Inquisition was introduced in Valladolid, and it was doubtful whether members of the ruling family also had to take such an oath. Carlos and Juana complied with the request and had the Archbishop of Seville swear the oath on the image of the cross in the missal, then they were rewarded with a blessing. After this oath to protect and promote the Inquisition, the audience chanted: “Until death!” Other people present also had to take the oath. Baca's approach has often been viewed as an affront to the crown. Don Carlos' attitude towards the Inquisition was to remain negative for life, until he died shortly before the planned treason trial against him in 1568.

Revocation and sentencing to life imprisonment

Agustín de Cazalla, Francisco de Vibero Cazalla and Alonso Pérez were stripped of their spiritual dignity. Then the judgments of the Inquisition and the secular judgment were read out. All were declared dishonorable; their property was confiscated. Antonio Herrezuelo was the only one of the defendants who did not retract. Everyone else had expressed repentance, asked for mercy, and made full statements against their friends and fellow believers. According to the laws valid at the time, only two or three of the accused could have been punished with death, since only these had actively worked to spread the Reformation.

Instead, the papal brief of January 4, 1559 (see above) was followed; an example should be made: 50 of the members of the Protestant community, including the 23-year-old Leonor de Cisnere, actually got away with heavy fines and were re-accepted into the Roman Catholic Church. Leonor de Cisnere went through the penitential rituals impassively, fell on his knees and repeated the words of her confession. After her public revocation, she was sentenced to life imprisonment. But 13 of the accused, including a Portuguese Jew, otherwise Protestant Christians, were handed over to the secular judge and, as described, pardoned in the form that they were strangled before they were cremated. Antonio Herrezuelo was the only one of the defendants to be cremated alive. On the way to the execution site in front of the Puerta del Campo, Herrezuelo passed his wife and saw that her Sanbenito was not labeled like his. He knew from this that his wife had withdrawn and became angry about it. He kicked it and said (based on the translation by Höck): "Is that the value you place on the teaching in which I have taught you for six years?"

The then Venetian ambassador to King Philip II, Paulo Tiepolo, wrote about the executions to Doge Lorenzo Priuli and the Venetian Senate:

"In Valladolid ten of the highest nobles in the province of León were burned for heresy."

Contemporary depiction of the Valladolid Autodafé , in which fourteen Evangelical Christians were burned on the stake on May 21, 1559 for their beliefs

In another letter dated June 16, 1559, Tiepolo included a list of people who had been convicted by the Inquisition, with the following details:

“The Baccalaureus Herezuello de Torro, sentenced to confiscate his property and burn it. He was burned alive for persisting in his heresy, gagged all the time, never acknowledging the Holy Church of Rome . "

Return to the evangelical profession and execution

James Anderson reports that after returning to her cell, Leonor de Cisnere fell on her knees and begged God's forgiveness for what she had done. We know from Tiepolo's letter that “Leonor de Cisneros de Toro” had to serve her imprisonment in a Benedictine monastery . In the weeks, months and years that followed, she refused to be taught, dropped out of her penitential course, and told the priests that she adhered to the "Lutheran" faith, a term used for all followers of the Reformation in Spain. She stated that she wanted to pay for her withdrawal. For eight years she rejected every argument, resisted every trickery, and endured every physical torture the Inquisition subjected her. She was openly involved in reforming among the prisoners. The “penitent” was unrepentant and, as is reported, wished to be treated and executed as a relapsed “heretic”. Indeed, she was accused of being a relapsed, hopeless heretic, and sentenced to death by fire on a stake.

On September 26, 1568, she left the Valladolid dungeon again and slowly walked to the central square. It is reported that this time she appeared very composed, in contrast to her earlier appearance, and looked at the personalities present "with a fearless and non-pale countenance". She was burned alive without prior strangulation .

Gonzalo de Illescas also reports on the death of Leonor de Cisneres in his work Historia Pontifical y Catolica . There is no evidence from Llorente's book or from documents from the city of Valladolid.

Remembrance day

September 26th in the Evangelical Name Calendar , together with her husband Antonio Herrezuelo.

reception

Simon Vestdijk dealt with the fate of Antonio Herrezuelo and Leonor de Cisnere in his novel about El Greco , The Fifth Seal .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Presentación de Don Juan de Austria con motivo del auto de fe del doctor Cazalla. In: Diputación de Valladolid. Archived from the original on November 19, 2011 ; Retrieved September 26, 2018 (Spanish).
  2. ↑ a b c d Rawdon Brown, G. Cavendish Bentinck (ed.): Venice: June 1559. In: Calendar of State Papers Relating To English Affairs in the Archives of Venice, Volume 7, 1558-1580. 1890, pp. 94-105 , accessed September 26, 2018 (English, reproduced on British History Online ).
  3. ↑ El Greco , The fifth seal (Het vijfde zegel). 1937.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Cisnere, Leonor de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cisneros, Eleonore de; Cisneros, Leonor de; Álvarez de Cisneros, Leonor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish evangelical martyr
DATE OF BIRTH around 1536
PLACE OF BIRTH Valladolid , Spain
DATE OF DEATH September 26, 1568
Place of death Valladolid , Spain