Inquisition Trial of Jerónimo de Rojas, A Morisco of Toledo (1601-1603)

Mercedes García-Arenal, Ph.D. (1979), is a Research Professor at the CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) in Madrid. She is a cultural and religious historian specialised in religious minorities on which she has published and edited many books, such as The Orient in Spain. Converted Muslims, the Forged Lead Books of Granada and the Rise of Orientalism (Brill, 2013) and The Expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain. A Mediterranean Diaspora (Brill, 2016).Rafael Benítez Sánchez-Blanco, Ph.D. (1976), Universidad de Valencia (Spain), is Emeritus Professor of Early Modern History at that university. He has published monographs, editions, articles and chapters of books on Moriscos and the Spanish Inquisition, for example Heroicas decisiones. La Monarquía Católica y los moriscos valencianos (Alfons el Màgnanim, 2001).

"[Jerónimo de Rojas’s] sentence to the stake was opposed by the most senior and experienced of his interrogators, but the Supreme Council of the Inquisition overrode his opinion. As García-Arenal and Sánchez-Blanco point out, this was a moment when the attitude of the Spanish government to the Moriscos was hardening while preparations were being made for their expulsion in 1609. The execution of Jerónimo de Rojas is one of a number of dramatic episodes pointing towards the final tragedy, and the edition of his trial is an important contribution to our knowledge of a grim moment in Spanish history."- Alastair Hamilton (Warburg Institute, London). Journal of Ecclesiastical History 74 (2023): 193–4.

• Preface and Acknowledgments IXList of IllustrationsIIntroduction1 Jerónimo de Rojas before the Tribunal1.1 First Stage: Defiance1.2 Second Stage: Collapse1.3 The Trial History of Rojas’s Family and Others Denounced by Enríquez2 The Scene and the Protagonists2.1 Jerónimo de Rojas2.2 Fray Hernando de Santiago2.3 Villarín, the Bigamist from Galicia2.4 Francisco Enríquez, the Informer2.5 Officers of the Inquisition2.6 The Scene: Toledo in the Time of Rojas3 The Moriscos3.1 From the Conversions to the War of the Alpujarras (1501–1570)3.2 The War of the Alpujarras3.3 From the War of the Alpujarras to Philip III’s Early Reign3.4 The Political Shift of Philip III’s Early Reign4 The Inquisition4.1 Harsh Repression by the Tribunals of Granada, Zaragoza, and Valencia4.2 Activity of the Llerena Tribunal4.3 The Toledo Tribunal4.4 The Limits of the Holy Office5 The Conversations in Prison5.1 Life in Prison5.2 Rojas’s Religious Beliefs and Practices5.3 Abentute or Ibn Tūda5.4 Al-Hajarī6 The Granadan Forgeries, Miguel de Luna, and the Religious Polemic6.1 The Parchment and the Lead Books of the Sacromonte in Granada6.2 Miguel de Luna6.3 Religious Polemic6.4 Muhamad Alguazir, Pastrana, and Ocaña6.5 Juan Pérez7 Secret Prisons and Letters7.1 The Sequence of Events and Papers7.2 The Language of the Letters and Rojas’s Knowledge of Christianity8 Conclusions9 The Trial Transcript1 Introductory Note2 Denunciation and Imprisonment3 Rojas’s Communications and Letters4 Witness Statements5 Statements by Jerónimo de Rojas6 The Accusation7 Response to the Accusation8 Publication of the Witness Statements9 Response to the Publication of the Witness Statements10 Written Defense11 Second Publication of the Witness Statements12 Vote on the Case13 Torture14 The Sentence15 Establishment of the Date of the CrimeBibliography