I
110 PERCEPTIONS OF MAGIC IN MEDIEVAL SPANISH LITERATURE
cause doctors speak often of it, pointing out marriage impedi­
ments, and there are express decrees for it]. He is unwilling to
accept all the behefs surrounding the magical practitioner’s abih-
ties but, because he cannot deny the Devil’s existence and remain
a good Christian, he must accept part of it.
Despite Barrientos’s and Arl4s’s doubts concerning the reality
of witchcraft, the later treatises written by Cifuelo and Casta-
nega demonstrate a trend toward an increased belief in witch­
craft and make it appear that Spain would follow the rest of
Europe into the burgeoning Witchcraze. However, because the
educated and the powerful in Spain held vacillating opinions and
questioned papal authority, Spain was able to preserve a more
balanced attitude toward the witch and the magic arts. Although
Ciruelo’s and Castanega’s treatises suggest a degree of under­
standing and belief in the concept of witchcraft, they did not pro­
vide enough fuel to catapult Spain into a full-blown Witchcraze.
3
“Real” Magical Practitioners in Spain
Prischian
Medieval Spain understood, but did not necessarily believe
in, the concept of magical practice and witchcraft. A number of
Sp2miards acquired fame as magical practitioners, the earhest of
whom was Priscihan, who became the Bishop of Avila in 380.
During Priscilian’s time, Memphis, Egypt was considered the
magical center of the known world and Priscilian, student of the
renowned magician Marcus of Egypt, acquired a reputation as a
magician (McKenna 1938, 50; Chadwick 1976, 21). He preached
unorthodox doctrine and Manichaeism^ often to nocturnal gath­
erings of women, gaming much popularity as he did so (Menendez
y Pelayo 1880, 106; McKenna 1938, 54). Because he became a
threat to the leaders of the Christian Church, he was charged
with and tried for these offenses as well as for practicing the black
arts, and was sentenced to death. His teaching gave birth to the
Priscilianist heresy, which continued to gain momentum after his
death. Despite the desire of his executioners to destroy the her­
esy, Priscilian’s martyr’s death served to spread his teaching,
mainly in Gahcia, rather than to suppress it, imtil the First Coun­
cil of Braga ended it in 561 (McKenna 1938, 72-73; Menendez y
Pelayo 1880,122-23).
Much can be learned from the First Council of Braga about
Priscilian’s beliefs since the authors write seventeen anathemas
opposing them. The Council was held approximately two centu­
ries after Priscihan’s hfe ended, principally to refhte the hold
PriscUianism had gained on society. The fact that the religious
leaders dedicated an entire Council for this purpose indicates the
widespread threat they perceived from Priscilian’s legacy. The
punishment for behoving in any of Priscihan’s teachings was to
be “cortado del cuerpo de la iglesia como miembro podrido” (Con-
111
112 PERCEPTIONS OP MAGIC IN MEDIEVAL SPANISH LITERATURE
cilio de Braga 11850, 609) [cut from the body of the Church like
a rotten appendage], revealing the Spanish ecclesiastical leaders’
desire to keep Christianity pure and under their control.
According to the Council, Priscihan believed that God was a
single entity rather than a Trinity, that Christ did not exist be­
fore his birth, that Christ was not a flesh and blood human and
therefore, by imphcation, was bom divine, that angels and
human souls are of divine substance and therefore not really sep­
arate from or inferior to God, that human bodies serve as prisons
for souls that sinned in Heaven, that the Devil created himself as
an opponent to God thereby suggesting he was God’s equal, that
the Devil created some of the things of the Earth, that the stars
control the soul and body, that marriage and procreation were in­
herently evil, that the Devil created human bodies in his own
image, that it was wrong to eat meat, and that monks may live
with women even if not related to them. Finally, as anathema
seventeen declares, it is wrong to read and follow any of Priscih-
im’s teachings.^
Priscihan viewed the world through duahstic eyes. Good and
Evil were of equal weight, necessitating a conscious effort to ad­
here to the rules of Good in order to earn a place in Paradise. The
spirit was good but the flesh was evil, rendering the act of giving
birth equal to passing a prison sentence. The matter of Earth was
equivalent to HeU for Pi^icihan. Priscflian’s behefs denied God’s
supremacy because of the equahty of Good and Evil. The Devil
participated in the creation of mankind and therefore the flesh
was something to be disdained. The Church had struggled with
the dichotomy between Good and Evil but-was unwilling to con­
clude that Ertl had the same weight as Good. God must reign su­
preme as the Creator of all that existed. Diminishing God’s
supremacy would have been to reduce the promise of protection
from Evil, an idea upon which the Church relied heavily to justify
its existence.
AH of Priscilian’s beliefs listed in the proclamations of the
Council directly oppose orthodox Church doctrine but do not
mention Priscilian’s practice of the magic arts. At the time of his
death, although he was charged with the heresy of Manichaeism,
magical practice alone was not a serious enough crime to warrant
the death penalty (McKeima 1938, 55). His opponents sentenced
him to death for his heterodox religious beliefs including charges
of sorceiy, demonstrating how such charges could serve as an ef­
3; “REAL” MAGICAL PRACTmONERS IN SPAIN 113
fective pohtical or religious tool to defeat an enemy. If Priscihan
did practice sorcery, his behef in it was either not passed down
to subsequent adherents, or deemed not important enough to be
worthy of mention by the Council, but his reputation as a sor­
cerer survived long after his death. Centuries passed before any­
one else acquired such widespread fame.
Arnaldo de Vilanova
Amaldo de Vilanova’s (d. 1312) interest in science and other
mteUectual pursuits fueled his fame as a magical practitioner. He
was a physician and an author of books about alchemy who
served powerful men like Frederick II as a dream interpreter
(Menendez y Pelayo 1880, 477). His contemporaries considere4
hiTTi a necromancer and sorcerer because of his alchemical stud­
ies, partly because he decorated his house with strange s3anbols
that were interpreted as magical (Thorndike 1934, 843; Men4n-
dez y Pelayo 1880, 481). Vilanova did not beheve in the power of
demons but conceded that natural substances could have be­
witching effects, revealing his preference for scientific explana­
tion (Thorndike 1934, 850).
Despite Vilanova’s scholarly activities. Pope Boniface incarcer­
ated him for a short time for having predicted a date for the Anti­
christ’s arrival (Menendez y Pelayo 1880,471). Such a prediction
violated the Church’s belief that only God is privy to future
events, especially that of the Antichrist’s arrival. Because of his
powerful political connections, Vilanova was released shortly
after his arrest and was able to resume his regular activities pro­
vided he no longer made predictions of such magnitude (Thorn­
dike 1934,844). At that time there was an aversion to intellectual
pursuits in the general population, because arms took precedence
over letters, and because the idea prevailed that the mechanisms
of the world had already been explained as stemming from God’s
creation. Consequently, many intellectuals acquired reputations
as magicians. It is not surprising that the potential for shattering
religious explanations for mysteries through scientific discovery
was met with resistance because religious belief provided much
comfort, as well as a power base for the Church.
114 PERCEPTIONS OF MAGIC IN MEDIEVAL SPANISH LITERATURE
Maria DE Padilla
Scientific study was not the only means to achieve fame as a
magical practitioner. The circumstances that surrounded Maria
de Padilla’s love affair with Pedro I (1350-69) generated her rep­
utation as a sorceress. When the king married Blanca de Borbon,
he left her after only three days to return to Padilla (Voltes 1986,
49). The queen later presented Pedro I with a golden belt, which
Padilla is said to have transformed into a snake. The king, how­
ever, believing Borbon the culprit, executed her (Voltes 1986,49).
For political reasons, Pedro I then took another wife, Juana de
Castro, but left her after only one day, again to return to Padilla
(Voltes 1986, 50). After Padilla’s death, the king declared that he
had married her in secret so that the four children she had home
him would be officially legitimate (Voltes 1986, 49).
Because the king continued to return to Padilla, despite his
reputation as a womanizer, rumors began to circulate that she
had cast a magical spell on him with her sorceress’ powers (Abas-
cal 1984, 30). Perhaps Padilla and Pedro I were star-crossed lov­
ers fated to five a life of separation because of the king’s pohtical
duties, but the rumors did not consider that possibility. Instead,
they assume a pohtical flavor because of Padilla’s intimacy with
the ruler, a position that would have afforded her much influence
in the pohtical arena. Despite the rumors, Spain stiU maintained
an attitude of skepticism toward magical practice and court offi­
cials were reluctant to charge Padilla with any wrongdoing, for to
so accuse the lady would have recognized that she wielded ex­
traordinary power, as well as tempting the wrath of a king al­
ready known as The Cruel. Eliminating Padilla from the pohtical
scene would also have deprived the population of a rich source of
entertaining stories, as weh as rendering many of the elite vul­
nerable to similar attacks, given their own propensity for sohcit-
ing magical services (Bonilla 1962, 80).
Enrique de Villena
Padilla’s exemption did not mean that a label of magician could
not be harmful or derogatory as it was for Enrique de ViUena, one
of Spain’s more prominent scholars who also acquired a reputa­
tion as a magician. ViUena was bom into nobility in 1386, at a
3: “REAL” MAGICAL PRACTITIONERS IN SPAIN 115
time when men of arms stiU prevailed over men of letters (Torres
Alcala 1983, 5). Because ViUena preferred study over knightly ac­
tivities, his reputation at court became suspect as he began to
spend less time there and more with his intellectual, Jewish, and
converso fiiends. This stimulated suspicion of his activities and
contributed to his pohtical faUures (Gascon-Vera 1979, 319-20).
Becoming a pawn to the king’s affairs,. ViUena had married En­
rique Ill’s lover and thereafter earned the disdain of the queen
because she beheved he was purposely aiding her husband’s infi-
dehties. As Juan II’s mother, the queen would have related her
pohtical aUiances and hatreds to her son, which may have con­
tributed to Juan n’s disposal of ViUena’s large library postmor­
tem in an ostentatious bonfire (BonUla 1962,159).
In addition to his extensive hbrary, ViUena also wrote a num­
ber of texts,® including the Tratado de fascinacion. o de aojamien-
to. In it he writes of the effects of the evU eye, “algunas personas
tanto venenosas en su complision e tan apartados de la eucrasia,
que por vista empongonan el aire e los a quien aquel aire tane e
los resgibe por atracgion respirativa, segunt en la Cosmograffa es
manifiesto: afirma in Qigia sean mugeres que por sola catadura
matan” (VUlena 1994, 329) [some people are just as poisonous in
their comphcity and poison the air with a look and others receive
it when the air touches them or they breathe it, as it is found in
Cosmography: Vicia affirms that there are women who can kUl
with a look], which acknowledges that women are powerful
enough to kiU with a mere look. ViUena then discusses the equiv­
alent power retained by certain animals, such as the basilisk and
the wolf, suggesting that women are kindred spirits to dangerous
animals. In a story he includes that supports this image, the
queen of India sends a young lady, who could kill men with her
bite, to Alexander the Great with the intention of killing him (Vi­
Uena 1994, 330). Perhaps equating women with animals made it
easier to accept the possibility that they wielded extraordinary
power. It would also make it easier to dispose of them.
VUlena sets himself apart from these powerful women por­
trayed as beasts by justifying his study of the magical arts, much
as Isidore had, as a historical topic: “e los tiempos en que lo faUa-
ron e primero usaron, que esta asaz claro en historias antiguas,
porque non sea visto mostrar doctrina pemiciosa e contraria a la
divina ley, en la cual me deleito, e tales suspegiones aborresco”
(ViUena 1994, 332) [at the time when they found it and first used
116 PERCEPTIONS OF MAGIC IN MEDIEVAL SPANISH LITERATURE 3: “REAL” MAGICAL PRACTmONERS IN SPAIN 117
it, which is made clear in ancient stories, because it is not becom­ Oh indito sabio, autor muy dente,
ing to show any doctrine that is pernicious and contrary to divine otra y otra vegada yo Uoro
law, in which I take much pleasure, and I abhor such supersti­ porque Castilla perdid tal thesoro
tions]. Villena’s assurance to the reader that he is Christian no conoddo delante la gente.
seems to defy his reputation as a magician. No doubt he was
knowledgeable in magical practice, as evidenced by his descrip­ cxxvm
tions of various magical remedies that include coral, laurel leaves, Perdio los tus libros sin ser conoddos,
and emeralds, but he is also careful to cite an authority,"* as schol­ y como en exequias te fueron ya luego
arly precedent dictated, giving the impression that he attempts imos metidos al avido fuego,
to separate science from magical “superstition.” otros sin orden no bien repartidos.
Cierto en Atenas los libros fingidos
Toward the end of his treatise he states, “[pjero tales cosas en que de Pitdgoras se reprovaron
nuestra ley son defendidas como supersticiosas e contrarias al con drimonia mayor se quemaron
buen hevir e por eso en esto non me detengo” (Villena 1994, 335) cuando al senado le fueron leidos. (Mena 1997,109)
[but such thhigs in our law are presented as superstitious and
contrary to good living and therefore I will not linger more on the [Cxxvn
subject]. He is careftd to clarify that it is the law that restrains That bright father, that sweet fountain.
him from speaking in a manner that would implicate himself as a He who in the Castalo moxmtain echoes.
magical practitioner, yet the existence of the treatise divulges his Is Don Enrique, lord of VUlena,
great interest in and knowledge of the topic. Honor of Spain and century present.
Despite that care, Juan II burned much of ViUena’s library, 0 illustrious sage, author very knowledgeable.
augmenting the scholar’s reputation as a magician. The king Other and another plain I cry
wished to alleviate the tensions caused by famine and the Maes- Because Castile lost such a treasure
Not known before the people.
tre de Alcantara’s defeat in 1434 at Moorish hands (Gascon-Vera
1979, 322). The sumptuous funeral Juan II gave Villena suggests
cxxvm
that the king did not believe the rumors about the scholar’s het­ He lost your books without being known.
erodoxy, which suggests that the book burning was a political tool And in funeral rites they went to you then
rather than a statement of the king’s personal opinion of ViUena Some in avid fire.
(Gascon-Vera 1979, 321; (Dotarelo 1896,104). Villena served as a Others without order not weU divided.
convenient political scapegoat because of his inability to defend Certainly in Athens the pretended books
himself, and his weakened position as a scholar-magician rather That of Pythagoras were reproved
than a warrior (Gascon-Vera 1979, 322). With great ceremony they were burned
Just as the king most likely did not believe in private that Vi­ When they were read to the Senate.]
llena was guilty of witchcraft, several of Villena’s peers praise
him in their writing. Juan de Mena includes Villena in his Laber- The first stanza praises ViUena, to whom Mena refers as a trea­
into de Fortuna: sure, indicating the high value he placed upon the scholar. The
last line confirms the dual reputation ViUena held. To the general
cxxvn pubUc he was a magician. To his educated peers and the king he
aquel claro padre, aquel dulce fuente, was an honored scholar, indicating that Spain’s educated were
aquel que en el Castalo monte resuena, able to resist being wooed by suspicious rumors of magical prac­
es don Enrique, sefior de Villena, tice. Mena laments the loss of knowledge from the book burning,
honra de Espafia y del siglo presente. recognizing that there were few who actuaUy imderstood them.
118 PERCEPTIONS OP MAGIC IN MEDIEVAL SPANISH LITERATURE
He also implies that those who burned the books were not quali­
fied to judge them.
Mena goes on to compare Villena to Pythagoras in order to
draw a parallel between the burning of the great mathematician’s
books and the destruction of ViUena’s hbraiy by those who did
not understand the scholars, equating Villena to Pythagoras’s
greatness. Since there is no mention of witchcraft or magic in his
description of Villena, Mena reveals his support of ViUena’s stud­
ies as legitimate science rather than heterodox practice of the
black arts. To highhght his premise, Mena, after the section on
Villena, speaks of magicians and sorcerers who practice the evil
arts, clearly separating them from ViUena’s erudition. Whereas
others of his time had difficulty distinguishing between science
and magic, Mena remains clear in his understanding that educa­
tion and study do not automatically mean a practice of black
magic. It is likely that Mena hoped his words would help prevent
a similar disaster, like the burning of Vfilena’s hbraiy, in the fu­
ture and promote more scholarship at court.
Fernando de Pulgar also writes about ViUena in his Claros va-
rones de Castilla, in which he includes VUlena’s studies of astrol­
ogy and other sciences.
Este don Enrrique fue sabio a maravilla, asi en Astrologia como en
otras giengias todas, e muy sotil en todo; e sabia dezir bien lo que
queria. E al tienpo que el fallesgid, estaua en gran menester, e gotoso
de los pies e de las manos. Tanto, que no podia beuer con sus manos
ni menearse de los pies, que sus escuderos lo caualgauan e descaual-
gauan. iEste es Dios nuestro senor, que faze maravillas porque las
gentes conozcan qu&nto aprouechan las giengias e artes de Astrologia
ni de Alquimia, ni de Nygrumangia, de las quales este se dezia ser
vno de los mayores sabios del mundo! E despues que fallesgiese don
Enrrique, el Eey mando traer a su cdmara todos los libros que el tenia
en la villa de Yniesta; y traydos, mando al maestro fray Lope de Va-
rrientos, maestro del Pringipe, que los catase sy avia algunas giengias.
E el maestro, como era derecho seruidor del Key, aparto gerca de gin-
quenta volmnes de libros de malas artes vanas e defendidas, e did por
consejo al Rey que las mandase quemar. E did el Rey el cargo deUo al
dicho maestro; e luego lo puso en execugidn. (Pulgar 1985,181-82)
[Don Enrique was an excellent scholar, in Astrology as in all other
sciences, and knowledgeable in all; and he knew how to say well what
he wanted. And when he died he was in great need, and had gout on
3: “REAL” MAGICAL PRACTITIONERS IN SPAIN 119
his Lands and feet. So much so that he could not drink with his hands
or balance on his feet, so his squires put him on and took him off his
horse. This is God Our Lord, who works miracles so that people know
how advantageous the sciences and arts of Astrology and Alchemy
are, not to mention Necromancy, of which this man was said to be one
of the most knowledgeable in the world. And after Don Enrique died,
the king ordered all the books that Don Enrique had at his house in
Yniesta brought to him; and once they were brought, he ordered Fray
Lope de Barrientos, the tutor of the prince, to look at them and see if
they contained any sciences. And the tutor, since he was a loyal ser­
vant to the king, separated out close to fifty volumes of the wicked
arts, and advised the king that he bum them. And the king put the
tutor in charge and he carried it out.]
Pulgar remarks on Villena’s having studied astrology, alchemy,
and necromancy, grouping them together, subtly implying that
Villena studied both science and magic. His comment on Villena’s
state of menester at the end of his life can refer to both his politi­
cal and economic failures as well as to his poor state of health
(Gascon Vera 1979, 322; Torres Alcala 1983, 25), and suggests
that Pulgar associated his studies with those failures. Villena was
so dedicated to his studies that he did not concern himself with
mundane tasks, such as economic support for himself. Yet, Pulgar
recognizes that because of Villena’s work, others will benefit from
it. Pulgar’s writing style is that of a historian who reports facts
and thus he does not lament the book burning as openly as Mena.
However, he does refer to Villena as one of the greatest scholars,
suggesting that he did not approve of the king’s decision.
Feman Perez de Guzman in his Generaciones y Semblanzas re­
marks on how Villena committed himself to study despite his
peers’ ideas that he should engage in another profession, thereby
showing the scorn that so many around Villena held for that oc­
cupation. He does, nevertheless, recognize ViUena’s genius. He
also distinguishes between studies acceptable to the Church and
those that Villena studied, including divination and dream inter­
pretation, which he deems vile, declaring that they would not
benefit anyone. This, he specifies, was the reason for ViUena’s
questionable reputation.
Fue pequeno de cuerpo e grueso, el rostro bianco e Colorado, e, segunt
lo que la espirengia en el mostro, naturalmente fue inclinado a las
120 PERCEPTIONS OF MAGIC IN MEDIEVAL SPANISH LITERATURE
ciengias e artes mas que a la caualleria e aun a los negocios geuiles *
nin curiales; ca non aniendo maestro para ello nin alguno lo costri-'
niendo a aprender, antes defendiendogelo el marques su auelo, que lo
quisiera para cauallero, el en su nifiez, cuando los ninos suelen por j
fuerga ser Ueuados a las escuelas, el, contra volimtad de todos, se dis-
puso a aprender. Tan sotil e alto engenio aula, que Hgeramente apren-
dia cualquier giengia e arte a que se daua, ansi que bien paregia que
lo auia a natura. Qiertamente natura ha grant poder e es muy difgil e
graue la resistengia a ella sin gragia espegial de Dios. E de otra parte, ■
ansi era este don Enrique ageno e remote no solamente a la caualle­
ria, mas aun a los negogios del mundo e al rigimiento de su casa e
fazienda era tanto inabile e inabto, que era grant marauiUa, e porque
entre las otras giengias e artes se dio mucho a la estrologia, algunos,.
bimlando, dizian del, que sabia mucho en el gielo e poco en la tierra.
E ansi este amor de las escrituras non se deteniendo en las giengias
notables e catolicas, dexose correr a algunas viles e rahezes artes de
adeuinar e interpretar suenos e estomudos e senales e otras cosas
tales que nin a pringipe real e menos a catolico christiano convenian.
E por esto fue auido en pequena reputagion de los reyes de su tiempo
e en poca reuerengia de los caualleros, todavia fue muy sotil en la poe-
sia e grant estoriador e muy copioso e mezclado en diuersas giengias..
Sabia fablar muchas lenguas. Comia mucho e era muy inchnado al
amor de las mugeres. (Perez de Guzman 1941, 99-101)
[He was small and thick in stature, with a white and colored face, and
according to his experience, he was naturally inclined toward science
and art more than the military or business or law; not having a
teacher for it nor anyone who wanted to learn it, his grandfather the
Marquis told him he wanted him to go in the military, when in his
childhood children are u^ally forced td^go to school, he, against
everyone’s will, dedicated himself to study. He had such a brilliant
mind that he easily learned any science and art that was given to him,
so that it seemed he knew these things naturally. This disposition is
powerful and difficult to withstand without special grace from God.
On the other hand, Don Emique was a stranger not only to the mili-
taiy arts, but also to the world of business and he was inept at run­
ning his house, which was surprising, and because among the
sciences and arts he was given to astrology, some, making fun of him,
said that he knew much about the sky and little about the earth. And
his love of study did not stop with the notable and Catholic sciences,
and he allowed himself to delve into the wicked arts of divination,
dream and sneeze interpretation, omens, and other such things that
were not useful to the prince or any Cathohc Christian. Because of
this the king and nobles held him in low esteem. Yet, he was skilled
3: “REAL” MAGICAL PRACTITIONERS IN SPAIN 121
with poetry and was a great historian and adept at many sciences. He
knew how to speak many languages. He ate a lot and was given to
chasing women.]
The author indicates disapproval from the Church of Villena’s
studies twice, suggesting that scholars were aware of the tension
between Church policy and the pursuit of scientific investigation.
The Cronica del Rey don Juan el Segundo does not attach any
sentiment to the report of the book burning, but rather serves as
a detached accounting of the event.
Este Caballero fue muy gran Letrado, e supo muy poco en lo que le
cumplia. Y el Rey mandd que le fuesen traidos todos los libros que
tenia, los quales mando que viese Fray Lope de Barrientos, Maestro
del Principe, e viese si habia algunos de malas artes; e Fray Lope los
miro e hizo quemar algunos, e los otros quedaron en su poder. El Rey
mando aUi hacer honorablemente sus obsequias. (Crdnica de Rey
1877, 518-19)
[This gentleman was a great Scholar, and he knew little of his duties.
And the king ordered all the books he had to brought to him, and that
Fray Lope de Barrientos, the prince’s tutor, look at them, to see if
they had any of the wicked arts; and Fray Lope looked at them and
had some of them burned, and kept the rest. The king ordered an
honorable funeral.]
The Marques de SantiUana eulogizes ViUena in a long lament
called the Defunssion de Don Enrique de Villena. There is only
one stanza in which Villena is directly mentioned, but the rest of
r? the poem clearly relates the Marques’s affectionate feelings for
VUlena and his sense of loss at his death.
Santillana’s classical imagery invokes the support of the
S' Roman gods and goddesses when the poet finds himself in a deso­
late, frightening desert. Along his path, he finds a number of
strange and wild beasts paying homage to Villena posthumously.
They have become tame as they bow their heads to the groimd in
sorrow, suggesting that the poet reprimands those who depreci­
ated ViUena’s scholarship; even animals can recognize the great
'*■ man’s deeds. The Marques amplifies the effect when he empha­
sizes the tears and cries from which aU suffer. “Blasmando a For-
tuna e sus movimientos, / E todos aqueUos que en ella confian”
(SantiUana 1989, 233) [(lursing Fortune and her actions / And all
122 PERCEPTIONS OF MAGIC IN MEDIEVAL SPANISH LITERATURE
those who trust her]. Soon there is a procession of spirits and
beasts led by the poet who arrives at Villena’s deathbed. The
Marques then compares Villena to Homer, Ovid, Horace, Livy
Macrobius, Tully, Terrence, and many other great intellectuals of
the past, placing him on an equal level as the greatest vdse man
of the present age.
It is certain that ViUena preferred intellectual study over the
more honorable art of soldiering and that his contemporaries
held differing opinions about his pursuits. Those who understood
his quest for knowledge because of their own love for it, namely
SantiUana and Mena, did not deem Villena an outcast magician
as so many others had. Other authors prefer the more popular
opinion of Villena as a magician, but they do not condemn bim or
evince an uncontrolled fear of his powers. He was a scholar who
was to be respected for his work.
Alvaro de Luna
Unlike Villena, whose association with sorcery was used to ex­
plain his political and financial failures, don Alvaro de Luna was
accused of it for his many successes (Gascon-Vera 1979, 318). Al­
varo de Luna was one of the most powerful and richest men in
Christian Spain during the reign of JuEm II (1406-54). As the
king’s closest adviser, he had access to the workings of govern­
ment, for many years enjoying the king’s ear and subsequent po­
sition and privilege. However, in 1462 bP suddenly lost royal
favor and was beheaded shortly thereafter (Round 1986,11).
The Cronica de don Alvaro de Luna records his abihty, as
granted by God, to heal the sick.
E aun algunos grandes sabios del Rey dezian que naturalmente en
don Alvaro de Luna faUaban que tenia esta gracia e especial don de
Dios, que si visitaua o entraba a visitar a algunos que estouiese mal,
o dolientes de grave enfermedad, que la su vista disponia e obrava en
los enfermos conoscida e gierta mejoria de salud, lo qual por muchas
experiencias muchas vezes fue probado. {Cronica de don Alvaro de
Luna 1940,18)
[And some of the king’s great scholars said that they found a natural
grace and gift from God in Don Alvaro de Luna, since if he visited
3: “REAL” MAGICAL PRACTITIONERS IN SPAIN 123
anyone who was sick, or suffering from a serious illness, he worked
on them and they got better, which was proven many times.]
In this case, because the author favors Luna, his abihty is por­
trayed as a gift from God, which, under a different fight, could
just as easily have been attributed to sorcery or witchcraft.
Some referred to Luna as the Devil and believed that he held
the enchanted hearts of one himdred valiant men inside him,
which he used for his ovra advantage.
E algunos delos lo Uamaban fiiria infernal, otros dezfan que era como
el diablo, que mmca duerme, e otros dezian que aunque no tenia gran
cuerpo, que tenia en su coragon enbutidos por encantamiento, o por
maravUla de Dios, otros gient coragones de valientes e osados honbres
del tienpo passado, e que aquello le daba tanta atrebengia e ardideza
e animosidad en los fechos. Otras muchas cosas se dezian del, las qua-
les se pueden tomar en buena o en mala parte, segund el vasso en que
cupieren, e segund las pasiones e afigiones de los oyentes. . . . E con
estas e semejantes loables y casi mira^osas cosas que el insigne Mae-
stre sabia yndustriar e poner por obra, dezian los maldigientes las
cosas que aqui avemos dicho, e aun fasta decir que traya a su mandar
la hueste antigua. {Cronica de don Alvaro de Luna 1940, 273-74)
[And some called him a heUish fury, others said he was like the Devil,
who never sleeps, and others said that although he was not a big man,
that he held imprisoned by enchantment, or by God’s grace, in his
heart the strength of a himdred brave and honored men from the
past, and that it gave him great daring, strength, and spirit in his
deeds. Many other things were said about him, which can be taken as
good or bad, according to which class they fit, and according to what
the hearer is interested in. And with these and other similar laudable
and almost miraculous things that the Master knew how to do and
carry out, people said the things already mentioned, and even said
that he could command the ancients.]
Those who feared him used the term sorcery to explain away
Lima’s successes, with the hope of tainting his reputation. As re­
corded in the Cronica del Halconero de Juan II hy Pedro Carrillo
de Huete, Luna’s enemies wrote to the king, worried that Luna
had him under a diabolical spell.
Otrosy, escribieron los suso dichos rrey de Navarra e ynfante e ca-
valleros al senor Rey, contra el condestable, muy muchas otras gravisi-
124 PERCEPTIONS OF MAGIC IN MEDIEVAL SPANISH LITERATURE
i’k
mas cosas, las quales serian luengas descrebir. E en conclusion'
siguese esto: J reports that Carrillo loved to study herbs and the properties of
Muy excelente prmgipe, Rey e senor: For que vemos que vuestra*
senoria a dado e da tan gran logar e posada a tan enonnes fecbos e|
tan contrarios a toda onestidad e rrazon que tolerables non devlan«
ser, es nos forgado derechamente non solo crer mas a un solo afinnar^
lo que por todos se dize, que el dicho condestable tiene ligadas e ata-
das todas vuestras potencias corporales e animales por magicas dea-^
volicas encantaciones, para que vuestra se&oria non faga sino lo quei
el quisiere, ni vuestra memoria rremienbre, ni vuestro entendimiento
entienda, ni vuestra voluntad ame, ni vuestra voluntad fable, salvo lo '
que el quiera e le plaze, e con quien e ante quien e con los grandes
que el quiera e le plaze. Tanto que rreligioso de la Orden mas estrecha
del mvmdo non es ni se podria fallar tan sometido a su mayor quanto -
lo a sydo e es vuestra rreal persona. (Carrillo de Huete 1946, 332)
[Thus, the Ving and prince and nobles of Navarre wrote many seri­
ous things about the Constable to the Icing, which would be long to
describe. And in conclusion is the following;
Dear Excellency, King and Lord: Because we see that his Excel­
lency has given and gives such great position to great deeds and so
conixary to all honesty and reason that it should not be tolerated, it
is our duty not only to believe but also affirm what everyone says,
that the abovementioned Condestable has your body and spirit tied
and bound through diabohc magical enchantments, so that your lord-
ship does not do an3dhing but what he wants, nor do you remember,
understand, wiQ, or speak except that which he wants, and with and
before whom and those grandees that he wants. Not even the strictest
religious order is not nor could be as submissive to its leader as you
have been to your royal aid.]
Accusations of sorcery had become a useful political tool to has­
ten the faU of an opponent and such accusations arose as Lima’s
power declined. In this way court pohticians could better ratio­
nalize the king’s dependence upon Luna and his consequent
power, while at the same time dismissing the possibility that
Luna was a skilled politician (Round 1969, 801). In aU likelihood,
he would not have been accused of sorcery had he retained the
king’s favor (Round 1969, 802).
Alfonso Carrillo
A similar situation occurred with Alfonso Carrillo, Archbishop
of Toledo, who enjoyed great power during the fifteenth century.
3: “REAL” MAGICAL PRACTITIONERS IN SPAIN 125
but who also fell from grace. Pulgar’s Claros varones de Castilla
liquids as well as other natural secrets.
Era ombre franco y allende de las davidas que de su voluntad con
grand liberalidad fazfa, sienpre dava a qualquier que le demandava
porque no sofria que ninguno se partiese del descontento. Plazfale
saber esperiencias y propiedades de aguas y de yerbas y otros secretes
de natura. Procurava sienpre aver grandes riquezas, no para fazer
thesoro, mas para las dar y destribuir. E este deseo le fizo entender
muchos anos en el arte del alquimia. E como quier que deUa no vela
» efecto, pero creyendo sienpre alcangarla para las grandes fazafias que
imaginava fazer, sienpre la continuo en la qual y en buscar thesoros
y mineros consumio mucho tienpo de su vida y grand parte de su
renta, y todo quanto mas podfa aver de otras partes. E como veemos
algunas vezes que los ombres, deseando ser ricos, se meten en tales
necesidades que los fazen ser pobres, este argobispo, dando y gastando
en el arte del alquimia, y en buscar mineros y thesoros pensando al-
cangar grandes riquezas para las dar y destribuir, sienpre estava en
continuas necesidades. E sin duda se puede creer que si lo que de-
seava tener este perlado respondiera al coragon que tenia, fiziera
grandes cosas. Al fin, gastando much y deseando gastar mas, murio
pobre y adeudado en la villa de Alcala, de hedad de setenta afios, de
los quales fue treinta y siete argobispo de Toledo. (Pulgar 1985,
136-38)
[He was an honest and generous man who always gave to those who
asked so that none would leave unhappy. He enjoyed studying the
properties of water and plants and other natural secrets. He always
sought riches, not to have a great treasure, but to give it away. And
this desire prompted him to spend many years studying alchemy. Al­
though he never got any results, he always believed lie would, and his
continued search for treasme and mining consumed much of his life
and his income and everything else. And sometimes we see men,
wanting to be rich, who become so needy that they are poor. This
Archbishop, always consumed by the art of alchemy, and looking for
treasme, thinking he would have great riches to give away, was al­
ways poor. Without a doubt one may beheve that if what this prelate
wanted had responded to the heart he had, he would have accom­
plished great things. In the end, by spending much and wanting to
spend more, he died poor and in debt in the town of Alcala, at the
age of seventy, thirty-seven years of which he was the Archbishop of
Toledo.]
126 PERCEPTIONS OF MAGIC IN MEDIEVAL SPANISH LITERATURE 3: “REAL” MAGICAL PRACTITIONERS IN SPAIN 127

Villena, Luna, and Carrillo were all lettered men, which Tna<ie mous magical practitioner purported to be put to death for prac­
them targets for accusations of sorcery (Round 1969, 804-5). Ca­ ticing the magic arts although, as reflected in the Council of
rrillo also patronized alchemists and soothsayers, which endorsed, Braga, his death was a result of the threat his doctrine posed to
his magical reputation. Yet, none of these men was executed for the Spanish Church rather than his practice of sorcery. Spain
sorcery or witchcraft. They acquired reputations as sorcerers, also used accusations of sorcery to explain great political suc­
which continued to grow after their deaths to the level of legend cesses and failures, as found with Padilla’s, Luna’s, and Carrillo’s
as a consequence of their love of intellectual pursuits. experiences, as well as intellectual pursuit like that of Vilanova
and Villena. However, none of the descriptions of sorcery match
those found in the Malleus concerning witchcraft and only Luna
Eugenio Torralba is associated briefly with the Devil. The general attitude toward
these famous people with reputations as magical practitioners is
The last of the famous magical practitioners to be reviewed, akin to an objective toleration, although they were not necessar­
doctor Eugenio Torralba, was bom at the end of the Middle Ages ily understood, rather than a fear accompanied by a frenzied de­
in 1485, and hved until 1561. His life was also immersed in magi­ sire to destroy aU magical practice.
cal legend mainly because of the spirit guide Zequiel, who he
claimed accompanied him. Early in life, Torralba had become in­
terested in the magic arts and went to Rome to study with Fray
Pedro (Caro Baroja 1967, 219). It was this friar who introduced
Torralba to Zequiel, from whom he learned palmistry and the
herbal arts (Lopez Ibor 1976, 262). At that time, magical practice
was prominently in vogue in Rome despite official papal decrees
against it, facilitating Torralba’s and Zequiel’s acceptance (Caro
Baroja 1967, 219, 223).
Zequiel was willing to give Torralba knowledge of the future,
and predicted large-scale pohtical events such as the death of the
Cathohc Monarch, King Fernando, and Cardinal Cisnero’s ad­
vancement in government (Caro Baroja 1967, 223). Torralba re­
turned to Spain where his reputation as a necromancer, sorcerer,
and magician grew until the Spanish Inquisition apprehended
him for questioning (Lopez Ibor 1976, 265-66). During torture,
the Spanish Inquisition insisted that Torralba perceive his angel
as a demon (Caro Baroja 1967,232; Lopez Ibor 1976,270). Spared
capital punishment, Torralba was obliged to sever ties with
Zequiel as a condition of his reconciliation with the Church
(Lopez Ibor 1976, 268). His experience is consistent with those
reported in inquisitorial documents, in that the Spanish Church
sought reconciliation, using the death penalty only as a last re­
sort.
Compared to the impact of the preaching of the Malleus and of
papal decrees in other parts of Europe, Spain’s general treatment
of its magical practitioners was hght. Priscihan was the only fa­
Perceptions of Magic
in Medieval Spanish
Literature

Jennifer M. Corry

Lehigh
(AvVers/tV
Press

Bethlehem: Lehigh University Press

 Contents

Introduction 11

1. Magic 14
2. Spanish Intellectual and Medical Treatises 99
3. “Real” Magical Practitioners in Spain 111
4. Magic in Medieval Spanish Literature 128
Conclusion 202

Notes 206
List of References 230
I Index 243