Syntactic Trees

Note from Antonio de Medrano to his brother Bernardino Díaz de Medrano.

The author asks his brother Bernardino Díaz de Medrano to send him to the jail a medicine for the headache, clothes and food. He also tells his brother that sometimes the food comes to him in bad conditions.

The sender of this letter was Antonio de Medrano, a priest in the churches of Navarrete y Fuenmayor (La Rioja). He was accused by the Inquisition of Logroño in 1526 of the crime of 'heretical propositions'. The three letters he sent to Juana López initiated the charges, which were truly motivated by the desire of the Cabredo family to deprive Antonio de Medrano of the power he had in Navarrete y Fuenmayor. The defendant was convicted to abjuration 'de levi' and to pay 100 golden 'ducados'. He was forbidden of preaching in private residences and of delivering the communion to under aged Catholics. In 1530 he was charged once more by the Inquisition of Toledo of 'Alumbrismo' and Epicureanism and convicted to abjuration 'de vehementi' in a public 'auto-da-fé', to life imprisonment in a monastery, the suspension of his priesthood for two years and the payment of 30,000 'maravedíes'.

The notes sent by Antonio de Medrano to his brother Bernardino Díaz de Medrano, asking him to take him certain foods and tools to the jail, were handed over to the prosecutor of the Holy Office, who joined them to the proceedings as a proof of the epicureanism of the accused, because these notes allegedly proved that he was interested only in eating and drinking well.