Syntactic Trees

Letter from Rojas, pseudonym of Miguel de VillalPando, an apothecary, to Francisco Álvarez, a merchant.

The author requires Francisco Álvarez to return him the money that he had given to two men, thinking that they would help him avoid to be reported to the Inquisition.

The defendant in this process was Miguel de Villalpando, an apothecary. In 1549 he was accused of bigamy by the Inquisition Tribunal in Toledo for having married twice: firstly, in 1542, with Francisca de Ribera in Guadalajara, and then, in 1548, with Catalina de Pablos o Rojas in Zaragoza. It was also discovered that he pretended to be a secretary of the Holy Office in order to commit frauds. This letter was handed over to the tribunal by the addressee, and it was joined to the proceedings as a proof. The author admitted having written it using a pseudonym to hide his true identity. Eventually, the defendant was forced to make a public penance during an auto de fé, and was sentenced to one hundred lashes and to perpetual banishment from the city and the inquisitorial district of Toledo.