1553. Carta de María de Espinosa para su esposo Francisco de Leguizamo.

Letter from María de Espinosa to her husband Francisco de Leguizamo.

The author writes to her husband wanting to know about his situation and to tell him about the selling of some houses.

According to the case documentation, Francisco de Leguizamo was married to María de Espinosa since 1540. They lived together in Valladolid until 1547, when Francisco de Leguizamo left the city. Three years later, when he returned to Valladolid, he was told that María Espinosa was no longer his lawful wife because she had had a relationship with another man, De Meneses, who had become a friar in order to avoid the aforementioned relationship. Given these circumstances, Francisco left Valladolid again and six months later he got married to another woman. During the trial, he stated he never heard from his wife again and therefore, he thought she had passed away. He was accused of bigamy because María de Espinosa was still alive and the accusations of adultery against her could not be proved. Francisco Leguizamo was condemned to the galleys, among other sentences. The letter transcribed in here has an annotation on the left upper margin: "In Toledo, on July the 19th 1552. Gaspar Martínez, a doorman, gave me this letter and told me it was delivered to him by Inés Martínez, a woman from Portillo whose father is named Pero Muñoz." There is also another annotation on the envelope: "Sir, do not be surprised by the date, since I have had it written at home and I had forgotten to send it to you".