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Maarten Janssen, 2014-

PS6166

[1700-1709]. Carta de Manuela Ramos, beata de Nuestra Señora del Monte Carmelo, para fray Francisco Fernández y Villegas, religioso de Nuestra Señora del Monte Carmelo.

Autor(es) Manuela Ramos      
Destinatário(s) Francisco Fernández y Villegas      
In English

Letter from Manuela Ramos, blessed of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, to Fray Francisco Fernández y Villegas, religious of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

The author proposes to Fray Francisco Fernández y Villegas to be prelate of the convent in Toledo.

Following an accusation of alumbrados, dishonesty and having been imbued in the errors of Molinos, a process occurred between 1708 and 1711 against Manuela Ramos, alias Manuela Sánchez or Manuela de Santa Leocadia. Manuela Ramos was born in Novés (Toledo) in 1679 and had a Catholic upbringing. She declared herself Old Christian and a descendant of Old Christians. She lost her mother at age eleven and she moved to Illescas (Toledo) where she began to serve in a convent of the Concepción Francisca. After five years her father died and her brother had her transferred to Santa Isabel convent in Toledo where she learned to read and write. She was devoted to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and had as a confessor Fray Manuel de Santa Leocadia from 1700 to 1704, a Discalced Carmelite who also lived at the convent. In November 1704 Manuela moved to Madrid for three months in order to flee the harassment and threats of a carpenter named Francisco who wanted to marry her. During her time in Madrid, she stayed in Diego de las Cuevas´ house and had as her confessor Fray Francisco Fernández de Villegas, a Discalced Carmelite and Prior of Valdemoro. She married Blas Martín Pingarrón in Toledo in 1707.

During the Holy Office´s process against her, she was tried for heresy, alumbradismo and dishonesty. Specifically, she was accused of: faking visions and divine revelations; premarital relations; and an unlawful carnal knowledge with her confessor, Fray Francisco Fernández de Villegas. 48 letters (PS6143-PS6191) were provided to the process and used as incriminating evidences for the aforementioned crimes. The letters are sewn together in a notebook attached to the documentation of the process. Inside this notebook two epistolary collections can be distinguished: 18 letters written by Blas Martín Pingarrón and addressed to Fray Francisco Fernández de Villegas, and 28 letters written by Manuela Ramos and addressed to Fray Francisco Fernández de Villegas. There is also a letter signed by Diego del Amor, alias Diego de las Cuevas, and another one from Cristobal de Alfaro (PS6164) to Fray Francisco Fernández de Villegas. There is also a copy of a letter from Pedro Pablo Díez, an apothecary from Yepes, to Manuela Ramos (PS6178). Within the process, two other letters which do not appear in the notebook and addressed to Fray Francisco Fernández de Villegas are mentioned: one of them written by Fray Francisco Salazar, a Carmelite from Valdemoro convent, and another one written by Manuela Ramos.

Regarding Blas Martín Pingarrón’s letters, he admitted they were his and in his confession to the Holy Office he explained the reason why he had written them. Villegas frequently visited Manuela Ramos in Toledo because of her visions and hallucinations and asked to be informed about her in his absence. Therefore, the letters from Blas Martín Pingarrón were "basically to tell Villegas of how Manuela Ramos was being tormented by the devil and of her visions" (f. 188r). The correspondence between Blas Martín Pingarrón and Fray Francisco Fernández de Villegas took place approximately from 1706 to 1707 and its content was used as incriminating evidence to prove that either Manuela Ramos or Villegas were "deluded, deceiver, hypocrite and feigner of supernatural favours" (f. 231r). In the letters, Blas Martín Pingarrón used to sign as "Baptista" and refer to Manuela Ramos as "M" or as "Rosa".

Regarding Manuela Ramos’ letters, she did not admit to being their author in her confession to the Holy Office. Instead, she argued they were written by a María Basagutia, with whom the defendant had lived for a while in Toledo. During the process, this statement was proved to be false and it was also proved that the letters belonged to Manuela Ramos. She was accused of trying to deceive the Court by changing her handwriting: "[...] neither is less worthy of reflection the changing variety of handwriting which the defendant tries to deceive us with (although unsuccessfully) since she has proved many times this handwriting is hers. She may have thought that she could scape blame for being the author of the letters by deceiving this tribunal into thinking it was not her handwriting. Nevertheless, before she was arrested she recognised that the signatures on the documents and denouncements were hers. On these documents the capital letters found in the signatures indicate she writes with great agility. After she was imprisoned and being suspicious over the use of the letters as exhibits, she began to simulate different handwritings in the signatures of the hearings. She was trying to demonstrate clumsiness and difficulty either in the sluggishness she was signing on or the hesitation about whether or not would be able to begin with capital letters" (f. 557r-v)." These suspicions, together with the opinion of four handwriting experts, show that Manuela Ramos is the author. The correspondence between Manuela Ramos and Fray Francisco Fernández de Villegas was exchanged approximately from 1704 to 1706 and it was used as incriminating evidence to prove their relationship was not just spiritual. Some of the reasons to believe so were the following ones: there were crosses and zeros representing kisses and hugs in many of the letters; the cautious way they were writing, withholding their names and; lastly, some of the treatment formulas they employed (for instance: my soul´s husband). Manuela Ramos used to sign her letters as "Manuela de Santa Leocadia" or "Manuela Bautista".

Ultimately, the content of the letters filed in the process documentation were used as exhibit not only to prove that the relationship between Manuela Ramos and Fray Francisco Fernández de Villegas did not reflect "a spiritual love, on the contrary [...] it was human love, sensitive and very close to the sensuality, which probably was, and at least very dangerous and leading to spiritual ruin against honesty" (f. 231r); but also to accuse Manuela Ramos and Fray Francisco Fernández de Villegas of eluded and alumbrados.

In the trial sentence against Manuela Ramos the judgment was: the defendant should lose half of her properties; she should walk to the scaffold as a penitent, candle in hand, to publicly abjure of the errors and heresies she was accused of; she should be exiled for four years from the court of Madrid and eight leagues from the villages of Novés and Illescas; she should pass the first of those four years in prison, wearing the sanbenito, the garment of public humiliation, on her clothes.

In this letter the numbering of the process documentation does not correspond to the narrative order in the text, which would be as follows: 34r-34v-36r-36v-35v-35r.

If there is no translation for the letter itself, you may copy the text (while using the view 'Standardization') and paste it to an automatic translator of your choice.

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J M J Padre mio de mi alma

a toda la carta de uste respondere en dos palabras i bien estoi en lo que uste dice de no acer caso pero si yo me giara por lo q en esto conosco si le iciera i le digiera con clarida lo q su carta contenia y aunque esta el padre de por medio esto se me diera a mi mui poco i el estara mui pagado de su trabago i de q a echo un gran provecho para mi alma por aber obedecido a lo q en su alma a entendido acerca d este punto i se le iciera gran feneficio por atagar muchas cartas q bendran al padre ablando de uste y de mi y mas aora padre mio desde q recibi la carta no e tenido mas modo para esplicarme q es no ablarle ni llegar a confesarme tanpoco ni estoi en animo de a acerlo y esto no me e giado por mi teson porq no le tengo i porq mi animo no era de darme por entendida de cosa pero entendida del señor q no llege no una bes sola sino es muchas conq lo q en esto siento es q no ai con quien reconciliarse i el q no se a reparado tanbien conq suelo pasarme dos dias sin confesarme y arto lo siento y si no fuera por el amor q tengo a la ilesia del carmen me fuera a otra parte en todo se aga la bolunta de dios pues beo q por todas partes me da el señor cruz yo no se asta donde a de llegar padre mio el padre tiene todos los dias un pleito con mariquita sobre mi de como no llego i de ablar i ella me defiende i fuelbe por mi como sabe lo q su merce a echo i no ai quien le sace de su jucio i dice q esta mui bien lo echo porq se a sentido movido para ello q no a sido todo enbiado a decir de fuera i q si yo no allo culpa en mi ni de q enmendarme que lo llebe por dios q si fuera humilde no iciera caso de nada estando salba a lo qual responde mariquita q este es el alivio q le a quedado en el confesor q ya estoi arta de llebar golpes y la poca salud q dios me enbia padre mio de mi alma lo q yo llego a conocer del padre es q lo pagara su cuerpo o con una enfermeda u con otro golpe dado de la mano del señor i en berda q a decisiete d este mes a a dos años q murio frai Marcos i q porq no ubo remedio para apaciguar aquel coracon q le apaciguo dios y en este señor tengo mi defensa i la causa en sus manos. padre mio de mi alma con mucho temor boi a decirle a uste lo q por mi pasa porq se q es contra su boluntad de uste pero tanbien conosco q quiere uste la de dios i por esta iciera uste todo lo q la suia reusara y lo q quiero decir es q estando el domingo en la tarde con nuestra Madre del carmen y bien cierto es q no estaba mi alma para recogerla ni con dios ni con naide me se fue manifestado la necesida q tenia esta religion de prelados de la boluntad del señor i celosos de su honra i gloria y q no abia ninguno q se desbelase por esto q todo era apetecer sus conbeniencias i q como no reinaba mas q la abaricia en los prelados no criaban yjos de nuestra madre en la religion si no es ijos de la relagacion en todos los bicios arto entendi acerca del q govierna en el conbento de toledo dios le tega de su mano me mandaban interiormente q le digiese a uste q era bolunta del señor el q uste d este conbento sea prelado i q en esto q diese uste pasos i q no bale aquello de decir no quiero q me tengan por hombre q pretendo puestos q mire uste la honra del señor i la de su madre padre mio yo repune bastantemente interiormente a no dar credito ni le e dado pero beo al señor dentro de mi enogado en que me dice de no acer lo q te mando yo me las abre contigo y mira q te a de pesar i dile a tu padre q yo e tenido santos i prelados i q solo por acer mi boluntad i mirar mi honra sacaron la cara en semejantes casos y asi q en esto ponga deligencias bivas q yo obrare en el porq pretenden poner estandarte de abaricia quebrantando todas las leies de oserbancia y q le deba yo esto ya q no ponga el remedio en todas porq no degan obrar al señor. Padre mio de mi alma de lo dicho no aga uste caso porq yo lo digo uste bea si es de dios u de de quien es q lo q uste quisiere es lo q yo quiero pero tanbien emos de saver lo q el señor quiere de nosotros q en el modo q se tiene oi martes a salido el secretario de toledo lleba la capa como tengo dicho y el abito. uste q le llebe uste puesto capitulo q estara ese si uste tiene ocasion de enbiarme con el secretario un poco de manteca de bacas porq el nuestro esta malo q desde me lo enbiara con el urdinario q biene todas las semanas de mariquita recibira uste muchas memorias y estima mucho lo q uste se acuerda d ella dele uste siempre recados y su muger blas esta para sangrase dos beces tanbien lo esta encomiendele uste a dios q tras el golpe muger le an benido muchos los suegros i cuñados a dios de mi alma nuestro señor ber a uste si es su bolunta lo deseo

yja de uste manuela

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