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Álvaro de Ocaña, ¿Insane or Sane? ¿Jew or Christian?

Publicated to:Sefarad: Revista de Estudios Hebraicos y Sefardíes. 2024; 84 (1): 41 - 50 - 2024-01-01 84(1), DOI: 10.3989/sefarad.024.1206

Authors: Susana Gala Pellicer; Fernando José Pancorbo Murillo

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Abstract

This article analyses the inquisitorial trial against Álvaro de Ocaña, who was imprisoned together with his brother Antonio in April 1664 by the Inquisitional Court of Murcia, accused of Judaism. Antonio's case followed the usual procedure, while Álvaro's case was altered because of the existence of incessant contradictions in his statements (on some occasions he claimed to be a Jew and on others a Christian). The insistence in affirming the double religious condition, as well as the manifestation of anomalies in his behaviour, were interpreted by the court as signs of insanity. The existence of Antonio's trial, which coincides in its formal aspects (two brothers living together and sharing their family, cultural and religious context, imprisoned at the same time and accused of the same crime), will allow us to observe the difficulty the court had in resolving a double paradox: whether Álvaro was insane or sane, whether he was a Christian or a heretic.

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