The sanbenito (;sambenito
at the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española. ''Swimming the Christian Atlantic: Judeoconversos, Afroiberians and Amerindians in the Seventeenth Century'', Jonathan Schorsch,

BRILL Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...

, 2009
pag 99
/ref> Catalan: ''gramalleta'', ''sambenet'', Portuguese: ''sambenito'') was a penitential garment that was used especially during the Portuguese and

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...

s. It was similar to a

scapular A scapular () is a Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the monastic and devotional scapular; both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular". As an object of popular piety, a scapular ...

, either yellow with red

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a Heraldry, heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French , Medieval Latin ("stirrup"). From its use as field sign, the saltire cam ...

s for penitent

heretics Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

or black and decorated with devils and flames for impenitent heretics to wear at an ''

auto-da-fé An ''auto-da-fé'' ( ; from Portuguese language, Portuguese or Spanish language, Spanish (, meaning 'act of faith') was a ritualized or public penance carried out between the 15th and 19th centuries in condemnation of heresy, heretics, Aposta ...

'' (meaning 'act of faith').

Etymology

"San Benito" is the Spanish name of either

Benedict the Moor Benedict the Moor (; 1526 – 4 April 1589), also known as Benedict of Palermo, Benedict the Black, or Benedict the African, was a Afro-Sicilian Order of Friars Minor, Franciscan friar. Born to enslaved Africans in San Fratello, he was freed at b ...

Benedict of Nursia Benedict of Nursia (; ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was a Great Church, Christian monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old ...

. An alternative etymology by Covarrubias and former editions of the ''

Diccionario de la lengua española The (''DLE''; English: ''Dictionary of the Spanish language'') is the authoritative dictionary of the Spanish language. It is produced, edited, and published by the Royal Spanish Academy, with the participation of the Association of Academies ...

'' has it from ''saco bendito'' "blessed sack".

Américo Castro Américo Castro Quesada (May 4, 1885 – July 25, 1972) was a Spanish cultural historian, philologist, and literary critic who challenged some of the prevailing notions of Spanish identity, raising controversy with his conclusions that Spaniards ...

"proved that it does not come from ''saco bendito''".

, ''

Revista de Filología Española The (English: ''Journal of Spanish Philology'') is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal of philology, dialectology, and linguistics that was established in 1914 with Ramón Menéndez Pidal as founding editor-in-chief. It is published by the ...

'', XV, 179-80. Quoted in ''santo'', ''

Diccionario crítico etimológico de la lengua castellana The ''Diccionario crítico etimológico de la lengua castellana'' is a four-volume etymological dictionary of Spanish compiled by the Catalan Philology, philologist Joan Corominas (1905-1997), and first published by Francke Verlag in Bern, Switz ...

'', volume 4, page 143(25),

Joan Corominas Joan Coromines i Vigneaux (; also frequently spelled ''Joan Corominas''; Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, by Joan Corominas icand José Antonio Pascual, Editorial Gredos, 1989, Madrid, . Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain ...

, Francke Verlag - Bern, 1954, .

Description and use

Mexican writer and historian describes the three basic types of tunic used to distinguish those being punished by the Inquisition. These were the ''samarra'', the ''fuego revolto'', and the ''sambenito''. The ''samarra'' was painted with dragons, devils, and flames amongst which the image of the prisoner could be distinguished, signifying that the impenitent heretic was condemned to be burnt alive at the stake. The ''fuego revolto'' was painted simply with flames pointing downwards, signifying that the heretic who became penitent after being condemned was not to be burnt alive at the stake, but was to have the mercy of being strangled before the fire was lit. Finally, the ''sambenito'' featured red saltires, whose wearer was only to do

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

. Eventually all three types of tunic became known as a ''sambenito''; a conical cap, denominated '' coroza'' (and ''

capirote A capirote is a Christianity, Christian pointed hat of conical form that is used in Italy, Spain and Hispanic countries by members of a confraternity of penitents, particularly those of the Catholic Church. It is part of the uniform of such br ...

''), of the same material and motifs as the corresponding ''sambenito'', would also be worn. Cornelis Vermeulen for Gabriel Dellon's ''Relation de l'inquisition de Goa'', 1688"> File:Cornelis Martinus Vermeulen - Man to be burned on the stake as an heretic.jpg, The ''samarra'' File:Cornelis Martinus Vermeulen - Man condemned to be burned on the stake saved because of his confession.jpg, The ''fuego revolto'' File:Cornelis Martinus Vermeulen - Man condemned for heresy who accused himself before he was judged.jpg, The ''sambenito'' The heretics, found guilty by the

inquisitors The Medieval Inquisition was a series of Inquisitions (Catholic Church bodies charged with suppressing heresy) from around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisition (1184–1230s) and later the Papal Inquisition (1230s). The Medieval Inquisition ...

, had to walk in the

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

wearing the ''sambenito'' as a Shirt of Flame, the coroza, the rope around the neck, the

rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

, and in their hands a yellow or green wax candle. Originally the penitential garments were hung up in the churches as mementos of disgrace to their wearers, and as the trophies of the

Holy Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic judicial procedure where the ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various medieval and reformation-era state-organized tribunals ...

. The lists of the punished were also called ''sambenitos''. The bearers of the surnames of those listed in the church of Santo Domingo in

Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

were discriminated against as ''

xueta The Xuetes (; singular , also known as and spelled as ) are a social group on the Spanish island of Majorca, in the Mediterranean Sea, who are descendants of Majorcan Jews that either were conversos (forcible converts to Christianity) or were C ...

s'' (the local name for Converso Jews), even when those surnames were also borne by

Old Christian Old Christian (, , ) was a social and law-effective category used in the Iberian Peninsula from the late 15th and early 16th century onwards, to distinguish Portuguese and Spanish people attested as having cleanliness of blood, known as Limpieza ...

s and the surnames of other Majorcan Judaizers were not preserved at the cathedral. The ''sambenito'' should not be confused with the yellow robes worn by some

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s, which are also garments related to

penitence Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derives ...

and which is one reason that caused the Inquisition to prefer common wool dyed yellow with red crosses for the ''sambenito''. Such were the penitential robes in 1514, when Cardinal Francisco Ximénez de Cisneros replaced the common crosses with those of

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

. The inquisitors afterwards designated a different tunic for each class of penitents. In the 1945 edition of ''México Viejo'', Luis González Obregón shows images from Felipe A. Limborch's ''Historia Inquisitionis'', dated 1692, which were images of ''sambenitos'' used in the Inquisition.

Citations

{{reflist

General references

* González Obregon, Luis (1945). ''Època Colonial, México Viejo, Noticias Históricas, Tradiciones, Leyendas y Costumbres''. Editorial Patria, S.A. pp. 107–108. Catholic religious clothing Hats History of Catholicism in Spain Scapulars Shirts Spanish Inquisition Portuguese Inquisition

Etymology

Description and use

See also

Citations

General references