Infamy within Sight: Making and Unmaking Sambenitos in the Early Modern Iberian World

Cloe Cavero De Carondelet, Yonatan Glazer-Eytan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Across the early modern Iberian world, a unique form of infamy materialized in the sambenito. Mostly known as the penitential garment imposed by the Inquisition on the individuals it condemned, the sambenito was also exhibited in churches and monasteries as a monument of infamy. This article traces the origins, development, and decline of the sambenito, with a particular focus on its material and visual aspects. It argues that displayed sambenitos performed mnemonic and evidentiary roles in societies obsessed with genealogy, while also bringing to light the continuous resistance and opposition to the sambenito on the ground.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)389-441
Number of pages53
JournalRenaissance Quarterly
Volume77
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • History
  • Visual Arts and Performing Arts
  • Literature and Literary Theory

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