Sanbenito ( Spanish: ''sambenito'';sambenito
at the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española. ''Swimming the Christian Atlantic: Judeoconversos, Afroiberians and Amerindians in the Seventeenth Century'', Jonathan Schorsch, BRILL, 2009
pag 99
/ref> Catalan: ''gramalleta'', ''sambenet'') was a penitential garment that was used especially during the Spanish Inquisition. It was similar to a

scapular The scapular (from Latin ''wikt:scapula#Latin, scapulae'', "shoulders") is a Western Christianity, Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the Monasticism, monastic and Catholic devotions, devot ...

, either yellow with red saltires for penitent heretics, or black and decorated with devils and flames for impenitent heretics to wear at an auto-da-fé (meaning "act of faith").sanbenito
in

Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's ...

Etymology

"San Benito" is the Spanish name of either

Benedict the Moor Benedict the Moor ( it, Benedetto da San Fratello; 1526 – 4 April 1589) was a Sicilian Franciscan friar who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic church. Born of enslaved Africans in San Fratello, he was freed at birth and became known for ...

Benedict of Nursia Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orient ...

. An alternative etymology by Covarrubias and former editions of the '' Diccionario de la Real Academia Española'' has it from ''saco bendito'' ("blessed sack").

Américo Castro Américo Castro y 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 Spaniar ...

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

, '' Revista de Filología Española'', XV, 179-80. Quoted in ''santo'', '' Diccionario crítico etimológico de la lengua castellana'', 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 1 ...

, Francke Verlag - Bern, 1954, .

Description and use

Luis González Obregon describes the three basic types of tunics used to distinguish those being punished by the Inquisition. These were the ''Samarra'', ''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 Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

. Eventually all three types of tunics became known as ''sambenito''; a conical cap, denominated '' coroza'' (and '' capirote''), 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, had to walk in the procession wearing the ''sambenito'' as a Shirt of Flame, the coroza, the rope around the neck, the

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

, 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 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 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...

were discriminated against as '' xuetas'' (the local name for Converso Jews), even when those surnames were also borne by Old Christians and the surnames of other Majorcan Judaizers were not preserved at the cathedral. The sanbenito should not be confused with the yellow robes worn by some monks; which are also garments related to penitence and which is one reason that caused the Inquisition to prefer common woollen 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 ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

. 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 Sanbenitos 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

Etymology

Description and use

See also

Citations

General references