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Gendered Interpretations of the Spanish Laity's Spiritual Motherhood: Gendered Interpretations of the Spanish Laity’s Religious Authority (1580–1730) By © 2018 Adam Allen Newhard Submitted to the graduate degree program in The Department of History and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. __________________. Chair: Luis Corteguera __________________. Marta Vicente __________________. Rob Schwaller __________________. Chris Forth __________________. Santa Arias Date Defended: 30 April 2018 Acceptance Page The dissertation committee for Adam Allen Newhard certifies this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Spiritual Motherhood: Gendered Interpretations of the Spanish Laity’s Religious Authority (1580–1730) _______________. Chair: Luis Corteguera Date Defended: 30 April 2018 “Spiritual Motherhood: Gendered Interpretations of the Spanish Laity’s Religious Authority (1580–1730)”: ii Abstract This research project delves into the question of the role of women in cities and towns across Spain and its empire in the early modern period. It focuses on women who gained prominence as visionaries and thus became targets of inquisitorial scrutiny, because Inquisition documents are the traditional source base for historians to reach these otherwise (typically) voiceless individuals and communities. The field has traditionally argued that the power, number, and presence of these visionary women slowly declined throughout the early modern period owing to the pressures of the Counter-Reformation. Catholic reformers at the Council of Trent (1545–1563) specifically identified female lay and religious visionaries—who had grown rampant after Catherine of Siena became a famous visionary and religious leader in the fourteenth century— as threats to the Catholic canon. Historians have argued that the Counter- Reformation succeeded in breaking the power of these women, marginalizing them, and placing them under male church authority. I disagree. My research has discovered that these women visionaries continued to exist even in the late seventeenth and early to mid-eighteenth centuries throughout the Iberian Catholic world, and that they held religious power and authority through adaptation, not surrender. My research focuses on four women from 1580 to 1730, two from Spain and two from Peru. In examining their lives, their actions, their communities, and their inquisitorial trials, I analyze the means and methods these women used to foster their authority, and the language they employed to explain their growing roles and responsibilities within their communities. I compare the women’s own interpretations of their lives and actions to those of the community, studying the language that supporters and detractors used to proclaim or undermine the visionaries’ authority. These women, their supporters, and their detractors explained their actions through the iii language of a “spiritual family.” These women, and those around them, viewed their positions as teachers, advisers, and leaders as an extension of their roles as women: wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters. Centrally, the role of mother has proven the most potent explanation, as the role of a teacher, nurturer, and adviser in the home was extended to the broader spiritual family of the Catholic Church in the immediate and broader communities over which these women came to preside. This research demonstrates that the women of Spain and its empire were a significantly larger force than has previously been supposed. These “spiritual mothers” were cornerstones of the religious lives of those around them. They actively shaped their fellow men and women in their faith and understanding of religion and did so with the approval of many male members of the Catholic Church. “Spiritual Motherhood: Gendered Interpretations of the Spanish Laity’s Religious Authority (1580–1730)”: iv Acknowledgments To all of those who have made this project possible, thank you. Motherhood has always meant more than blood or gender; it has always meant compassion. When one person cares for another, there are many ways to describe that relationship, but I believe the most potent to be mother. The relationship of child to mother is one of the most significant, complicated, and enduring relationships most people have throughout their lifetimes. This dissertation has used this foundational image of the caring and nurturing mother to expand on how motherhood can be ascribed and interpreted in the broader society, history, and culture of the early modern world. This recalls Marta Vicente’s favored metaphor for any major project, dissertation, or book: she likens this whole process to that of strained, prolonged, and complicated pregnancy, with advisers, committee members, and friends acting as the support network that midwifes a new project. This metaphor has seemed most apt. To that end, the majority of the credit must go to Luis Corteguera, my adviser throughout this process. He has remained patient and understanding with all the setbacks and struggles that have been involved in generating this dissertation. For all the hours, meetings, revisions, and advice, thank you, Luis. Next, credit and acknowledgment must go to the rest of my committee. Each of them has brought their expertise and skill to making this dissertation possible. Chris Forth has provided his valuable insights on the issues of religion, gender, the family, and its broader context and manifestations throughout early modern Europe. In addition, he has also enabled me to live and work in Lawrence by helping provide employment with both the Department of History and the Cultural History journal. Thank you, Chris. Both Santa Arias and Robert Schwaller have done their best to educate me in the many issues of race, intellectual discourse, and the unique v perspectives of Latin American culture and history. They have included me in various intellectual pursuits and gatherings, especially those at The Hall Center for the Humanities as well as other social events. Thank you both. Last, but certainly not least, Marta Vicente has been a tremendous support, introducing me to the complex issues and opportunities that make up gender history. She has worked with Luis and me on several occasions to enhance my understanding of the nuanced issues of social and gender relationships in the early modern Spanish Empire. Thank you, Marta, for all you have done. To my family, I know this has been a struggle for you (albeit more for me). I would like to thank you all individually, but alas I must be more selective for I am blessed with too many of you. Thanks first and foremost to my own mother, Debra Newhard; without you I would never have known the full extent to which a good mother can shape one’s life for the better. Thank you for all the long phone calls, for the constant emotional support, and for helping me move across the country (twice!). Michelle Sweisfort, while you have always been there for me, this past year’s efforts would not have been possible without you. In this way, you are just as crucial in getting me over that finish line as the constant streams of caffeine. To Zach Newhard and Lisa Hein, thank you for helping get me “There and Back Again.” Truly, it was the knowledge that my family had, has, and will have my best interests in their hearts that has allowed me to reach this point. Friends, to you much gratitude is due. From brainstorming and shop talk sessions with George Klaeren, Claire Wolnisty, Irene Olivares, and Taylor Hersch to just plain “I need to unwind” times with Steven Hnath, Colleen Parrish, and all the rest, I want to thank you all for your input, support, and for simply being my friends. Truly, my focus on community, the “Spiritual Motherhood: Gendered Interpretations of the Spanish Laity’s Religious Authority (1580–1730)”: vi relationships that create communities, and the importance they hold in shaping the world comes from my time with all of you. Last, I must salute the various organizations and institutions that supported my research financially. The organizations that made individual research trips possible include the Hall Center for the Humanities at the University of Kansas (KU), the KU Department of History, the Tinker Foundation, and the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. With their support, I was able to travel to both Spain and Peru on multiple occasions to do the necessary primary research for this dissertation. Further, I wish to acknowledge all the organizations that provided me with a livelihood while in Lawrence, Kansas. Again, the Department of History at KU needs to be saluted for five years of education, employment, and support as I worked as a teaching assistant. Further, I thank the KU Career Center, KU International Programs, and Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area. Throughout my six years at KU, each of these organizations have not only supported my living needs but granted me a breadth and depth of experience that can only serve me well in future. Thank you, one and all, for your contributions, your support, your time, and your patience. You have made this project possible. vii Table of Contents: Title Page Acceptance Page: …………………………………………………………………………… ii Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………. iii Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………….. v Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………… viii Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………. 1 Chapter 1 Defining Spiritual Motherhood: Luisa Melgarejo de Soto and Early Modern Catholic
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