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Journal > Volumes > 36 (2005) / 2 (Summer)
Social Control and Its Limits: Sodomy, Local Sexual Economies, and Inquisitors during Spain’s Golden Age
Cristian Berco
Bishop’s University

This article explores the Aragonese Inquisition and its prosecution of homosexual sodomy in terms of the types of men tried and the attitudes of both local denouncers and inquisitorial magistrates, given the important separation of the judicial process into denunciation and trial. The diverging views regarding sexuality and deviance between Aragonese peoples and the judges manning the tribunals of Barcelona, Valencia, and Zaragoza meant that both groups differently assessed the types of people in need of control. In effect, the treatment of clergy, European foreigners, and Moriscos and Muslim slaves exemplifies both the cooperation and disagreements between judges and denouncers and ultimately showcases the systemic limits inherent in this process of social control.

Pages: 331 - 358