In the Middle of Renaissance Light and Inquisitorial Darkness: Pere Miquel Carbonell’s Case
In the Middle of Renaissance Light and Inquisitorial Darkness: Pere Miquel Carbonell’s Case

Summary/Abstract: This study explores literary work of humanist and royal bureaucrat, Pere Miquel Carbonell, during the early Renaissance in Barcelona. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the individuality of Pere Miquel Carbonell, who was an ambivalent figure; a well-educated renaissance man, yet also an inquisitorial notary of the Barcelona Tribunal. The objectives of this paper are hence to address the seemingly contradictory duality in Carbonell’s literary opus as he shifted from humanistic writings to documenting bureaucratic inquisitorial proceedings, which were highly uncommon for this type of legal documents as they were filled with lines from Latin literature. Based on this analysis of the work of Carbonell, who was a prominent figure of his time, this paper will subsequently extrapolate the influence of humanism as a prevailing moment in Europe and depict the dark side of the heresy inquisition, whose causes and goals are still a matter of discussion among historians.

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