Auto-da-fé of the Holy Child of La Guardia
- When
- 1490–1491
- Where
- Ávila; Brasero de la Dehesa, Ávila
- Episodes
- 2
On 16 November 1491, the Inquisition executed eight suspects in the Holy Child of La Guardia case at Brasero de la Dehesa, Ávila. The trial followed the 1490 arrest of Benito García and Yucef Franco, concluding with their burning at the stake.
Episodes
- Arrests and Transfer
Benito García and Yucef Franco were arrested in 1490 and transferred to Ávila for trial.
- Auto-da-fé Execution
Eight suspects were burned at the stake at Brasero de la Dehesa, Ávila, on 16 November 1491.
Background and detail
Background. The case originated from a medieval blood libel in La Guardia, Toledo. In June 1490, converso Benito García was stopped in Astorga and accused of Judaizing. His confession implicated Yucef Franco, a Jewish cobbler from Tembleque, leading to their arrests and transfer to Ávila for trial.
Trial Proceedings. Inquisitors Pedro de Villado, Juan López de Cigales, and Friar Fernando de Santo Domingo prepared the case. The trial against Yucef Franco began in December 1490. In October 1491, a confrontation between the accused showed agreement, and legal experts in Salamanca pronounced on their guilt.
Execution. On 16 November 1491, the accused were handed to secular authorities at Brasero de la Dehesa in Ávila. Six conversos and two Jews, including Benito García and Yucef Franco, were burned at the stake. Confiscated property funded the construction of the Santo Tomás de Ávila monastery.
People involved
- Benito García · Converso accused of Judaizing and murder
- Yucef Franco · Jewish cobbler accused of murder
- Tomás de Torquemada · Grand Inquisitor who ordered prisoner transfer
Sources
- Holy Child of La Guardia Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-03
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.