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On Jan. 30 , 1540 , in Mexico City , at a sentence when Spain was cut up out an conglomerate in the New World , an epic trial got under way .
An appointed Catholic non-Christian priest refer Pedro Ruiz Calderón was being prosecuted for practicingblack magic . The non-Christian priest in reality tout about the powers he had acquired according to records a researcher is work on publication .
The man who prosecuted Calderon was Fray Juan de Zumarraga (his statue is shown here), the archbishop of Mexico and Apostolic Inquisitor of New Spain. For reasons unknown he gave Calderon a light sentence, prohibiting him from saying mass for two years and exiling him back to Spain.
He claimed to be able to teleport between continents , make himself invisible , make women come down in love with him , omen the future , call on metal into gold , summon and exorcize demons and , most significantly , find buried gem .
" He really symbolise all of the major type of lettered magic , from summoning and call forth demons , to exorcising demon to the powers of cloaking himself , making himself unseeable , " said John Chuchiak IV , a professor at Missouri State University who translates and publish documents tape the opening of the trial in his new book " The Inquisition in New Spain 1536 - 1820"(John Hopkins University Press , 2012 ) . [ See Photos of the Trial Records ]
" He could hypnotize people , too ; it ’s one of the earliest , I think , description of mesmerism , mesmerize people . "
Included in the trial records is a list of books Calderon was found with. The most puzzling material was a group of archival letters written in a special cipher that Calderon claimed to be able to read, no one else could.
At the jump of the trial , Calderón was tell on in a language by Miguel López de Legazpi , the Secretary of the Holy Office , who would later become a conquistador in the Philippines . In translation , the test records land that " many persons have made it known before him [ Legazpi ] that the said Calderón knows of the Black Arts and that he acquire them from others . " The records go on to claim that Calderón is capable to make himself invisible and can travel across smashing distances in a poor amount of clip . " It ’s just absorbing . The story just go on and on , " Chuchiak evidence LiveScience of the more than 100 pages of trial records .
The prosecutor Fray Juan de Zumárraga , the Franciscan archbishop of Mexico and apostolical interrogator of New Spain , was known for his extreme punishments . " Other hoi polloi he had their tongue rent forvery minor blasphemy , " said Chuchiak . In the end , for reason unsung , the bishop yield Calderón only a pocket-sized punishment — expatriate back to Spain and a prohibition from giving Catholic services for two years ; Zumárraga may have want to get rid of him without publically executing a priest . What happens to Calderón after he is deport is not known .
Journey to hell
The list of books goes on. Among them was a work by Dr. Arnaldo de Villanueva called the “Treasure of Treasures.” As its name suggests it was supposed to help people find buried treasures.
According to the test records , Calderón exact that he went to hell itself to acquire some of his power . At one percentage point , the records say he was in Naples , working for a viceroy .
" He and three men went to explore a cave . He said it was 3,000 league below the surface of the Earth , " said Chuchiak , summarizing the Spanish speech score . Apparently , the men got puzzle there , with most of Calderón ’s companions dying .
" He actually settle tothe depth of infernal region , he say , and there he learned the secrets of the science of the fatal humanistic discipline and alchemy . " [ Time Travel & Reincarnation : 10 Tales of Superhuman Abilities ]
Calderón did not return empty - handed , Chuchiak say .
" He bring back books from hell . He sound out one of them had the signature of the devil , the prince of darkness . "
When Calderón was arrested , his depository library was clutch . None of the books contained the theme song of the devil ; however , some challenging books were found , include Albertus Magnus ' " Secrets,“a manual on how to conductexorcisms , and a record by Dr. Arnaldo de Villanueva called the " Treasure of Treasures,“in which it describe techniques to notice bury hoarded wealth . The library also have " archival letters written in some cryptical penning , a certain cipher that he claim that he could study , " Chuchiak said . " No one else could record it . "
Why did he do it ?
Why a non-Christian priest like Calderón may have stray so far off may be due to two rather earthly things — tout right and fiscal gain .
Chuchiak note that Calderón have sex to brag . After the trial was over , he catch pneumonia , was sent to the infirmary , and while there , " he was gasconade about his power to cloak himself and to win over almost any adult female that he could , " he articulate , again summarizing the Spanish story . In other representative , " he talks about all the womanhood that he slept with . He blab out about how he ’s capable to get away with have mistresses and sneaking in an out of their bedrooms , " his supposedinvisibility powershelping with this .
There is also evidence that he profited from his abilities . Records indicate that , superpowers or not , he often found buried treasure .
According to the translated trial record , Gil González de Benavides , a conquistador , testified that " he had witnessed that the sound out Calderón had come upon the whereabouts of several baskets filled with lucky ornaments and item that the natives had veil from the Spaniards . " " obviously , he become lucky and did find treasure , that made his renown wider , " allege Chuchiak . " People come to him and asked him for help finding lost things , lose citizenry , lost hoarded wealth , " services for which Calderón was paid .
His great power were , of grade , simulated , articulate Chuchiak ; if Calderón could have made himself inconspicuous or teleported between continents , he could have escaped his run . That , Chuchiak sum , is always the trouble with people who claim they could performblack magic .
" They [ the inquisitor ] always challenge them to practise their disastrous art . But they did n’t do it , they could n’t do it , " said Chuchiak . In the death , Calderón was just a man who had made peachy claims and was now facing trial . " Obviously he ’s just boast , " Chuchiak said .
