“It Is the Greatest Shame in the World”: Tomás Cerdán de Tallada’s Pioneering Analysis and Critiques of Jails in the Spanish Golden Age

Author

Riley Emerson Carney, University of Montana, MissoulaFollow

Graduation Year

2025

Graduation Month

May

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

School or Department

History

Major

History

Faculty Mentor Department

History

Faculty Mentor

Jody Pavilack

Keywords

Spain, Early Modern, Jail, Incarceration, Legal History, Spanish Golden Age

Subject Categories

European History | Legal

Abstract

During the 16^th century, prisons as we know them did not exist in Spain nor in most of Western Europe. Jails, as a temporary place to hold criminals before their trial, did exist but were quickly filling up with a wave of new criminals and debtors. This system of jails was poorly organized and poorly understood until Tomás Cerdán de Tallada wrote his treatise Visita de la carcel, which was the first in Spain to analyze the system of jails as a whole, and one of the first to offer criticisms of the system. Core to Cerdán’s understanding are his personal experiences working as an advocate for the poor in Valencia and his insistence that jails must be a fair system for all, including the poor. Cerdán’s contribution was significant in his time as it was widely circulated and helped many to form an understanding of penitentiary law in 16^th century Spain. This paper analyzes the original text of Cerdán’s 1572 treatise in relation to its historical context and Cerdán’s personal biography.

Honors College Research Project

1

GLI Capstone Project

no

Recommended Citation

Carney, Riley Emerson, "“It Is the Greatest Shame in the World”: Tomás Cerdán de Tallada’s Pioneering Analysis and Critiques of Jails in the Spanish Golden Age" (2025). Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts. 557.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/557