Seen and not heard: the case against Mariá de Cazalla

During the sixteenth century, rulers responded to perceived threats against Catholicism, complicating the religious climate in Spain. The Inquisition’s establishment affected all people in Spain, not just the elite. The development of gendered ideals and the theological response to concerns that the Church faced complicated the role that women played as second and third orders within the church. Religious women faced increased scrutiny and tighter control which concerned their gender more than their theological beliefs. The heretical charges levied against María de Cazalla concerned her status as a mother and wife and her insistence on assuming an authorial role as a teacher within her community. Maria's defense hinged on her understanding of gendered ideals in response to her perceived role as a woman. Its success rested on her own application of these ideals as a woman and how she responded to the Inquisition’s expectations.