Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza – better known as Luisa de Carvajal – is well-known as a major figure in the post-Gunpowder plot Catholic resistance to Protestant ascendency in early seventeenth century England. (1)
What is not well-known about her however is the fact she was possibly of partial jewish ancestry.
This is despite the fact that she is often stated to have been an ‘Old Christian’ and free of any jewish or Islamic ancestors. (2) A conventional analysis of her ancestry supports this in so far as her father was Francisco de Carvajal, who was in turn the son of Gutierre Vargas de Carvajal – an abbot of three different monastic houses – and a member of the most powerful aristocratic family in Spain at time: the Mendozas. In this instance the Mendoza lady concerned was from Toledo. (3)
Luisa’s mother Maria de Mendoza y Chacon on the other hand is where things interesting, because her father was the daughter of daughter of the third count of Monteagudo and the ninth lord of Almazan: Juan Hurtado de Mendoza y Mendoza. (4)
Why is that interesting?
Well because while both sides of Luisa’s family seem to be ‘Old Christians’ superficially. Buried in the records of the line of the lords of Almazan – i.e., Luisa’s grandfather – is the fact that that they acknowledged Diego Laynez – the most important jewish member of the early Jesuits and the companion of Saint Ignatius Loyola – as being a blood relative. (5)
So, in other words, the lords of Almazan were at least in part ‘New Christians’ (i.e., converted jews) and therefore we can reasonably argue that Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza was partially of jewish ancestry.
References
(1) For a summary see: http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399301/obo-9780195399301-0315.xml
(2) Glyn Redworth, 2008, ‘The She-Apostle: The Extraordinary Life and Death of Luisa de Carvajal’, 1st Edition, Oxford University Press: New York, p. 20
(3) Ibid, p. 7
(4) Ibid.
(5) Albert Sicroff, 1960, ‘Les Controverses des statut de ‘purete de sang’ en Espagne du XV au XVII siecle’, 1st Edition, Didier: Paris, pp. 190-195