In the archives, there is documentation of all kinds, including that which lays bare the vileness of certain individuals, capable of the most horrific crimes for just a handful of coins, as happened in Barcelona.
By 1646, six years had passed since the outbreak of the Reapers’ War, and life in Catalonia had been difficult ever since the war began. People managed as best they could to get through each day. On Carrer Assaonadors, for example, two families had been forced to share the same dwelling.
In mid-January, one of the men had to leave the city of Barcelona for work, and the other saw it as the perfect opportunity to steal the doubloons his neighbour had saved. It seems that the absent man’s wife tried to prevent him, and the thief became a murderer, slitting her throat without hesitation. Not only that, but he also tried to dispose of the body by throwing it down a nearby well.
Detail of the map of the siege of Barcelona, 1697.
The other man returned home on 22 January. Surprised that his wife did not greet him, the criminal made him believe that she was in the upper rooms, which explained why he had not heard her arrive. It was just an excuse. As the man climbed upstairs, he was attacked from behind and struck on the head with an axe. But it was not enough. The victim fought back with a knife, stabbing his wife’s murderer in the forehead. A struggle ensued, tumbling down the stairs and leaving a trail of blood everywhere.
Despite the axe blow he had received, the victim fought back like a lion, and when the attacker realised he was losing, he fled. He tried to take refuge in the church of Sant Cugat del Rec, which was near where they lived, but before he could enter the temple, he was arrested and handed over to the authorities.
Watercolour by Mosterini of Plaça de l’Àngel, showing the Veguer’s prison. “Col·lecció de 60 vistes diferents indrets de la ciutat: muralles, portals, monestirs, faganes”.
Barcelona Historical Archive
The trial was brief, and on 3 February the sentence was carried out. It consisted of two parts. First, the prisoner was taken to the house where the tragic events had taken place. There, before the gathered crowd, the executioner cut off his hand. He was then taken to another spot in the city, where he was to receive the rest of his punishment: to be beheaded and quartered. Once the sentence had been carried out, each part of his body was hung at one of Barcelona’s city gates. It was meant as a warning to any would-be wrongdoers of the punishment awaiting those who dared commit such crimes. Whether it was truly effective is hard to say, for, sadly, in every age there have always been people willing to perpetrate the most terrible deeds for the most trivial reasons.
This episode from 1646, recorded in the diary of the Antic Consell de Cent (Old Council of One Hundred), where the most notable events occurring in the city were noted, is a good example. The document is now held by the Barcelona Historical Archive.
Photos from the City of Barcelona Historical Archive. Author: Lorena Ruiz Pellicero
Do you want to know more details about this story?
Consult the original document on which this story is based in the digital catalogue of the Barcelona Municipal Archive.
And if you want to consult it in person at the Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona, ask for the document “Dietari de l’antic Consell Barceloní o Manual de Novells Ardits”, with reference code 08/1B.XXV.
The importance of the document
And, if you still want to delve deeper, watch this video in which Laura Fortuny, from the technical staff at the City of Barcelona Historical Archive, explains the importance of the document chosen to tell this story.
