Vicent Peris
Encyclopedia
(in Catalan; ) was a weaver
and leader of the weavers' guild in Valencia. He came to prominence as the most influential leader of the Council of Thirteen after the death of Joan Llorenç
in the Revolt of the Brotherhoods. Peris saw the revolution as a wider social revolution against the nobility, and aggressively attacked them. He also legitimized the anti-Muslim stance of many rebels into the Germanies government, and intensified their repression.
died, likely of a heart attack. With the death of Sorolla and Llorenç, Peris came to be known as the most powerful and influential member of the Council of Thirteen. Still, his support was not universal. Allegedly Llorenç, upon seeing Peris leading the mobs from his window, exclaimed "The Germania was made for none of this! You and others like you will be the ruination of Valencia." (That said, there is little evidence one way or the other for this quote.)
At first, the royal government was ill-prepared for warfare and the Germanies were able to expand with little opposition. The most influential nobles fortified themselves at the castle near Gandia
, while the Germanies took over the other cities of the Kingdom of Valencia
. To fund their army, the Germanies seized the property and goods of nobles who opposed them, and possibly those of the mudéjar
s (Muslims of Valencia) as well. Unsurprisingly, the Muslims joined the armies of the nobles in numbers in response. Mudéjars captured or found by the Germanies were forcibly baptized
and converted to Christianity.
Peris obtained two important military successes. He conquered the castle of Xàtiva
on July 14, 1521. A week later, he then smashed the forces that Viceroy Mendoza had been gathering near Gandia at the Battle of Gandia
on July 23. Under his command, the agermanats looted the town and farmland of the Gandia region, and undertook a campaign of forced baptism
s upon all the Muslims of the conquered area. According to one account, after the Battle of Gandia Peris captured 2,000 Muslim prisoners who had sided with the Viceroy. He proceeded to baptize and then execute them all. When asked why, he (allegedly) said "Well, they gave many alms to Heaven, and much money to the purses of the agermanats."
However, Peris was unable to control dissent and disagreement about the next course of action among the Germanies. Additionally, in spite of Peris's success, nobles in neighboring Andalusia did not wish to see the rebellion fester and potentially grow to envelop their lands. Their forces first took Elche (Elx), then proceeded north. They won a great victory at the battle of Oriola
on August 20, 1521.
Peris was executed on March 3, 1522. Several others—nine survivors of the night battle, along with three other men and one women—were hanged. Their bodies were paraded through the street, and Peris was then hung suspended by his feet. Peris's head was put into a cage and hung high upon Saint Vincent's gate so that those who entered the city might see his fate. His home was demolished, and the site sown with salt
. It was forbidden to build a new building there, so the lot became a small public square unofficially named after him. By order of the Viceroy, his descendants were stigmatized as traitors to the patria (homeland) to the fourth generation, a punishment from the Book of Numbers
.
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
and leader of the weavers' guild in Valencia. He came to prominence as the most influential leader of the Council of Thirteen after the death of Joan Llorenç
Joan Llorenç
Joan Llorenç was the leader of a germania of Valencia. He became one of the most influential leaders in what would later be known as the Revolt of the Brotherhoods, though during his leadership warfare had not yet broken out.Llorenç sought to expand the role the guilds played in the city and to...
in the Revolt of the Brotherhoods. Peris saw the revolution as a wider social revolution against the nobility, and aggressively attacked them. He also legitimized the anti-Muslim stance of many rebels into the Germanies government, and intensified their repression.
Leadership in the Revolt
Peris was a member of the Council of Thirteen which came to contest the royal government's rule of Valencia in 1519. In 1520, the situation worsened with the appointment of Castilian Viceroy Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. A riot broke out after Mendoza refused to recognize the election of officials who were sympathetic to the Germanies, and in the chaos the popular "Sorolla" (Guillén Castleví) was killed. During the chaos, Peris led the city's mobs and militias against royal forces. The Viceroy was forced to flee the city, and shortly thereafter Joan LlorençJoan Llorenç
Joan Llorenç was the leader of a germania of Valencia. He became one of the most influential leaders in what would later be known as the Revolt of the Brotherhoods, though during his leadership warfare had not yet broken out.Llorenç sought to expand the role the guilds played in the city and to...
died, likely of a heart attack. With the death of Sorolla and Llorenç, Peris came to be known as the most powerful and influential member of the Council of Thirteen. Still, his support was not universal. Allegedly Llorenç, upon seeing Peris leading the mobs from his window, exclaimed "The Germania was made for none of this! You and others like you will be the ruination of Valencia." (That said, there is little evidence one way or the other for this quote.)
At first, the royal government was ill-prepared for warfare and the Germanies were able to expand with little opposition. The most influential nobles fortified themselves at the castle near Gandia
Gandia
Gandia is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar, 65 km south of Valencia and 96 km north of Alicante....
, while the Germanies took over the other cities of the Kingdom of Valencia
Kingdom of Valencia
The Kingdom of Valencia , located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. When the Crown of Aragon merged by dynastic union with the Crown of Castile to form the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Valencia became a component realm of the...
. To fund their army, the Germanies seized the property and goods of nobles who opposed them, and possibly those of the mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
s (Muslims of Valencia) as well. Unsurprisingly, the Muslims joined the armies of the nobles in numbers in response. Mudéjars captured or found by the Germanies were forcibly baptized
Forced conversion
A forced conversion is the religious conversion or acceptance of a philosophy against the will of the subject, often with the threatened consequence of earthly penalties or harm. These consequences range from job loss and social isolation to incarceration, torture or death...
and converted to Christianity.
Peris obtained two important military successes. He conquered the castle of Xàtiva
Xàtiva
Xàtiva is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways....
on July 14, 1521. A week later, he then smashed the forces that Viceroy Mendoza had been gathering near Gandia at the Battle of Gandia
Gandia
Gandia is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar, 65 km south of Valencia and 96 km north of Alicante....
on July 23. Under his command, the agermanats looted the town and farmland of the Gandia region, and undertook a campaign of forced baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
s upon all the Muslims of the conquered area. According to one account, after the Battle of Gandia Peris captured 2,000 Muslim prisoners who had sided with the Viceroy. He proceeded to baptize and then execute them all. When asked why, he (allegedly) said "Well, they gave many alms to Heaven, and much money to the purses of the agermanats."
However, Peris was unable to control dissent and disagreement about the next course of action among the Germanies. Additionally, in spite of Peris's success, nobles in neighboring Andalusia did not wish to see the rebellion fester and potentially grow to envelop their lands. Their forces first took Elche (Elx), then proceeded north. They won a great victory at the battle of Oriola
Oriola
Oriola may stand for:* Christian d'Oriola was a noted French foil fencer* Orihuela or Oriola, a city in the province of Alicante, Spain* Oriola , a parish in the municipality of Portel, Portugal...
on August 20, 1521.
Return to Valencia and death
Peris remained fortified at Xàtiva's castle for half a year, waiting in vain for the situation to improve. Valencia fell on November 1, 1521. On the night of February 18, 1522, Peris returned to the city of Valencia hoping to reignite the rebellion. Meeting with his supporters, he was somehow seen or betrayed, and a desperate night battle in the streets broke out between the agermanats and royal soldiers. Eventually, Peris was cornered and smoked out by setting his house on fire. but was captured by the royalist troops after a desperate night battle in which 100 people died.Peris was executed on March 3, 1522. Several others—nine survivors of the night battle, along with three other men and one women—were hanged. Their bodies were paraded through the street, and Peris was then hung suspended by his feet. Peris's head was put into a cage and hung high upon Saint Vincent's gate so that those who entered the city might see his fate. His home was demolished, and the site sown with salt
Salting the earth
Salting the earth, or sowing with salt, is the ritual of spreading salt on conquered cities to symbolize a curse on its re-inhabitation. It originated as a practice in the ancient Near East and became a well-established folkloric motif in the Middle Ages.-Destroying cities:The custom of purifying...
. It was forbidden to build a new building there, so the lot became a small public square unofficially named after him. By order of the Viceroy, his descendants were stigmatized as traitors to the patria (homeland) to the fourth generation, a punishment from the Book of Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
.