Priscillian, a rigorous Spanish Christian ascetic apparently influenced by gnosticism and Manichaean dualism, espouses an unorthodox doctrine similar to both in its dualistic belief that matter is evil and the spirit good.

He teaches that angels and human souls emanate from the Godhead, that bodies are creations of the devil, and that human souls are joined to bodies as a punishment for sins.

Leading his followers in a quasi-secret society that aims for higher perfection through ascetic practices and proscribes all sensual pleasure, marriage, and the consumption of wine and meat, his movement, called Priscillianism, spreads throughout western and southern Spain and in southern Gaul.

Despite his unorthodox views, Priscillian had become bishop of Ávila in 380.

The Spanish church, led by bishops Hyginus of Mérida and Ithacius of Ossonoba, had soon opposed the movement.

A council of Spanish and Aquitanian bishops had adopted at Saragossa eight canons bearing more or less directly on the prevalent heresy of Priscillianism.

Priscillian’s enemies now persuade the devoutly Christian Gratian to exile the bishop and his primary disciples to Italy.

The Reconquest and Repopulation of Ávila (1088 CE)

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Ávila became a Visigothic stronghold, serving as an important defensive center. Following the Muslim conquest, it was renamed Ābila and remained under Arab control, though it suffered frequent attacks from the northern Christian kingdoms. Over time, the city became a virtually uninhabited no-man’s land, caught between the shifting Christian-Muslim frontier.

Raymond of Burgundy and the Fortification of Ávila

In 1088, after the definitive Christian reconquest of the area, Raymond of Burgundy, the son-in-law of King Alfonso VI of León and Castile, repopulates Ávila as part of Alfonso’s broader strategy to secure the central Iberian frontier.

To fortify the city, Raymond employs two foreign master builders, Casandro Romano and Florin de Pituenga, who oversee the construction of a stone frontier town and the massive defensive walls that still stand today.

The repopulation and fortification of Ávila mark its transformation into a key defensive stronghold during the Reconquista, ensuring Christian control over the region and solidifying León and Castile’s expansion southward.

Ávila had become a stronghold of the Visigoths after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Conquered by the Arabs (who called it Ābila), it had been repeatedly attacked by the northern Iberian Christian kingdoms, becoming a virtually uninhabited no man's land.

It is repopulated about 1088 following the definitive reconquest of the area by Raymond of Burgundy, son in law of Alfonso VI of León and Castile.

He employs two foreigners, Casandro Romano and Florin de Pituenga, to construct a stone frontier town and creating the walls that still stand.

The Kabbalistic Tradition in Spain and the Works of Moses de León

The Kabbalah, like all Jewish religious expressions, is rooted in the Old Testament revelation and interpreted through hermeneutic techniques, notably:

• Gematria – Assigning numerical values to Hebrew letters to uncover hidden meanings.
• Notarikon – Forming acronyms from words or interpreting words as acronyms.
• Temurah – Permuting letters to reveal deeper significance.

During the 13th century, Spanish Jewry produced some of the most profound Kabbalistic works, including the Sefer ha-Zohar (Book of Splendor), a text revered in some circles on par with the Torah itself.

The Sefer ha-Zohar: A Mystical Masterpiece

• The Zohar explores the mystery of creation, the functions of the sefirot, and mystical speculations on evil, salvation, and the soul.
• It consists of several units, the largest of which interprets the "inner" meaning of biblical texts, particularly the Torah, the Book of Ruth, and the Song of Solomon.
• The text is structured around homilies, short discourses, and parables, centered on Simeon ben Yohai and his disciples.
• Though attributed to Simeon ben Yohai, modern scholars believe that Moses de León was the primary author, though he likely incorporated earlier mystical traditions.

Moses de León and His Kabbalistic Works

A prolific Kabbalistic writer, Moses de León was well-versed in medieval Jewish philosophy and mysticism, drawing upon:

• Solomon ibn Gabirol
• Yehuda ha-Levi
• Maimonides
• The Treatise on the Left Emanation by R. Isaac b. Jacob Ha-Kohen

His writing, marked by brilliant phrases but often ambiguous thought, produced several mystical works in rapid succession.

Major Works of Moses de León

• Sefer ha-Rimon (1287) – A mystical analysis of Jewish ritual laws, dedicated to Levi ben Todros Abulafia(extant in manuscript).
• Ha-Nefesh ha-Hakhamah / Ha-Mishqal (1290) – A Kabbalistic treatise on the soul, rejecting philosophical theology. It discusses:
  • The soul’s likeness to its heavenly prototype
  • Life after death and resurrection
  • Transmigration of souls
• Shekel ha-Kodesh (1292) – Another mystical work, dedicated to Todros ha-Levi Abulafia.
• Mishkan ha-Edut / Sefer ha-Sodot (1293) – Inspired by the apocryphal Book of Enoch, it explores:
  • The nature of heaven and hell
  • Atonement and divine judgment
• Commentary on the First Chapter of Ezekiel – A Kabbalistic explanation of the prophet’s vision.

Legacy of Moses de León and the Zohar

Moses de León’s Zohar became the definitive text of Jewish mysticism, influencing centuries of Kabbalistic thought. His works bridged philosophy and mysticism, shaping medieval Jewish esotericism and solidifying Spain’s role as a center of Kabbalistic scholarship.

Spain's first great Renaissance painter, Pedro Berruguete, combines Gothic Hispano-Flemish elements with influences from Piero della Francesca.

Having painted portraits of the court members in Urbino, Italy, he later works in Spain, where he paints religious subjects for churches throughout Castile, including his well-known “Auto de Fe” from the church of Santo Tomás, Ávila.

He dies on January 6, 1504.

His teenaged son Alfonso, also a painter and an important sculptor, survives him.

Berruguete's last assignment was the high altar of the Ávila Cathedral, which he was unable to finish due to his death.

He painted for this work of late Gothic architecture several paintings of episodes from the life of Christ for the altarpiece, and figures of patriarchs for the predella.

These paintings, perhaps reflecting the prevailing style in Castile at the time, use gold backgrounds and somewhat rigid compositions.

The figures are of a more robust and monumental form than in previous works, perhaps in order to stand out in the distance of the main chapel.

After the master's death the altarpiece is completed by Juan de Borgoña.

The Toledo-led Castilian municipalities, supported by the nobles and clergy, form a league and establish the governing Junta Santa in Ávila in July-August 1520, naming Toledan comunero leader Juan de Padilla as captain general of its forces.

The comuneros boldly assert that they are the kingdom, and that the Cortes has the right to assemble without a royal summons and to discuss all matters relating to the welfare of the realm.

There is talk of dethroning their King Carlos, now emperor Charles V, in favor of his mother, the hereditary queen Joan the Mad, who has been living in the castle of Tordesillas since she had gone insane in 1506.

Padilla takes Tordesillas, but Juana will not commit herself to Padilla’s proposals.

The movement spreads rapidly through Castile unopposed by the nobles, who have not forgiven Charles his quest for the imperial title (which they regard as inferior to that of king of Castile) nor his foreign councilors and courtiers.

Above all, they resent his bestowal of the archbishopric of Toledo on the young Burgundian, William de Croy, and the appointment of his former tutor, Adrian of Utrecht, as regent of Castile.

Even the appointment of the admiral Fadrique Enríquez and the constable of Castile, Iñigo de Velasco, as Adrian's co-regents does little to mollify the offended nobles.

The junta, in a move to please the noble faction, replaces Padilla with Don Pedro Girón, an important nobleman.

However, the comunero movement’s disparate factions—radicals, bourgeosie, and nobles— soon become disunited.

The nobles, whom the junta has alienated by its popular demands, withdraw and support Charles.

Girón defects, and after Charles' troops recover Tordesillas in December, the Junta Santa recalls Padilla amid a great outpouring of popular enthusiasm.

Teresa de Cespeda y Ahumada has been a nun at the Carmelite monastery of the Incarnation at Ávila, where the inmates observe the rules of the order in a relaxed ("mitigated") way.

After undergoing a serious illness and a prolonged period of spiritual apathy, the forty-year-old Teresa experiences a spiritual reawakening in 1555 that persuades her of the need for strict observance of the austere Carmelite rule.

Spanish Carmelite and mystic Teresa of Ávila (Teresa de Cespeda y Ahumada), despite strong opposition to her cause—the strict observance of the austere Carmelite rule—succeeds in 1562 in opening the Convent of Saint Joseph in Ávila, the first of the reformed Carmelite houses.