"Toda la ruin gente de este Reino". Noticias de la vida y muerte de Lorenzo Juan, el capitán Miguel Ferrer y de la “blandura” de la monarquía

Abstract

In April 1561, an unknown bandit unleashed unprecedented fury attacking the houses of an enemy in Binaced, where he took refuge with his gang. This article revisits the death of Melchor Amendaño at the hands of Lorenzo Juan and the latter's subsequent life, as well as that of Captain Miguel Ferrer, Amendaño's nephew, to analyze the social origin and cross-border nature of banditry, contextualizing this phenomenon with seigniorial conflicts and private wars. To review the trajectory of these characters, it draws on existing documentation and provides new documents that delve into their actions, motivations, and the mechanisms the monarchy used to rein them in. Banditry, Seigniorial conflicts, Anti-seigniorial struggles, Private warfare, Lorenzo Juan, Captain Miguel Ferrer, Holy Office, Governor of Aragon.