De Pablo a Saulo: traducción, crítica y denuncia de los libros plúmbeos por el P. Ignacio de las Casas, S. J.

Abstract

The Morisco Jesuit P. Ignacio de Las Casas collaborated in the translation of some of the lead books found in Granada at the end of the 16th century. At first he was a partisan of their authenticity, but he rapidly became convinced that they were false. There followed a fierce struggle to make the Church prevent their publication. In the article his activity as a translator of these texts is reviewed, together with the arguments, which he used in order to criticise the doctrine contained in the lead books. In addition to noting the presence of Islamic elements, de Las Casas saw in them clear signs of ancient anti-trinitarian heresies. Although he does not consider them the work of Moriscos, he notes the attraction which the messianism and millenarianism in the doctrine of the lead books had for the Moriscos.