Dionisia Perez Losada. Strange tale and curious ballad, in which is told the exemplary punishment that Our Lord allowed to be meted out to a Gentleman who had made false witness about an honest and virtuous Maiden. We are told of how, when he was on the point of death, four devils in the guise of dogs, tore him to pieces, and how the Maiden was free of the pressures and deceits of the devil because she was devoted to Our Lady of the Pillar and the holy Gospels; with all further details that discerning readers will see. This took place in the city of Zaragoza in the present year.
Madrid: Imprenta de J. M. Marés, 1847
Being attacked by demons in the form of animals seems to have been a standard trope in Spanish chapbooks, and one which does not necessarily involve great violence. Here the man being attacked looks almost comfortable, and the faces of the dogs seem kindly rather than fierce or aggressive. Dionisia Perez Losada was reduced to asking for alms in order to support her parents, but was spurned by the gentleman she asked, who also made indecent suggestions to her. His punishment, as that of the maid in the Teresa story, was to be torn to pieces by animals.
8743.c.73(23)
Dionisia Perez Losada. Strange tale and curious ballad, in which is told the exemplary punishment that Our Lord allowed to be meted out to a Gentleman who had made false witness about an honest and virtuous Maiden. We are told of how, when he was on the point of death, four devils in the guise of dogs, tore him to pieces, and how the Maiden was free of the pressures and deceits of the devil because she was devoted to Our Lady of the Pillar and the holy Gospels; with all further details that discerning readers will see. This took place in the city of Zaragoza in the present year.
Madrid: Imprenta de J. M. Marés, 1847
Being attacked by demons in the form of animals seems to have been a standard trope in Spanish chapbooks, and one which does not necessarily involve great violence. Here the man being attacked looks almost comfortable, and the faces of the dogs seem kindly rather than fierce or aggressive. Compare this image with the much more violent one [link to image Relacion] which gives the most graphic account of this type of divine retribution.
The wrong done to Dionisia by the gentleman is complex. She was reduced to asking for alms in order to support her parents. He turned her away, and made indecent advances to her. Finally (and this is the real wrong) he denounced her (falsely) to the local authorities for being a loose woman. The false witness is the worst of these, one’s good name being crucial in contemporary Spanish society. His punishment, as that of the maid in the Teresa story, was to be torn to pieces by animals.
8743.c.73(23)
