Contents and Abstracts Introduction chapter abstract The introduction explains what is and is not known about the life, trial, and dreams of Lucrecia de Leon (b. 1568). The goal of this book is to explore the extant records of her dreams as dreams, as authentic expressions of her mind''s functioning during sleep. Previous studies of historians are examined in the Introduction, including their theories of the political and social significance of her dreams. None of these studies have considered the dream reports in relation to current knowledge about the actual nature of human dreaming. With this as the working hypothesis, the evidence from her case will be considered in relation to current findings in dream research and in the cognitive science of religion. Historical Prologue chapter abstract This section introduces Part One and sets the stage for Lucrecia''s life. From the legendary Roman roots of her name to the Reconquista of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to the reign of King Philip II, this prologue lays out the major historical, political, and religious forces that shaped the world into which she was born.

Much of her career as a prophetic dreamer depended on her growing up in the center of Madrid, at that time the capital city of the world''s strongest empire. This dynamic environment was driven in large part by strong Catholic religious faith and a centuries-long effort to expel Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula. 1Early Life chapter abstract This chapter describes Lucrecia''s birth, her parents, and the conditions in Madrid during her childhood. It explains the significance for her life of the Battle of Lepanto, the various theories of medieval Christians about dreams, Lucrecia''s earliest reported dreams, her father''s hostile reaction to her dreams, and her work in the royal palace. The chapter suggests that the circumstances of her upbringing played an important role in how she dreamed, what she dreamed about, and with whom she shared her dreams. 2A Record of Dreams chapter abstract This chapter describes how Lucrecia''s dreams became the source of a theological project conducted by two eminent religious officials. It also explains the influence on her dreaming experiences of another prominent voice of prophetic doom, Miguel de Piedrola. When Lucrecia had a dream about Piedrola, it came to the attention of Don Alonso de Mendoza and his colleague Fray Lucas de Allende.

They began recording her dreams on a regular basis, despite immediate concerns that this kind of project might attract the skeptical attention of the Spanish Inquisition, which had little tolerance for spiritual practices that might deviate from the confines of orthodox Catholic doctrine. 3The Three Companions chapter abstract This chapter describes the dream journaling and recording process conducted by Don Alonso de Mendoza and Fray Lucas de Allende. Several excerpts from Lucrecia''s dreams are provided, including passages from dreams portending future dangers for Spain and problems for the king. The "three companions" in her dreams are discussed: recurrent figures who interact with her in strange and unpredictable ways. Don Alonso found the dreams very interesting, and he told other people about them, as another ominous sign that King Philip II was leading the country in the wrong direction. 4Esta Negra Soñadora chapter abstract This chapter describes the growing attention to Lucrecia''s dreams, and the difficulties this caused with the religious officials of Madrid. She was arrested by the Vicar of Madrid and interrogated for ten days about her dreams. The religious officials accused her of stirring up social dissent and threatening the loyalty of the king''s subjects.

She defended herself by saying she only did what she was asked to do by Don Alonso and Fray Lucas. Don Alonso was able to secure her release by showing a senior official in the Inquisition several dreams of Lucrecia''s that accurately predicted danger for the senior naval officer of the Spanish fleet, who had unexpectedly died just a few days earlier. 5New Powers chapter abstract This chapter describes the voyage in 1588 of the Spanish Armada, the king''s great military force with which he intended to attack England, seize the throne from the Protestant queen Elizabeth, and expand his Catholic empire northward. Despite the fervent support of the Church and all patriotic Spaniards, Lucrecia continually dreamed of danger, destruction, and failure for the Armada. When the Armada finally set sail and met the English fleet, the Spaniards suffered a shocking and catastrophic defeat. Suddenly Lucrecia''s prophetic dreams seemed to have been proven true. In the aftermath of the Armada''s loss, when the English threatened to counterattack and rampage throughout Spain, Lucrecia''s dreams became of greater interest to a wider array of people, putting them all in grave danger. She also found someone whom she fell in love with and secretly married, a young scribe named Diego de Vitores, and soon she was pregnant.

6The Trial chapter abstract This chapter describes the arrest of Lucrecia and her followers by the Spanish Inquisition. The precipitating cause was an embarrassing problem with Antonio Perez, a former secretary who had involved the king in a secret murder but then escaped his custody. Angrily looking for other disobedient people to punish, the king learned from his advisors about Lucrecia and her followers, and soon thereafter gave the order for their arrest. They were brought to the Inquisition''s secret prison in Toledo and tried for heresy and sedition. The trial dragged on for five years while the Inquisitors alternately favored Lucrecia with special treatment, and tortured her to try to make her admit she was fabricating the dreams. Even under extreme pressure, she never gave up on her initial claim that her dreams were real dreams, and if anything heretical or treasonous was done with them, it was without her knowledge or permission. 7What She Was Not chapter abstract This chapter begins the analytical section of the book. It looks at the available evidence about her case, and examines it in relation to the modern findings of dream research and the cognitive science of religion.

The Spanish Inquisition tried to assign Lucrecia to one of their typical categories of heretics, but none of them fit her case. She was not Jewish, a Muslim, or a Protestant; she was not a witch, a mystic, or a lunatic; and she was not a Devil-worshipper. This led the Inquisition to accuse her primarily of fraud, of making up the dreams to cause mischief and draw attention to herself. The argument to be developed in the remaining chapters of this book is that current research on sleep and dreaming can provide retrospective help in answering this accusation and determining the nature and significance of Lucrecia''s dreams. 8Patterns in the Dreams chapter abstract This chapter looks in detail at the 36 dreams that were copied in the original manuscript in especially legible form and that date from a five-month period before the voyage of the Spanish Armada. The analysis uses the word-searching tools of the Sleep and Dream Database, a digital archive and search engine designed to promote scientific dream research. A study of Lucrecia''s dreams (translated from Spanish into English) reveals several significant patterns that highlight important aspects of her waking life. The analysis of her word usage frequencies also reveals several features of her dreams that do not easily map onto her waking life experiences and seem to reflect unusually creative aspects of her dreaming imagination.

9Cognitive Science chapter abstract This chapter uses the tools and findings of cognitive science to examine several aspects of Lucrecia''s dreams. Cognitive science is a new development in the scientific study of the human brain-mind system, and t.