Resumen
Entre las relaciones de milagros atribuidos a la intercesión de la Virgen del Pilar, destaca la información sobre los exorcismos realizados en 1601 en Zaragoza a una mujer que ya había peregrinado previamente a varios monasterios en busca de remedio para su mal. Según confesión propia, Brígida estaba poseída por tres demonios y atormentada por cincuenta y cuatro más que la acosaban en forma de moscones. Aunque se trata de un relato breve, su riqueza e intensidad expresiva lo convierten en un documento excepcional para el análisis de las creencias acerca de la posesión demoníaca y la liberación de ésta entendida como milagro.
Palabras clave: Milagros—Exorcismo—Brujería—Peregrinación—Virgen del Pilar
Abstract
Among the reports of miracles attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza (Spain), the story of Brígida Pérez is particularly notable. She spent three years on pilgrimage to different holy sites seeking a remedy for her ailments. By her own avowal, Brígida had been possessed by three demons and was continually tormented by fifty-four others that had assumed the form of large flies. Although the surviving account of her story is brief, its fascinating wealth of detail makes it an exceptional source when it comes to analysing 1 María Tausiet is an independent scholar who has worked as a researcher for the CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) in Madrid, and more recently has been invited as Scholar in Residence at the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on Early modern and Contemporary Spanish Religious History. She has published books on witchcraft, religion, magic, demonic possession and the history of emotions, as well as a number of articles about different aspects of the Catholic Reformation. Her latest books are El dedo robado. Reliquias imaginarias en la España Moderna [The Purloined Finger. Imaginary Relics in Early Modern Spain], (Abada, 2013), and Urban Magic in Early Modern Spain. Abracadabra Omnipotens (Palgrave, 2014). She is currently doing research on relics, ghosts, the notion of immortality and its depiction in scientific and fantastical representations of the afterlife. See also http://seronoser. free.fr/maria/.