Govert Westerveld

El Lazarillo, Initiated by Lucena and Finished by Bernardo de Quiros Govert Westerveld

The identity of the author of Lazarillo has been a puzzle for nearly four hundred years. Given the subversive nature of Lazarillo and its open criticism of the Catholic Church, it is likely that the author chose to remain anonymous out of fear of religious persecution. There has been the suggestion that the author was originally of Jewish origin and had to convert to Catholicism in 1492 to avoid being expelled from Spain. This suggestion could be used to explain the animosity towards the Catholic Church displayed in the book. We have found an author who is indeed of Jewish origin and whose father, mother, and uncle were prosecuted by the Inquisition. Another author who finished the first book of Lazarillo and also wrote the continuation was a doctor and it is known that most physicians in those years were of Jewish origin. The purpose of this book is to provide more information about these two unknown authors so that researchers can draw conclusions about these two possible authors of El Lazarillo.