Elena/Eleno de Céspedes
In 1545 , Alhambra, Granada a baby was born and designated female by the local midwife.
She was mixed race , born to a white Christian father and a slave, a black Muslim mother. Her name was Elena Céspedes.
Being born into slavery the child was branded on her cheeks as a sign of ownership and took the name of the owner’s wife.
At 15 , Elena married a man named Alphonso Lombardo , fell pregnant and delivered a male baby.
The marriage wasn’t a happy one and they split .
When later questioned about her life , Elena/Eleno claimed that an intersex condition became apparent as the result of the birth.
It is possible that Elena suffered a severely uterus prolapse which gave the appearance of a penis .
Elena left her child with a friend adopted the name Eleno, started wearing masculine clothes and relationship with women.
She was a farmhand, tailor , soldier but soon drew attention from the authorities as she wore earrings but with no facial hair and thus considered a woman in men clothing and forced to resume to a female identity.
Eleno ran away to Madrid and learned to write and read and began studying medicine on his own . Eleno was employed at the local hospitals to practice apparently with exceptional talent .
Eleno married a local woman, Maria del Cano and applied for a marriage license in December 1584. The application was met with suspicion, the vicar of Madrid was concerned by Eleno’ s appearance and asked whether they were a eunuch or a male castrated .
Eleno admitted to be examined by 4 men , from the front only, implying that the examination wasn’t particularly invasive. The doctor identified male genitals and the license was granted. This prompted two members of the local community who testified Eleno had both male and female genitals.
Eleno underwent further several examinations on February 1586. It was reported the existence of male genitals but also a crease with aperture that could have been the entrance to vagina . The wedding was allowed to proceed.
After a year they were both arrested and forced to submit to another examination where no male genitals were observed. Eleno was formally accused with witchcraft, transvestitism and impersonating a man .
The fact that Eleno had male genitals before marriage is confusing enough for understanding his physical condition.
Other examinations followed performed by Dr Diaz, the physician of King Philip II and the final conclusion was that Céspedes had always been female, although there were a number of former female lovers who testified against.
The sentence was 200 lashes and 10 years of prison.
After February 1589 nothing further was heard of Eleno as he disappeared without a trace.
From:
Amy Licence, “The Sixteenth Century in 100 Women,” The History Press, 2023, chapter 87.
📸 Modern representation of Eleno.
