At the beginning of the 19th century and during the first third of the 20th century various Spanish scholars began to show an interest in the figure and works of this great Spaniard from Aragon (“ab Aragonia Hifpanum”, as Servetus described himself), at which time certain doubts arose regarding his place of birth. These doubts, raised by this incipient historiography, appeared to be logical given that at the time Servetus was born no parish records of births and deaths were kept (or at least nothing that was reliable); as a result, we do not have any authentic documents that “directly” prove the place of birth of Servetus. However, thanks to the researches that have conducted scientific studies into the origins of Servetus and his family (Castro Calvo, Mariscal, Barón Fernández, Alcalá Galve and Arribas Salaberri) we now have almost conclusive evidence that shows that Michael Servetus was born in Villanueva de Sijena, a village located in what is now the county of Los Monegros (Huesca).

Despite there being almost complete unanimity on this point, using the opportunity of the events commemorating the 450th anniversary of his death, some minority voices have insisted that Michael Servetus was from Navarre, and in so doing have raised doubts as to the place of birth of our great humanist. These claims are not new; back in 1953 on the 400th anniversary of the death of Servetus there was also a minority in favour of the “Navarre thesis".

Traditionally, the authors who have claimed that Servetus was from Tudela base their hypothesis on three documents; (i) the register of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris in which the minutes of the prosecution of Servetus in 1538 for judiciary astrology are kept. These minutes make reference to a “medicine student, Michel Villanovanus, of Hispanic nationality, from Navarre according to him, but of Hispanic parentage”; (ii) the letter applying for French citizenship (1548) in which Servetus claimed to be “Michel de Villeneufe, native of Tudela, in the Kingdom of Navarre”, and (iii) the records of the interrogation of Servetus during the proceedings conducted in Vienne (March - April 1553), which indicate that he said he was “from Navarre and born in Tudela”. The fact that Servetus claimed to be from Navarre during these interrogations should not come as a surprise given that he could not contradict what he had stated in his citizenship application. Servetus’ choice of Navarre also strikes us as understandable. The annexation of Navarre to the Spanish Crown took place in 1512. Until then the history of Navarre had been closely linked to French politics. In Servetus’ time the people of Navarre were not considered “Spanish” by the French, such that, in general, a “Navarre” would raise fewer suspicions than a “Spaniard”.

As will be explained below, the authors that use these three documents as evidence that Tudela was the birthplace of Servetus are relying on an incorrect interpretation of the texts. Any historian will agree with us that a historical document should be interpreted systematically, that is, together with other relevant historical documents and facts. Lets put Servetus’ statements about his being from Navarre in context.

In the first place, it cannot be denied that Servetus’ first two works, “De Trinitatis Erroribus” (1531) and “Dialogorum de Trinitate Libri Duo i De Iustititia Regni Cristi” (1532) are signed by “Michaelem Serveto, alias Reves, ab Aragoniam Hifpanum”. If that is the case, why would Servetus change his name and later say he was from Tudela in Navarre?

The answer is relatively simple. Servetus felt forced to hide his true identity using a false name that would link him to a false birthplace and mislead the French and Spanish Inquisitions. On 24 May 1532, one year after the publication of his first book, the Council of the Spanish Inquisition, whose headquarters were in Medina del Campo, sent letters of accusation to the Inquisitor of Aragon so that “Serveto “appeared before the Supreme and responded to the accusations of heresy made against him by the general procurator of the Holy Office”. On 17 June 1532, the Inquisition of Toulouse (France) published a search and detain list of 40 possible heretics that included Michael Servetus

From 1532 Servetus did not mention his origins in any of his works and tried to camouflage his identity by using a new name. However, in order to clarify any further doubts, we must ask ourselves another question: is there any official documentary proof that shows that Servetus deliberately hid his identity and birthplace? The answer is yes.

During Servetus’ interrogation on 6 April 1553 in Vienne as a result of the proceedings brought on the basis of information supplied by one of Calvin’s front men from Geneva, Servetus is shown some letters in his handwriting and signed by him that had been sent to the Genevan reformer some time beforehand. When asked who wrote them, Servetus denied being “Michael Servetus”, the Spanish physician that signed the letters, and told the judges that he falsely adopted the name of the man from Villanueva in order to facilitate the controversy with Calvin. In other words, our humanist expressly denies his identity and confirms that he is Michel de Villeneufve, “native of Tudela in the Kingdom of Navarre”. This episode clearly shows that Servetus hid his identity and deliberately lied about his birthplace.

The fact that Servetus was lying is also clearly demonstrated in a document to be found in the memoirs of the Canon of the cathedral of Vienne, Antoine G. d’Artigny, who dedicates a large part of the same to Servetus and his trial in Viena. D’Artigny published a letter from Calvin’s front man, Guillaume de Trie, which he sent from Geneva to his cousin in Lyon, Antoine Arneys, and in which the following can be read: “In the last letter which you have received you will find what [Servetus] says about his name, which he had disguised; his excuse for having called himself “Villeneufve”, when his real surname is Servetus alias Revés, was that he had taken a pseudonym from the town where he was born.” 

Servetus escaped from prison in Vienne on 7 April 1553 and after wandering from place to place for more than four months, he reappeared in Geneva in mid August 1553. When Servetus was arrested in Geneva on 13 August 1553 under the orders of Calvin he realized that there is no longer any reason for him to hide his true identity as Calvin would recognize him. In one of the extracts from the Registers of the Lower Council of Geneva that refers to the first interrogation that Servet underwent on 15 August 1553, it is stated that: “Questioned as to who he is, he replies that he is Spanish, an Aragonese from Villanueva, that he is a physician and he is called Michael Servetus”. In the fifth interrogation of Servetus, in response to the question about his “birthplace, name and his father’s status” Servetus answered that he was “a native of Villanueva, in the Kingdom of Aragon, from the diocese of Lérida, and his name is Michael and his surname is Servetus, alias Revers (sic), and that his father was a notary.”

The judgment against Servetus begins with the following heading: “The proceedings conducted before our respected trustees, judges in criminal cases in our city, has been resolved against Miguel Servetus from Villanueva in the Kingdom of Aragon, Spain”.

The fact that Servetus’ family was native to Villanueva has been irrefutably proven. A document dated April 1504 in Villanueva de Sijena has been found in which “Joan Serveto (a) Revés and his wife Catalina Meler make their will”, naming “Anton Serveto” as their heir. This document shows that Michael Servetus’ grandparents had lived in Villanueva long before Michael Servetus was born. Many notarial protocols signed by “Anton Serveto” (the first dated 18 November 1511) have also been conserved. In one of these protocols it is said that Servetus’ father is “oriundi loci” (native of the place). In contrast, there is no record of there being a Notary going by the name of “Anton Serveto” in Tudela or in any other Spanish city in 1511 or previous years. In its historical/political dictionary of Tudela (1882), Yanguas y Miranda published a list of the notaries in Tudela, which makes no reference to anyone with the surnames Servet, Servetus or Revés..

Written Bizen by D' o Río Martínez and Sergio Baches Opi. Translated by Sergio Baches Opi

[About Servetus place of birth, also see: Ángel Alcalá, "Miguel Serveto. Obras completas." Ed. Larumbe, pp. 23-27 (2003)]