A throng gathered on that magnificent morning of July 10, 1651 at the Adelantado Square, in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, to witness the execution of a nobleman. Three months earlier, Jerónimo Grimón y Rojas abducted the nun Ursula of San Pedro from the Dominican convent of Santa Catalina de Sena, with whom he maintained a close bond, and intended to flee to Vizcaya aboard an English vessel.
“The lovers cleverly schemed their escape,” according to Tomás Tabares de Nava in A Laguna tragedy: beheading of a nobleman. Úrsula eluded the vigilance of her companions by disguising herself as a man with the intention of passing off as a page for her “captor.” Subsequently, they made their way to the port of Santa Cruz, where the British ship was anchored.
Futile Escape
Their attempt to escape was thwarted before they could set sail. “When the prioress was alerted about the nun’s disappearance, she reported the incident to the authorities, who pursued the case with such diligence and urgency that they succeeded in apprehending the couple,” explains Tabares de Nava.
“The oidor Gil de Sierpe handed over the nun to the prelate and imprisoned Don Jerónimo in the castle of San Cristóbal, subsequently ordering the confiscation of his assets,” he adds. Soon after, a death sentence was imposed on him.
Meanwhile, Úrsula de San Pedro was returned to the convent and compelled to witness the nobleman’s anguish in his cell through a small barred window, which still exists above the entrance door to the sacristy, as mentioned by Domingo Medina in an article on Viana Street.
Ultimately, Jerónimo Grimón y Rojas met a beheading. “His decapitated head was put on public display, causing terror among the women who visited the municipal fountain early in the morning to fetch water supplies,” notes Medina.
