| Sumario: | Poena cullei or “the penalty of the sack” was one of the most brutal but also most symbolic punishments applied under the Old Regime. Considered to be specific to the crime of parricide, it was only ever exceptionally applied and is therefore little-documented and analyzed. This article discusses three cases from the jurisdiction of the Alcaldía Mayor of San Luis Potosí, analyzing the punishment in light of its Roman history, its assimilation by medieval Spain and the symbolic components that characterize it. Given the nature of the crimes committed, it puts forward an explanation of the elements that led viceregal justice to impose it as a ritual, symbolic punishment under specific circumstances. Based on documentary sources, it initiates a dialogue with other works, particularly from abroad, as the historiography that addresses these cases continues to be limited and the cases themselves little-studied.
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