Williamsburg was treated to a taste of the intriguing history of Spain when archivist Peio Monteano Sorbet of the Royal and General Archive of Navarre (AGN) came to William and Mary to deliver a public lecture as well as two private classroom presentations.

The reason for Monteano’s visit, Lu Ann Homza says, is due to the 500th anniversary of the Conquest of Navarre by the Kingdom of Castille. Monteano is a best-selling author in Spain on the topic of this conquest, and regaled members of the Williamsburg community with his lecture titled “The Conquest of Navarre and the Rivalry Between Francis I and Charles V.”

Monteano is one of the Pamplona archivists—along with Don Jose Luis—who have helped Homza and her students over the years.

Additionally, Monteano lectured to Professor George Greenia’s medieval Hispanic literature course on the presence of the Black Death in Spain during the 1300s. He also attended Homza’s History of Spain class to deliver a presentation on the Royal and General Archive of Navarre, and how its contents shape the picture of the Spanish kingdom.

Students who had worked with Monteano in Homza’s Navarre research experiences in past years were able to have a reunion dinner with him. “It was a blast,” says Homza.