The Hidden (Catalan: L'Encobert, Spanish: El Encubierto, "The Hidden/Shrouded [One]") (d. 1522) was a mysterious and charismatic leader of the remnants of the rebels in the last stages of the Revolt of the Brotherhoods in the Kingdom of Valencia, then under the rule of the Crown of Aragon.
Even the exact nature of claims about him are disputed, as it is nearly impossible to tell how much truth is to the government-approved unfavorable stories of him that predominated after the fact.
In a divine vision, his true nature was revealed to him by the prophets Elijah and Enoch, and he was directed to restore Spain from its current fallen state.
In an alternate version from Martín Viciana, it was the disliked Cardinal Mendoza (the Viceroy's father) who had hidden the prince away for evil reasons, rather than the popular Archbishop Cisneros performing the deed for noble ones.
[3] According to a story circulated by Miquel Garcia, who bore little love for The Hidden, he was actually a Jewish trickster born in Castile.
He left Oran for Valencia then, taking on a new identity and living as a hermit for a time before seeing his chance to raise more trouble by unifying the rebellion and pushing it onward.
Historian Sara Nalle claims that "The Hidden King" was only used by later governmental chroniclers who in her view fundamentally misunderstood him.
According to him, The Hidden was of moderate stature, had a reddish beard, chestnut-colored hair, aquiline nose, blue eyes, short and thick hands, large feet, had a small mouth, and was bow-legged.
Nalle believes that this description was an intentionally unflattering one, in contrast with a prophesied savior that The Hidden had successfully presented himself as.
He explained his story about meeting the prophets Enoch and Elijah and how he had been directed to save Valencia, restore the Holy Land, and care for the poor.
Xàtiva had fallen to royal troops in early March, but now was contested once again by The Hidden's renewed rebellion in the city.
[9] He also began rebuilding the armies of the agermanats (members of the Germanies (guilds), though now a term for any rebel), though they still remained small compared to their former sizes.
The mountainous terrain of southern Valencia was well-suited for guerrilla warfare, and the raiding bands of rebels were difficult to locate by the royal armies.
In an ambush set in Xàtiva itself, the rebels wounded the Duke of Gandia and the Count of Oliva, though The Hidden was hurt himself in the battle.
[12] One fact that most accounts agree on is that The Hidden claimed that Elijah and Enoch had given him his divine mandate to lead the rebellion.
While not referencing the book directly, The Hidden tapped into the beliefs contained in it which had wide acceptance in Valencia at the time and presented himself as the prophesied savior.
There had already existed a belief that Enoch and Elijah lived in a paradise on earth and would fight the Antichrist in Rome, which also tied into his story of meeting them.
In these sources, his theology was largely inspired by translations of Greek philosophers and Gnostics that the Moors had made while they controlled Iberia.
Much later, in the 19th century, the story received a burst of popularity again as it was used by Valencian writers and intellectuals to support their desire for autonomy from Spain.