The Judge

The Judge is a traveling judicial official whose brief appearances at the inn connect two strands of family conflict: the reunion with his long-absent brother, Captain Viedma, and the attempt to resolve Don Luis’s flight from home. He is also the father of Doña Clara de Viedma. His response to both situations is practical and conciliatory, making him an agent of recognition and settlement amid the inn’s confusion.

Identity and Family

The Judge is Captain Viedma’s brother. When news arrives that Captain Viedma has been found, the Judge is deeply moved by the uncertainty surrounding his brother’s fate and by the possibility that he may have been killed after being robbed. The Judge’s daughter, Doña Clara de Viedma, is at the inn with him; she becomes part of the family welcome extended to Zoraida.

The Judge is also a neighbor of Don Luis’s family. This familiarity allows him to recognize the young man when he appears at the inn dressed in a way that seems inconsistent with his rank. The encounter reveals a local connection that gives the Judge a personal route into a dispute initially brought by Don Luis’s servants.

The Reunion with Captain Viedma

The curate ends the uncertainty by bringing Captain Viedma and Zoraida before the Judge and identifying them as his brother and sister-in-law. The Judge first holds his brother at a little distance so he can look at him properly; once he recognizes him, the brothers embrace. Their reunion is marked by tears and an exchange of news about their lives. The Judge then embraces Zoraida and places all he possesses at her disposal, and he has his daughter embrace her as well. The welcome draws the other people present into the family’s joy.

The Judge, Captain Viedma, and Zoraida agree that the captain and Zoraida will return with him to Seville and send word to their father, so that he can come for Zoraida’s marriage and baptism. The Judge cannot delay his own journey: he has been told that the fleet will sail from Seville for New Spain in a month, and missing it would cause serious inconvenience. The plan therefore joins family reunion to the practical demands of travel, while preserving the hope of a later gathering with their father.

Don Luis and the Settlement at the Inn

Elsewhere at the inn, four servants seek to take Don Luis back. The Judge recognizes him as the son of a neighbor and asks what has led him to leave his father’s house in disguise. Don Luis is overcome and cannot answer at first, so the Judge tells the servants not to worry and draws the young man aside to hear his explanation.

After the surrounding quarrels have been calmed, the Judge consults Don Fernando, Cardenio, and the curate about what to do. They settle on a compromise suited to Don Luis’s determination not to return home immediately: Don Fernando will offer to take him to Andalusia, where his brother, the marquis, can receive him according to his rank. Three servants will return to report the situation to Don Luis’s father, while a fourth stays with Don Luis until they come back or receive the father’s instructions. The Judge helps convert a tense demand for immediate return into an arrangement that keeps the family informed without forcing Don Luis to go back at once.

Narrative Role

The Judge’s scenes are shaped by recognition followed by reconciliation. He identifies Don Luis beneath the disguise, then participates in a negotiated solution; in the other strand, the curate’s revelation allows him to recognize Captain Viedma and welcome Zoraida into the family. In both cases, the Judge responds to uncertainty by seeking the people involved, hearing what has happened, and arranging a practical next step. His role gives the inn’s crowded episodes a counterpoint of familial feeling and orderly settlement.