The Garduña[1] is said to be a secret criminal society in Spain in the late Middle Ages. It was essentially a prison gang that grew into a more organized entity over time, involved with robbery, kidnapping, arson, and murder-for-hire. Some have claimed to have found documentation listing clients, services, and fees charged by the Garduña. Its statutes are said to have been approved in Toledo in 1420 after being founded around 1417.[2]
The Spanish historians León Arsenal and Hipólito Sanchiz have traced all the references to the Garduña back to the 19th-century book Misterios de la inquisición española y otras sociedades secretas de España by Víctor de Fereal (maybe a pseudonym for Madame de Suberwick) and Manuel de Cuendías, published in 1850. Arsenal and Sanchiz doubt the mere existence of the Garduña.[3]
As a secret society, the Garduña is very attractive for conspiracism, according to the historian Sánchiz. The criminal organization was supposedly active for over 400 years in Spain and, among other things, it carried out the dirty work of the Inquisition. In serious studies about bandolerismo (outlaws) and social disorders (very frequent in Andalusia in the 19th century) there is no single mention of the Garduña.[4]
Some sources claim that the Garduña was a precursor to the Neapolitan Camorra, a crime syndicate active to this day in southern Italy, and was transplanted when Spain controlled Naples and much of its criminal element was transported (or deported) there.[5]
A Calabrian folk song suggests a much larger legacy. It tells the story of three Garduña "brothers" or three Spanish knights who flee Spain in the 17th century after washing with blood the honour of their seduced sister. They were shipwrecked on the island of Favignana, near Sicily. Mastrosso, devout of Virgin Mary, makes his way to Naples and founds the Camorra. Carcagnosso, protected by Saint Michael, makes his way to Calabria and founds the 'Ndrangheta. Osso, devoted to Saint George, makes his way to Sicily and founds the Mafia.[6]
Additionally, the circumstances surrounding the original shipwreck seem to suggest their main occupations as pirates, and alludes to a connection with pirates throughout the Spanish Empire, including the Americas. Similar traditions are told of three Buddhist monks founding the Chinese Triads.