Parallel histories : Muslims and Jews in inquisitorial Spain / James S. Amelang.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Amelang, James S., 1952- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Moriscos--History--Spain.

Moriscos.

History.

Conversion--Christianity.

Religious tolerance.

Spain.

Crypto-Jews--Iberian Peninsula--Spain--History.

Crypto-Jews.

Muslims--Spain--History.

Muslims.

Jews--Spain--History.

Jews.

Religious tolerance--Spain--History.

Spain--History--House of Austria, 1516-1700.

Spain--History--Ferdinand and Isabella, 1479-1516.

Conversion--Christianity--History.

Conversion.

Spain--Church history.

Church history.

Marranos.

Genre:

Church history.

History.

Physical Description:

xi, 207 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, [2013]

Summary:

The distinct religious culture of early modern Spain-characterized by religious unity at a time when wars between Catholics and Protestants fractured northern Europe-is further understood through examining the expulsion of Jews and suspected Muslims. While these groups had lived peaceably, if sometimes uneasily, with their Christian neighbors throughout much of the medieval era, the expulsions brought a new intensity to Spanish Christian perceptions of both the moriscos (converts from Islam) and the judeoconversos (converts from Judaism). Here, James S. Amelang reconstructs the compelling struggle of converts to coexist with a Christian majority that suspected them of secretly adhering to their ancestral faiths and destroying national religious unity in the process. Discussing Muslims and Jews in turn, Amelang explores not only the expulsions but also religious beliefs and practices, the construction of collective and individual identities, and the difficulties of maintaining orthodox rites and tenets under conditions of persecution. Despite the oppression these two groups experienced, the descendants of the judeoconversos would ultimately be assimilated into the mainstream, unlike their morisco counterparts, who were exiled in 1609. Amelang masterfully presents a complex narrative that not only gives voice to religious minorities in early modern Spain but also focuses on one of the greatest divergences in the history of European Christianity. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I The Moriscos and the End of Muslim Spain 5

1 The Decline of Coexistence 7

2 Rise and Fall of the Moriscos: A Political History 10

3 Images and Realities 26

4 "Christians in Appearance but Muslims Underneath" 34

5 Communities and Individuals 41

6 Morisco Expression 47

7 A Final Bow 54

8 Aftermath 60

Part II From Jews to Christians 67

9 Creating Conversos, 1391-1492 69

10 Vigilance through Violence 80

11 New Christians in a New Spain 83

12 The Persistence of Antisemitism 92

13 Rejection and Assimilation: A Porous Purity 98

14 Judaizing and the Impossibility of Orthodoxy 110

15 Identity and Creativity 123

16 Diaspora within the Diaspora 133

17 From Heterodoxy to Modernity? 151.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780807154106

0807154105

OCLC:

841891463