The Long Journey of Gracia Mendes / Marianna D. Birnbaum.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Birnbaum, Marianna D., Author.

Contributor:

De Gruyter.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Crypto-Jews--Iberian Peninsula--Biography.

Crypto-Jews.

Jewish women--Portugal--Biography.

Jewish women.

Jews--Europe--Economic conditions--16th century.

Jews.

Jews--Europe--Social conditions--16th century.

Jews--Portugal--Biography.

Sephardim--Portugal--Biography.

Sephardim.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (169 pages)

Contained In:

De Gruyter University Press Library.

Place of Publication:

Budapest ; New York : Central European University Press, [2022]

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

text file PDF

Summary:

The historical biography of a true Jewish heroine in her day, Gracia Mendes. Born in 1510 in Portugal, the book details this woman's extraordinary personality until her death in 1569 in Constantinople (today's Istanbul). Her life exemplified a perseverance by the Jewish culture to survive and triumph even in the worst of conditions. As a young girl, Gracia secretly married successful Jewish spice trader, Francisco Mendes. But at age 27 she became a widow, yet she went on to raise her children and run the family business all on her own. Her travels led her through Antwerp, Venice, Ferrara, Ragusa, and finally to Constantinople, from where the Ottoman Empire dominated former Byzantium territories and offered shelter for battered Conversos (converted Jews). The text recounting the last fifteen years of Gracia's life at the center of the Empire is particularly revealing. Birnbaum's biography has the unique distinction of being the first among many studies to pay tribute to a woman during this period. It is also one of the first titles to pay equal attention to the lives of the Conversos in Christian West Europe and in the Muslim East.

Contents:

Frontmatter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCING THE FAMILY

CHAPTER 2. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CONVERSOS

CHAPTER 3. LIFE IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURYANTWERP

CHAPTER 4. GRACIA IN VENICE

CHAPTER 5. GRACIAAND JEWISH PATRONAGE IN SIXTEENTHCENTURY FERRARA

CHAPTER 6. IN BUSINESS WITH RAGUSA

CHAPTER 7. THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND THE JEWS

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX 1

APPENDIX 2

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

PICTURE CREDITS

INDEX OF PLACES

INDEX OF PERSONS

ILLUSTRATIONS

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 29. Jul 2022)

ISBN:

9786155211232

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.