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Mission and Inquisition among Conversos and Moriscos in Spain, 1250–1550

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2016

John Edwards
John Edwards*
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
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Extract

The example of co-existence between Christians, Jews and Muslims in medieval Spain should, in theory, be an inspiration to those who hope for a successful multi-faith society today. On the other hand, the expulsion in 1492 of Jews who refused baptism, and of Muslims who adopted a similar attitude, from Castile in 1502 and Aragon in 1610, implies that the Spanish example should rather be seen as a warning of the consequences of failure. The question of interfaith relations will be considered here mainly from the point of view of Christians who attempted to cope with the proximity of the other two ‘religions of the book’. It will, however, be possible to look at the feasibility of the long-term existence of Jewish and Muslim communities in Spain, and at the problems faced by converts from these two faiths to Christianity.

Type
Research Article
Information
Studies in Church History , Volume 21: Persecution and Toleration , 1984 , pp. 139 - 151
Copyright
Copyright © Ecclesiastical History Society 1984

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References

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15 Fray Alonso de Espina, Fortalitium ftdei (1459) (Lyons 1511) quoted in Americo Castro, The structure of Spanish history (Princeton 1954) p 539.

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18 Baer, Diejuden 2 pp 348–9; 1 pp 569–913.

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36 Mercedes Garda-Arenal, Inquisición y moriscos. Los procesos del tribunal de Cuenca (Madrid 1978) p 117, criticising Fernand Braudel, ‘Conflicts et refus de civilisation: espagnols et morisques au XVIe siècle’, Annales 2 (1947) 397–410.