Language:
English
Year of publication:
2002
Titel der Quelle:
Past and Present
Angaben zur Quelle:
174 (2002) 3-41
Keywords:
Jews History 15th century
;
Judaism Relations 15th century
;
Christianity
;
Christianity and other religions Judaism 15th century
;
History
;
Crypto-Jews History 15th century
;
Jews Genealogy
Abstract:
Argues that the emphasis on lineage amongst Spaniards and Sephardim (Spanish Jews) was the outcome of a specific historical process of conflict in which lineage became a way of thinking about religious identity. Mass forced conversions from 1391 to 1415 led to a violent destabilization of traditional categories of identity. As a result, Jews, Christians, and Conversos all created new forms of communal identity. Finding support in tradition, they elevated genealogy to a form of communal memory. Among Christians, difficulty in determining who was a Christian and who a Jew led to segregation of non-Christians and the spread of stereotypes about Jewish blood. This ultimately led to the Inquisition's attempt to root out Jewish lineage and "Jewish ideas". Among the Jews, lineage of individuals and communities were stressed to facilitate proper marriages and to allow descendants of Conversos to return to the community. Some Conversos stressed the Jewish lineage of Jesus and Mary to heighten their own status as (New) Christians. Since all three communities emphasized the significance of their descent, it was natural that lineage was a major concern in religious polemics of the period.
URL:
Locate this publication in Israeli libraries
