In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family's social position. What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen--and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor. Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive--even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

In A Ceiling Made of Eggshells, Newbery Honor-winning author Gail Carson Levine tells a moving and ambitious story set during the expulsion of Jews from Spain, about a young Jewish girl full of heart who must play her own role in her people's epic history--no matter the sacrifice. Surrounded by her large family, Loma is happy living in the judería of Alcalá de Henares, Spain, and wants nothing more than to someday have a family of her own. Still, when her intimidating grandfather, her Belo, decides to bring her along on his travels, she's excited to join him. Belo has the ear of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, and Loma relishes her adventures with him, adventures that are beyond the scope of most girls of the time. She soon learns just how dangerous the world is for the Jews of Spain, and how her grandfather's influence keeps their people safe. But the older Loma gets, the more she longs to realize her own dreams--if Belo will ever allow her to leave his side.

Translated from the Hebrew: "Toledot ha-yehudim bi-Sefarad ha-notzrit", 2nd ed. (1965), with some additions, principally in the notes. Originally published in Hebrew in Tel-Aviv: Daat, 1945. A second edition appeared in English in 1992. An introduction by Benjamin R. Gampel (pp. xv-lvii), written for the 2nd English edition, gives a scholarly critique of Baer's book.

A general survey of the history of the Sephardic Jews, from Roman Spain to the independence of the Arab countries and the Jews' emigration to Israel. Pp. 1-144 describe Jewish life in Spain, as well as anti-Jewish persecutions under Visigoth and Spanish kings: antisemitic legislation, forced conversion, discrimination against Conversos, Inquisition tribunals, and expulsions.

The Expulsion of the Jews from Spain is a detailed study of the events surrounding this infamous chapter in Spanish history. Based on hundreds of documents discovered, deciphered, and analyzed during decades of intensive archival research, this work focuses on the practical consequences of the expulsion both for those expelled and those remaining behind. It responds to basic questions such as: What became of property owned by Jewish individuals and communities? What became of outstanding debts between Jews and Christians? How was the edict of expulsion implemented? Who was in charge? How did they operate? What happened to those who converted to Christianity in order to remain in Spain or return to that country? The material summarized and analyzed in this study also sheds light on Jewish life in Spain preceding the expulsion. For example, Jews are shown to have been present in remote villages where they were not hitherto known to have lived, and documents detailing lawsuits between Christians related to debts left behind by Jews reveal much about business and financial relations between Jews and Christians. By focusing on the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in such detail - for example, by naming the magistrates who presided over the confiscation of Jewish communal property - Professor Beinart takes history out of the realm of abstraction and gives it concrete reality.

Approximately 200 years of Spanish history (1300-1500) are the focus of this book. Paris sketches the medieval history of the Iberian peninsula, stressing the tolerance of most of the Islamic dynasties, the relative amity between the three major religions of the area, and the flourishing culture that this relatively peaceful era nourished. The 14th century brought division within the Catholic Church itself; a plague that killed 25-30% of the population of Europe; and, in Valencia in 1391, a pogrom that gave its Jewish residents the choice of conversion or death. The "end of days" refers to the second coming of Christ, which would happen only if all the Jews were converted. Over half of the Jewish residents of Spain converted in the 14th and 15th centuries. These "conversos" were the primary target of the early Inquisition. Paris describes the early period of the Inquisition, the motives and actions of the inquisitors, and the fate of those accused. The actual expulsion of the Jews (not the conversos) in 1492 and the Moors (who were also given the opportunity to convert) in 1502 mark the climax of the events of this book.

Before the Inquisition, Spain was a tolerant and peaceful society. How, precisely, does a culture that prizes autonomy and harmony within the population descend so quickly into one of the most oppressive nations to have ever existed? Focusing on the humanity of the major historical players, Erna Paris traces the obscure origins of what was to become a brutal and enduring campaign of religious and ethnic conformity through terror and segregation. The conclusions she draws from the annals of Spanish history are enduring lessons on basic human nature, as applicable to the modern world as they are to the medieval.

Five hundred years ago Jews living in Spain were given a Stark choice: be baptized or leave the country. the expulsion of the Sephardim - the term for Spain's Jews - was a turning point in the history of the Iberian Peninsula and one o the greatest upheavals in jeFive hundred years ago Jews living in Spain were given a stark choice: be baptized or leave the country. The expulsion of the Sephardim--the term for Spain's Jews--was a turning point in the history of the Iberian Peninsula and one of the greatest upheavals in Jewish history since the Diaspora.The Middle Ages was a time of uneasy co-operation between Christians and Jews, but in the 14th century a rising tide of religious fanaticism and anti-Semitism gradually engulfed Spain, leading to horrific massacres in 1391. Then, in March 1492, came the edict of the Catholic Monarchs, giving the Jews three months to leave. The converts who stayed faced bitter prejudice--hounded by the Inquisition, their descendants penalized for centuries--as the Spanish Crown tried to impose Catholic uniformity.Those who fled the persecution had to struggle to re-establish their communities elsewhere in Europe, the Ottoman empire and Morocco. Outstanding individuals such as Baruch Spinoza--the most important philosopher of the Dutch Golden Age--and Joseph Nasi--the financier-favorite of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent--exemplify the achievements of the Sephardi exiles. Whether in Amsterdam, Istanbul or London, they seized the opportunities offered by a new world of empires and discovery.Published to mark the quincentenary of the Sephardi exodus, here at last is a complete and objective account of these traumatic events. Professor Elie Kedourie has gathered an international team of experts who piece together all aspects of the moving story: conditions in Spain leading up to 1492; the decree itself, and its consequences for Spanish Jewry; the experiences of the exiles and their contributions towards economic and intellectual life in their new countries. Professor Kedourie himself provides a stimulating and up-to-date assessment of the whole tragic episode--whose historic repercussions continue to this day.wish hostory since the diaspora. published to mark the quincentenary of the sephardi exodus, here is a complete and objective account of these traumatic events

Al-Andalus, the Iberian territory ruled by Islam from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries, was home to a flourishing philosophical culture among Muslims and the Jews who lived in their midst. Andalusians spoke proudly of the region's excellence, and indeed it engendered celebrated thinkers such as Maimonides and Averroes. Sarah Stroumsa offers an integrative new approach to Jewish and Muslim philosophy in al-Andalus, where the cultural commonality of the Islamicate world allowed scholars from diverse religious backgrounds to engage in the same philosophical pursuits. Stroumsa traces the development of philosophy in Muslim Iberia from its introduction to the region to the diverse forms it took over time, from Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism to rational theology and mystical philosophy. She sheds light on the way the politics of the day, including the struggles with the Christians to the north of the peninsula and the Fa t imids in North Africa, influenced philosophy in al-Andalus yet affected its development among the two religious communities in different ways. While acknowledging the dissimilar social status of Muslims and members of the religious minorities, Andalus and Sefarad highlights the common ground that united philosophers, providing new perspective on the development of philosophy in Islamic Spain.

Translation, with full explanatory notes, of the two works of Teresa de Cartagena, the fifteenth-century Spanish nun. This affordable, engaging and important translation of Teresa de Cartagena's works significantly expands and enriches the current canon of medieval women writers. ANNE CLARK BARTLETT, DePAUL UNIVERSITY Teresa de Cartagena was born in Burgos in about 1415-20, into a powerful family of Jewish origin. All we know of Teresa comes from her work: she was deaf and not physically strong, she was a nun, and - perhaps the source of her resilience -she was well-educated, above all in religion and moral philosophy. Deaf from early womanhood, her consolatory treatise Grove of the Infirm is a reflection on the spiritual benefits of illness; her second work, Wonder at the Works of God , was apparently written to counter the contention of her critics that a handicapped woman had nothing of value to say. This artful manipulation of the familiar devotional genre of "the treatise of consolation" reveals a woman writer intimately familiar with the cultural practices of her era; overall, both works allow a rare glimpse into the world of women in fifteenth-century Spain. DAYLE SEIDENSPINNER-NUNEZ is Professor in the Department of Romance Languages and Literature at the University of Notre Dame.

Rafael, a young Jewish boy living in Spain during the Inquisition, wants to have a Bar Mitzvah and when his father opposes it, Rafael leaves, meets and falls in love with Miriam, and journeys with her toward Safed, Israel, the spiritual home of mystical Jews.