A Jewish Renaissance in Fifteenth-Century Spain
Will be published approx. on 24. January 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
296 pages
978-0-691-14659-1 (ISBN)
Description
This book significantly revises the conventional view that the Jewish experience in medieval Spain--over the century before the expulsion of 1492--was one of despair, persecution, and decline. Focusing on the town of Morvedre in the kingdom of Valencia, Mark Meyerson shows how and why Morvedre's Jewish community revived and flourished in the wake of the horrible violence of 1391. Drawing on a wide array of archival documentation, including Spanish Inquisition records, he argues that Morvedre saw a Jewish "renaissance." Meyerson shows how the favorable policies of kings and of town government yielded the Jewish community's demographic expansion and prosperity. Of crucial importance were new measures that ceased the oppressive taxation of the Jews and minimized their role as moneylenders. The results included a reversal of the credit relationship between Jews and Christians, a marked amelioration of Christian attitudes toward Jews, and greater economic diversification on the part of Jews.
Representing a major contribution to debates over the Inquisition's origins and the expulsion of the Jews, the book also offers the first extended analysis of Jewish-converso relations at the local level, showing that Morvedre's Jews expressed their piety by assisting Valencia's conversos. Comparing Valencia with other regions of Spain and with the city-states of Renaissance Italy, it makes clear why this kingdom and the town of Morvedre were so ripe for a Jewish revival in the fifteenth century.
Representing a major contribution to debates over the Inquisition's origins and the expulsion of the Jews, the book also offers the first extended analysis of Jewish-converso relations at the local level, showing that Morvedre's Jews expressed their piety by assisting Valencia's conversos. Comparing Valencia with other regions of Spain and with the city-states of Renaissance Italy, it makes clear why this kingdom and the town of Morvedre were so ripe for a Jewish revival in the fifteenth century.
Reviews / Votes
Runner-Up for the 2005 National Jewish Book Award in History, Jewish Book Council "In his eloquent style, [Meyerson] highlights the complex inner workings of a multicultural society such as that of medieval Morvedre, and presents a new methodology that other Hispanists should apply to their studies."--Choice "Mark D. Meyerson constructs a subtle understanding of Spain before the Expulsion. He details not only the political relationship between the kings and 'their' Jews, but even more interestingly, the complex relationship between open Jews and the conversos of 1391."--Jewish Book World "Making a signal contribution to our knowledge of the Jews of medieval Spain is surely no easy matter. Mark D. Meyerson has performed precisely such a service in these two valuable volumes. All those concerned with the history of the medieval Iberian peninsula and/or its Jews are deeply indebted to him."--Robert Chazan, Ecclesiastical History "Elegantly conceived and painstakingly documented, Mark D. Meyerson's A Jewish Renaissance in Fifteenth-Century Spain stands as a strong and solid contribution both to medieval Iberian history and Jewish history... Meyerson has given the Jews of Morvedre a historical agency and a uniquely human subjectivity that would otherwise have remained silent."--Horacio Chiong Rivero, Sixteenth Century Journal "This more than authoritative book might not bequeath all the right answers, but it most certainly asks all the right questions."--David Marx, davidmarx.co.uk "This is the most detailed history yet written of any Jewish community in Mediterranean Spain, in the town of Morvedre in the Kingdom of Valencia."--GlennW. Olsen, European LegacyMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
3 Maps
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
450 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-14659-1 (9780691146591)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Mark D. Meyerson
A Jewish Renaissance in Fifteenth-Century Spain
E-Book
04/2022
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€39.99
Available for download
Person
Mark D. Meyerson is Associate Professor in the Department of History and Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto. He is the author of "The Muslims of Valencia in the Age of Fernando and Isabel."
Content
Figures and Maps ix Acknowledgments xi Note on Names and Money xiii Abbreviations xv Introduction 1 Chapter One On the Edge of Desolation 22 Chapter Two Revival in the Shadow of Valencia 65 Chapter Three Wine, Money,and Mobility 109 Chapter Four Jews and Muslims 143 Chapter Five The Politics of Plenty 157 Chapter Six Converts and Kinsfolk 184 Chapter Seven Chill Wind from Castile 225 Concluding Remarks 240 Glossary 247 Bibliography 249 Index 263