| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
Many Marranos maintained their ancestral traditions as crypto-Jews, by publicly professing Catholicism but privately adhering to Judaism.
The term marrano, in addition to its literal meaning in Spanish for "swine", also denotes "damned", "accursed" and "banned"; and in Portuguese it is used as an opprobrious epithet of the Jews because they do not eat pork.
These " conversos" (Spanish, converts), as they were called in Spain, or "Cristãos Novos" (Portuguese, New-Christians) in Portugal, "Xuetes" (Catalan, from Xua; a local pork concoction that is said was consumed publicly by Xuetes to demonstrate the sincerity of their Catholicism) in the Balearic Isles, and "Anusim" (Hebrew, constrained), numbered over a hundred thousand.
With them the history of the Iberian Peninsula, and indirectly that of the Jews also, enters upon a new phase; for they were the immediate cause both of the introduction of the Spanish Inquisition and of the expulsionIn World War II terms, expulsion was a euphemism for genocide. The Nazis used this term to describe the forced deportation of Jews and other victims to death camps. In the Book of Genesis expulsion refers to the decree of expulsion from the Garden of Eden of the Jews from that country. The wealthy Marranos, who engaged extensively in commerce, industries, and agriculture, intermarried with families of the old nobility; impoverished counts and marquises unhesitatingly wedded wealthy Jewesses; and it also happened that counts or nobles of the blood royal became infatuated with handsome Jewish girls. Beginning with the second generation, the Neo-Christians usually intermarried with women of their own sect. They became very influential through their wealth and education, and were called to important positions at the palace, in government circles, and in the CortesCortes is a village in the South border of Navarre. The Cortes Generales ("General Courts"), usually referred to only as las Cortes are the national legislative assembly of Spain. The term Cortes is also used for the subnational parliaments of several of; they practised medicine and law and taught at the universities; while their children frequently achieved high ecclesiastical honors.
The Marranos and their descendants may be divided into three categories. The first of these is composed of those who, devoid of any real affection for Judaism, and indifferent to every form of religion, gladly embraced the opportunity of exchanging their oppressed condition as Jews for the brilliant careers opened to them by the acceptance of Christianity. They simulated the Christian faith when it was to their advantage, and mocked Jews and Judaism. A number of Spanish poets belong to this category, such as Pero Ferrus , Juan de Valladolid , Rodrigo Cota , and Juan de España of ToledoAlternate meanings: see Toledo (disambiguation Toledo is a city located in central Spain, the capital of the province of Toledo and of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. History Toledo served as the capital city of Visigothic Spain, beginning, called also "El Viejo" (the old one), who was considered a sound TalmudThe Talmud is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories. It is a fundamental source of legislation, customs, case histories and moral exhortations. The Talmud comprises two componist, and who, like the monk Diego de Valencia , himself a baptized Jew, introduced in his pasquinades Hebrew and Talmudic words to mock the Jews. There were also many who, for the sake of displaying their new zeal, persecuted their former coreligionists, writing books against them, and denouncing to the authorities those who wished to return to the faith of their fathers, as happened frequently at ValenciaThis article is about the original city in Spain called "Valencia". For other uses of the name, see Valencia (disambiguation). Valencia ( Spanish: Valencia /ba'lenθja/; Valencian: Valencia /v'lεnsj/) is a medium-sized port city (the third la, BarcelonaCoat of arms of Barcelona Flag of Barcelona Barcelona within Barcelones Population ( 2003)1,582,738 Area100'4 Km2 Population density ( 2001)15,764/Km2 Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, an autonomous region in northeastern Spain (41º 23' N, 2º 11' E)., and many other cities (Isaac b. Sheshet, Responsa, No. 11).
The second category consists of those who cherished their love for the Jewish faith in which they had been reared. They preserved the traditions of their fathers; and, in spite of the high positions which they held, they secretly attended synagogue, and fought and suffered for their paternal religion. Many of the wealthiest Marranos of AragonComunidad Autonoma de Aragon Capital Zaragoza Area total % of Spain Ranked 4th 47 719 km² 9,4% Population Total (2003) % of Spain Density Ranked 11th 1 217 514 2,9% 25,51/km² Demonym English Spanish Aragonese aragones Statute of Autonomy August 16, 1982 I belonged to this category, including the Zaportas of Monzon , who were related by marriage to the royal house of Aragon; the Sanchezes; the sons of Alazar Yusuf of Saragossa, who intermarried with the Cavallerias and the Santangels; the very wealthy Espes; the Paternoys, who came from the vicinity of Verdun to settle in Aragon; the Clementes; the sons of Moses Chamoro ; the Villanovas of Calatayud ; the Coscons; and others.