In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Chapter Three The Idea of "Limpieza" in Celestina, La Lozana andaluza, and Other Literary Works "Limpieza de sangre" was particularly vexing to learnedconversos, who took inordinate pride in their Jewish ancestry, tending to regard themselves as noble. In the Iberian Peninsula, Judaism reached the greatest heights ever achieved in the history of the Diaspora, to such an extent that medieval Spain came to be regarded as the Golden Age of the Jewish spirit (Papo 1987,4). Thanks to their learning, success in various enterprises, and close relationship with the governing classes who employed them, many Jews also occupied positions of great importance. In the words of Americo Castro, "los judios se preciaban de ser judios, y con mas intensidad que en ninguna otra parte, pues solo en Espana tuvieron tan altos motivos para hacerlo" ("the Jews took pride in being Jewish, and more so than anywhere else, for it was only in Spain that they had such a good reason for this"; 1963, 156). Around 1420, Rabbi Mose Arragel de Guadalajara made this very clear to Luis de Guzman, Grand Master of the Order of Calatrava, at whose request he translated and glossed the Hebrew Bible, now known as Biblia de Alba, because the dukes of Alba have owned it for two centuries (see Lazar 2000; Sicroff 1988). According to the rabbi, Castilian kings and great nobles were lucky to have such subjects, for they were the best and most knowledgeable Jews of the Diaspora: "Esta preheminencia ovieron los reyes e senores de Castilla: que los sus judios subditos, memorando la magnificencia de los sus senores, fueron los mas sabios, los mas honrados ['ilustres'] judios que quantos fueron en todos los regnos de la su transmig[r]acion, en quatro preheminencias: en linaje, en riqueza, en bondades, en sciencia" ("The kings and lords of Castile had this distinction: their Jewish subjects, who recorded the magnificence of their masters, were the most illustrious of all the Jews throughout the reigns of the diaspora, surpassing them in four things: lineage , wealth, grace, and knowledge"; Castro 1963, 158). Some conversos continued to show the same pride. Solomon ha-Levi, learned rabbi of Burgos, converted to Christianity with his family in 1391, just before the pogroms that had started in Seville reached that city (Netanyahu 1995, 168-71), changing his name to Pablo de Santa Maria (Paul of the Holy Mary). He was later ordained bishop of Burgos, became 79 Chapter Three chancellor of Castile, and boasted about his descent from the tribe of Levi (Caro Baroja 1986, 1: 422), that he belonged to the line of David, and that, therefore, he was a kinsman of the Virgin Mary (Shepard 1982, 136).1 Some New Christians went further, and regarded themselves as vastly superior . Addressing himself to those who had been recently penanced by the Inquisition of Seville, Perez de Prado, one of the inquisitors, told them that he knew perfectly well how they taught their children to despise their Old Christian counterparts: "Apenas llegan vuestros hijos a la edad de alguna discreci6n, bastante a guardar secreto, quando los retiniis aparte y ostentando un gran misterio les dezis: que sepan que son descendientes del patriarca Abraham y por esto de muy alto linaje, incitandolos al desprecio de quantos no vengan de esta generaci6n, y aun entre vosotros os apellidais Vizcainos para denotar con disimulo esta antigtiedad" ("Your children hardly reached the age of some discretion sufficient to keep the secret when you take them aside and with a display of great mystery tell them that they must now know that they are descendants of the ancient and illustrious patriarch Abraham and therefore of very noble lineage. You teach them to despise all who are not thus descended. And among yourselves your refer to each other as Vizcainos in order to emphasize surreptitiously your antique genealogy"; Dominguez Ortiz 1955, 185n66; trans. Shepard 1982, 136). Aware of this imprudent attitude, some Old Christians resented it tremendously . After mentioning the fortunes that many Jews managed to accumulate , Andres BermUdez, priest of Palacios (1488-1513), near Seville, complains in his Memorias del reinado de los Reyes Cat6licos: E asi tenian presunci6n de soberbia, que en el mundo no avia mejor gente, ni mas discreta ni aguda, ni mas honrrada que ellos, por ser del linage de las tribus e medio de Isrrael. En cuanto podian adquirir honrra, oficios reales, favores de reyes e senores, eran muy diligentes. Algunos se mezclaron con fijos e fijas de cavalleros cristianos con...

Share