Conversos Inquisition & The Expulsion: Of The Jews From Spain (Hardcover)

by Norman Roth (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Jewish community in Spain was the largest and most important in the West for almost a thousand years, participating fully in cultural and political affairs with Christian and Muslim neighbors. Norman Roth traces the chain of events that led to mass conversions of Spanish Jews to Christianity in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the rise of animosity against them, the establishment of the Inquisition, and finally, the 1492 Expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Citing evidence from his extensive research of medieval documents, he firmly refutes the traditionally accepted story of "crypto-Judaism," which contends that the conversos were forced publicly to abandon their faith, while continuing secretly to maintain their Jewish traditions. Roth argues persuasively that the conversos were, in fact, sincere Christians. He contends that the majority of Spanish Jews converted in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in a period of declining Jewish leadership, and that these new Christians then encountered hostility from both Jews and "old" Christians. Faithful Jews saw their community reduced drastically in numbers and their positions as officials and in the royal court occupied by men they now considered gentile idolators. The Inquisition, already concerned with the danger of heresies, falsely viewed the new converts as crypto-Jews. Roth's impressive command of the primary materials enables him to cast in a new light the workings of the Inquisition, the motives of monarchs Fernando and Isabel and of Spain's various social classes, and the escalating events that led to the Expulsion. "Norman Roth is an outstanding historian of medieval Spanish Jews, who has spent toilsome decades among the Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin records. I find this a work of challenging originality, a revisionist opus that both carries forward much recent work and strikes out boldly on its own."Robert I. Burns, S.J., University of CaliforniaLos Angeles

From the Back Cover
"With scrupulous scholarship based on a profound knowledge of the Hebrew, Latin, and Spanish sources, Roth sets out to shatter all existing preconceptions about late medieval society in Spain."-Henry Kamen, Journal of Ecclesiastical History

"Scholarly, detailed, researched, and innovative. . . . As the result of Roth's writing, we shall need to rethink our knowledge and understanding of this period."-Murray Levine, Jewish Spectator

"Roth is impressive in telling the conversos story. He makes extensive use of new sources and gives detailed case studies to show the progress of conversos in economic, political, and cultural life. His survey of the literature is the work of a historian's historian."-Charles Brockwell, Historian

"The fruit of many years of study, investigation, and reflection, guaranteed by the solid intellectual trajectory of its author, an expert in Jewish studies. . . . A contribution that will be particularly valuable for the study of Spanish medievalism."-Miguel Angel Motis Dolader, Annuario de Estudios Medievales --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 446 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press (May 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0299142302
• ISBN-13: 978-0299142308
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,005,180 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Information from the author, November 20, 2003

By	Norman Roth (Madison, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conversos Inquisition & The Expulsion: Of Jews From Spain (Paperback)

(Unfortunately, I had to "rate" the book in order to get the review posted; obviously I think it's good, hope you will also).
The paperback edition is not just a reprint, it is a thorough revision with much new information, including a review essay on recent scholarship, and particularly a critique of Netanyahu's book. Three-fourths of the book deals with the Conversos, and in fact there is considerable new information here, not found in any other work on this subject. The author is always happy to hear from readers: [e-mail]

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice start into the toppic of Conversos., July 26, 1999

By A Customer

If you are new to this toppic then this is the right book for you. You'll get the historical dates of the Spanish Inquisition and some more informations about the life of Jews in this time, including all problems Jews had to deal with. If you get interested in the Conversos you should read Benzion Netanyahu's books that are dealing with more background informations.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An author with a logic problem, March 31, 2006

By	El Picaro "Lion of New Spain" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conversos Inquisition & The Expulsion: Of Jews From Spain (Paperback)

Roth consulted some records but apparently failed to understand the explicit meaning of forced conversion. This work is an example of failing to use the whole record for an accurate conclusion. There are many inquistion records, especially in the New World, of Jews clinging to the faith of their fathers and dying in inquisitional flames as a result. Also, the Amsterdam Jewish community was established by Crypto-Jews this author contends didn't exist. This blatant failure to get the facts right leads one to believe that Roth either has a hidden motive or is incompetent beyond belief.