Spain

Lighted menorah

The Inquisition of Spain

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Above: “Universal Light,” December 2016

Henry Charles Lea  (1825- 1909)

Henry Charles Lea’s monumental four volume History of the Spanish Inquisition, published in 1906-1907 was considered groundbreaking at the time. It is opinionated and densely written, not exactly what you would pick to read on a lazy Sunday afternoon, but Lea researched his history from original sources, making his work still valuable as a scholarly resource. LibriVox undertook as a collaborative project to read all four volumes of the history. Three have been completed, the fourth is still underway. My contribution to the project was Chapter 3 of Volume I, “The Jews and the Conversos,”  (pp. 81-144), which details the expulsion of the Jews from Spain by the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella.

“The edict of expulsion was signed on March 30, 1492.  It gave the entire Jewish population of Spain until July 31 in which to change their religion or to leave the country under penalty of death.  During the interval… they were permitted to sell their effects and carry the proceeds with them, except that… the export of gold and silver  (i.e. coined money ) was prohibited (!)”

“Men might admit that it was unwise from the point of view of statesmanship and damaging to the prosperity of the land, but this only enhanced the credit due to the sovereigns whose piety was equal to the sacrifice. Such were the convictions of the period in the fifteenth century after Christ had died for man, that this crime agasinst humanity met with nothing but applause among contemporaries.”

“The sacrifices entailed on the exiles were enormous. . . An eye-witness tells us that the Christians bought their property for a trifle… they were compelled to give a house for an ass and a vineyard for a little cloth or linen: in some places the miserable wretches, unable to get any price, burnt their homes …  Penniless, friendless and despised they were cast forth into a world which had been taught that to oppress them was a service to the Redeemer. The whole world was pitiless to these wretched outcasts, against whom every man’s hand was raised. From Aragon and Cadiz they put to sea for Italy or the Moorish lands or whersoever fortune might drive them. Most of them had evil fate, robbery and murder by sea and in the lands of their refuge.”

“The sum of human misery was incomputable.”    Henry Charles Lea

 

You might enjoy Our Journey to Sinai

Drawings of Spain

On the Trail of Don Quixote

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August Jaccaci (1857–1930)
Daniel Vierge (1851–1904)

On the Trail of Don Quixote is an engaging 1890’s “record of rambles in the Ancient Province of La Mancha” by two artist friends, French author August Jaccaci and Spanish illustrator Daniel Vierge. “Both lovers of the book wherein are recounted the adventures of the good Knight and of his faithful Squire,” as Jaccaci explains, the two men set out to record – Jaccaci in evocative prose, and Vierge in pen and ink drawings – their exploration of the landmarks of Cervantes’ “immortal romance.” Argamasilla, the Cave of Montesinos, Ruidera, the windmills at Crijitano, and the rugged mountain pass of Despeñaperros are among the places Jaccaci and Vierge visited, tramping on foot, or jolting along by mule cart, accompanied in the back country by armed Guardias Civiles. In the 1890’s, before super highways and tourists, Jaccaci could write: “it is incredible how few changes have taken place in the home of the hero since the days of his wanderings. The customs, the character, the manner of dress, and the speech of its inhabitants, have remained practically unchanged . . .” This is a relaxing listen for anyone who enjoys good travel books.

August Jaccaci is also the translator of Alfred Dreyfus’ Five Years of My Life.

If you have enjoyed On the Trail of Don Quixote, you might also enjoy Dallam’s Travels with an Organ to the Grand Signieur, 1599–1600