Dr Hilary Pomeroy
The Jews of Spain: A ‘Golden Age’? An Historical and Cultural Overview, Part 1
Summary
Although Jewish life in Muslim Spain (Al-Andalus) fluctuated between periods of security and instability, it is often depicted as a golden age of tolerant coexistence. In this talk, Hilary Pomeroy asks, to what extent did Sephardi Jews absorb and adapt Islamic culture?
Dr Hilary Pomeroy
Dr Pomeroy holds a PhD from the department of Hispanic Studies, Queen Mary University of London and is teaching fellow emerita in the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University College London. She has been an invited speaker at universities and institutions throughout Europe and has published numerous articles on Sephardi culture.
1492 is when Jews and Muslims were forced to convert, or, in the case of Jews, they had to leave the country. Sorry, the Jews had to leave the country. Muslims could stay, practice their religion, but with much less leniency than before, couldn’t use the hammam.
There were Muslims throughout the Mediterranean. Spain’s greatest enemy in the 15th century was Turkey. The Turks were Muslim. So, there was always fear that if one was harsh, Muslims were dealt with particularly harshly, they had allies, but the Jews were weak, they did not have those allies.
Because you’ll find the case of many churches known as Santa Maria La Blanca, which had originally been synagogues, and very often when they were converted into the church, they would be given the name of the Virgin Mary.