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Articles

Black Africans’ Religious and Cultural Assimilation to, or Appropriation of, Catholicism in Italy, 1470-1520

by Sandra Alvarez
June 14, 2012

Black Africans’ Religious and Cultural Assimilation to, or Appropriation of, Catholicism in Italy, 1470-1520

Lowe, Kate (Queen Mary, University of London)

Renaissance and Reformation,  Vol. 31, No. 2 (2008)

Abstract

In this article, I shall focus on a trio of examples of sub-Saharan or black Africans in Italy, whether enslaved or freed, who can be seen to have assimilated successfully to some basic tenets of Catholicism, and to have undergone a conversion of behaviour and mores as well as a compulsory religious “conversion.”

Dans cet article, j’examine trois exemples d’africains sub-sahariens présents dans l’Italie de la Renaissance et qui ont assimilé avec succès les fondamentaux du catholicisme. On considère qu’il était impossible pour les noirs africains en Europe de se réinventer une nouvelle identité sans être préparés à apprendre comment mener une vie de catholique pieux. Toutefois, ce niveau d’assimilation était contesté régulièrement par les Européens ‘blancs’. On en examine trois exemples : le premier concerne les préjugés courants qui empêchaient qu’un couple d’esclaves noirs donne leur enfant le nom d’un saint catholique. Un deuxième exemple consiste en l’introduction d’un donateur noir dans un retable du XVe siècle. Le troisième exemple analyse le contenu religieux du testament d’une femme d’Afrique noire.

Click here to read this article from Renaissance and Reformation

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TagsAfrica in the Middle Ages • Christianity in the Middle Ages • Conversion in the Middle Ages • Early Modern Period • Islam in the Middle Ages • Jewish Life in the Middle Age • Later Middle Ages • Medieval Ecclesiastical History • Medieval Italy • Medieval Religious Life • Medieval Social History • Slavery in the Middle Ages

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