Ibn Hazm on homosexuality
The most commonly used term for homosexual contacts between men in Arabic is fil (or amal) qawm Lût (“the act of the people of Lot”), from which is derived the substantive liwàt. The man who indulges in such acts is called lufl.
The Curious Career and Uncertain Past of Perkin Warbeck
Was Warbeck just another in a long line of pretenders to the throne of England, or did his appearance in Ireland in 1491 prove the innocence
of Richard III, whom most historians accuse of murdering his nephews, the Princes in the Tower?
Ruthless Oppressors? Unraveling the Myth About the Spanish Inquisition
From its inception to the present, critics of the Spanish Inquisition has characterized the institution as omnipotent and oppressive and highlighted its role in the expulsion, forced conversion, and execution of supposed heretics.
Iberian Uniqueness in the Arab Invasion of Spain
In the spring of the year AD 711, the Visigothic kingdom of Iberia was invaded and conquered by an army from the nearby Muslim Empire.
Translators, Interpreters and Cultural Mediators in Late Medieval Eastern Iberia and Western Islamic Diplomatic Relationships
Although linguistic competence and language knowledge were essential, rulers often looked for the cultural aptitudes of their official translators to guarantee the success fo the diplomatic missions.
Daily Life in the Spanish Reconquest: Scenes from Tenth-Century León
Built by the Romans to garrison to Seventh Legion, León may also have been the base of the legion’s military commander, who was sometimes fully empowered by the emperor to govern Asturias and Galicia.
The Finest Castle in the World
Robert I. Burns, S.J., and Paul E. Chevedden describe how a much-besieged citadel became the focus for Christian-Muslim co-existence in medieval Spain.
A Peripheral Matter? Oceans in the East in Late Medieval Thought, Report and Cartography
Focusing in particular on the southern and eastern parts of the Ocean Sea, this article traces the broad contours of a representational and conceptual shift brought about, I argue, by the interplay between geographical thought and social (navigational, mercantile) practice.
Jewish Lightning Rod: Between Magic and Science
People learned how to “tie up a portion of lightning” only recently. We have no information aboutany experiments of medieval scientists with lightnings, and even the fundamental dictionary of thehistory of science by Mayerhöfer is silent about it.
How Rich a Lawyer, How Poor a Tailor? An Economic Hierarchy of Occupations in Fifteenth-Century Spain
A tax record from the Catalan city of Manresa known as the Liber Manifesti of 1408 provides detailed occupational and capital-holding data for the heads of 640 households.
The Family of Wilfred I, the Hairy: Marriage and the Consolidation of Power, 800-1000
My principal objective is to reconsider the system of marriage alliances of the counts of the Marca Hispanica during the generations immediately before and after Wilfred I
What Kind of Medieval History should be Taught and Learned in Secondary School?
This study presents a reflection on the teaching of history in secondary education. Specifically, it addresses what topics of the history of the Middle Ages are taught and learned and to what end.
Slavery and Identíty in Mozarabic Toledo: 1201-1320
Román Iberia became thoroughly Romanized early in its existenec. Spain adopted the law, the language, the culture, and eventually the religión of clas- sicat Rome. Moreover, Hispania produced some truly stellar figures in the arena of Latin scholarship, including Séneca, Lucían, Quintilian, Columella, and Prudentius.
King João II of Portugal “O Príncipe Perfeito” and the Jews (1481-1495)
King João II of Portugal, who reigned over the Portuguese from 1481 un- til 1495, has enjoyed a rather positive posthumous reputation in Portugal and in Portuguese historiography…In Jewish historiography, however, the ruthlessness of King João II has earned him considerable infamy.
Mystery of the Newport Medieval Ship Solved?
New evidence suggests that the Newport medieval ship came from the Basque Country
Jewish Collaborators in Alfonso’s Scientific Work
What is remarkable about the Jewish translators whose work was sponsored by Alfonso, following an already old tradition of Jewish translation activity, was their concentration almost exclusively on scientific literature and their significant contribution to the development of the Spanish language.
Master Mateo – Skilled Artist or Medieval Engineer?
Master Mateo received his contract as superintendent of the works of Saint James in 1168. He undertook in the following decades several major changes in the cathedrals design, the most spectacular of which was the insertion of the famous Portíco de la Gloria.
The Sufi Influence on Spanish Jews
By reintroducing true stories of positive interactions between Muslims and Jews, we can begin to change the contemporary dialogue away from the schoolyard “you’re either with us or against us” attitude of this young millennia, towards a more Gandhian approach, where a just peace for everyone involved is the only true option…
The Secret Society: Descendants of Crypto-Jews in the San Antonio Area
The history of the converso Jews began in medieval Catholic Spain, which was constantly wracked with anti-Semitism that, many times, led to mass conversions or massacres of the Jewish population.
Dialogues between religions in Andalusia
The distinctive way of life that developed in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods lasted for eight centuries in the Muslim West, in the fertile lands of North Africa and Andalusia, until 1492.
King Pedro IV of Aragon, royal propaganda and the tradition of royal speechwriting
In the archives of the Crown of Aragon in Barcelona is preserved the autograph manuscript of a speech against the rebellion of the Judge of Arborea in Sardinia made by King Pedro IV of Aragon to open the corts, probably that held in Sant Mateu, Valencia in 1369.
Templars and Confraternities: Organizational Competition in Thirteenth Century Iberia
The undoing of the Templars was in part a result of their own over-reaching, but it also came because they opened up an organizational arena that other military orders and confraternities came to fill.