CONVIVENCIA: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Medieval Spain

Over 30 years ago The Jewish Museum in New York mounted a groundbreaking exhibition celebrating almost 800 years in which three religions co-existed in medieval Spain, from the Muslim conquest in 711 to the defeat of the last Muslim ruler in 1492 and the expulsion of the Jews. The collaboration in medieval Spanish society among cultural groups including Jews, Muslims and Christians was known as the Convivencia, which is the title of the exhibition and of this impressive volume. The "Golden Age" was personified by the physician Maimonides, the towering genius who codified all Jewish law known in his time. Sephardi families with links to the Golden Age preserved their lingua franca, Ladino, a mixture of Castilian and Hebrew, and with it the literature of the Sephardi past. This volume examines interaction in the spheres of art and learning, including social dynamics, demonstrating that cultural achievements often occurred in difficult political environments. Scientific and architectural developments were also dependent on cultural interchange, with both Jews and Christians employing a Mudejar visual language. A chapter examines the negative stereotypes of Muslims and Jews in the Christian literature of Spain. Medieval Spain was a pluralistic society, but the groups mistrusted each other, and a rich and complex cultural legacy was formed out of tension. Notable exhibits include a trilingual inscription from 5th century Tarragona in Visigothic Spain, which features a menorah and tree of life, although Christianity was the established religion in the Roman empire. Other important illustrations include an 11th century manuscript of the Muslim scientist Avicenna, the richly decorated 14th century synagogue of El Transito, Toledo, built in the Mudejar style at a time of fierce anti-Jewish sentiment, and the edict of the expulsion of Jews from Granada in 1492. The 13th century synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca in Toledo has five aisles and an unusual trapezoidal plan, displaying the horseshoe arches and elaborately decorated capitals characteristic of Mudejar architecture. Manuscript illumination from the same period is narrative in form, for instance the story of Moses from the Golden Haggadah in the British Library. Prayer books, textiles, metalwork, and ceramics are among the artefacts covered. 264pp, rare 1992 softback, gazetteer, numerous illustrations in black and white and colour, 21.84 x 26cm.