Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources

Olivia Remie Constable

University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997 - History - 426 pages

The documents collected here date mostly from the eighth through the fifteenth centuries and have been translated from Latin, Arabic, Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, Castilian, Catalan, and Portuguese by many of the most eminent scholars in the field of Iberian studies. The selections include chronicle materials, poetry, and legal and religious sources, and each is accompanied by a brief introduction placing the text in its historical and cultural setting. Arranged chronologically, the documents are also keyed so as to be accessible to readers interested in specific topics such as urban life, the politics of the royal courts, interfaith relations, or women, marriage, and the family.

For some historians, medieval Iberian society was primarily one of peaceful coexistence and cross-cultural fertilization; others have sketched a harsher picture of Muslims and Christians engaged in an ongoing contest for political, religious, and economic advantage culminating in the fall of Muslim Granada and the expulsion of the Jews in the late fifteenth century. The reality that emerges in Medieval Iberia is more nuanced than either of these scenarios can comprehend; this monumental collection offers unparalleled access to the multicultural complexity of the lands that would become modern Portugal and Spain.

Contents

• In Praise of Spain: 3
• A Catholic Bishop and an Arian King: 5
• The Visigothic Conversion to Catholicism: 12
• Visigothic Legislation Concerning the Jews: 21
• King Khindaswinth and Queen Reciberga: 24
• The Iberian Peninsula 7111031: 28
• Grants to Christian Military Orders: 29
• A MuslimChristian Treaty: 37
• Christian Resistance in the North: 39
• Christian Resistance in the North: 41
• An Uprising Against the Amir alḤakam: 45
• A Christian Account of the Life of Muḥammad: 48
• Eulogius and the Martyrs of Córdoba: 51
• The Kings of Asturias: 56
• Heresy and Inquisition: 59
• Muslims and Christians in Valencia 330 332 338 340: 60
• On the Campaigns and Diplomacy of Abd alRaḥmān III: 63
• A Jewish Administrator Under Caliph Hisham: 73
• On Forgetting a Beloved: 77
• On the Inconsistencies of the Four Gospels: 81
• A Jewish Vizier Describes the Battle of Alfuente: 85
• Three Views of Samuel and Joseph ibn Naghrela: 91
• The Political Dilemma of a Granadan Ruler: 103
• The Iberian Peninsula 1095: 110
• Exile of the Cid and His Capture of Valencia III: 111
• Concerning King Sancho I of Aragon and His Deeds: 118
• Two Christian Urban Charters 123: 123
• Justice in Catalonia: 127
• Redeeming a Captive Jewish Woman: 131
• The Siege of Lisbon: 133
• The Pilgrimage to Santiago: 137
• Two Arguments in Support of Christian Faith: 143
• Tales of Instruction for Life: 152
• A Privilege to the Confraternity of Belchite: 156
• Planning for Christian Expansion: 162
• Toward a New Order of Power 164: 164
• Statutes of Girona: 167
• The Iberian Peninsula 1212: 174
• Market Regulations in Muslim Seville: 175
• HispanoArabic Poetry: 180
• Ibn Tumart and the Rise of the Almohads: 185
• The Doctrine of Divine Unity: 190
• Jewish Listeners and an Arab Astrologer: 198
• The Life of an Andalusi Mystic: 203
• The Christian Conquest of Valencia: 209
• Three Charters from the Kingdom of Valencia: 212
• The Christian Conquest of Seville: 217
• Administration of an Urban Militia: 223
• Resettlement and Redistribution of Land: 228
• A Christian Alliance Against Granada: 232
• The Iberian Peninsula 12641492: 238
• The Life of an Andalusi Mystic 203: 239
• Three Documents from Huesca Will of Pere Calafat Mallorca 242: 242
• Will of Pere Calafat Mallorca: 246
• The King and the Cortes: 250
• The Proper Qualities of a King: 255
• Positions at the Royal Court: 260
• Positions at the Royal Court: 262
• The Legal Status of Jews and Muslims in Castile: 269
• The Early Career of Ramon Llull: 276
• On Preaching and Conversion: 280
• Foundation of a Convent of Friars: 285
• The Evils of Money and Drink: 288
• Love Lyrics by a Catalan Queen: 292
• Memoirs of a Castilian Noblewoman: 294
• The Convent and the World: 302
• Statutes of Girona 167: 307
• Pageants and Festivities in Castile: 317
• Marriage and Divorce in Muslim Granada: 323
• A Mudejar Summary of Islamic: 327
• Heresy and Inquisition: 330
• Muslims and Christians in Valencia: 338
• The Christian Conquest of Granada 343 344: 343
• The Expulsion of the Jews: 352
• Morisco Appeal to the Ottoman Sultan: 364
• The Castilian New World: 371
• The Portuguese New World and India: 378
• Genealogical Tables: 387
• Glossary: 397
• Bibliography: 403
• Index to Texts According to Genre: 409
• Interfaith Relations 175 180 203 212 250 255 262: 412
• 317 320 327: 414
• Exile of the Cid and His Capture of Valencia 23 Justice in Catalonia 24 Redeeming a Captive Jewish Woman 28 Tales of Instruction for Life 47 The ...: 415
• Ibn Hayyan Muqtabis 67: 418
• 131: 419
• Two Accounts of the Muslim Conquest 7 A MuslimChristian Treaty 29 32 333332: 421

About the author

Olivia Remie Constable is Associate Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and author of Trade and Traders in Muslim Spain: The Commercial Realignment of the Iberian Peninsula, 900-1500.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources; Middle Ages series
• Editor: Olivia Remie Constable
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997
• ISBN: 0812215699, 9780812215694
• Length: 426 pages
• Subjects: History / Europe / Medieval; History / Europe / Portugal; History / Europe / Spain; Religion / History; Social Science / Customs & Traditions; Social Science / Sociology / General