1st Edition

Faith and Fanaticism Religious Fervour in Early Modern Spain

Edited By Lesley Twomey, Robert Hooworth-Smith Copyright 1997

    The Spanish Inquisition is often seen as the archetype of religious fervour and fanaticism, and several of the papers here naturally focus on its activities. Overall, however, this volume aims to look at the broader context of religious attitudes in Spain, from the end of the 15th to the late 17th century. In an examination of how the religious orders behaved, the contributors demonstrate that concepts which may now appear excessive were perceived at that time. Similarly, poetry and other literary texts provide evidence for how Jews viewed Christians and Christians viewed Moors.

    Contents: Introduction; John Edwards; Part 1: The Quest for Orthodoxy: Fervor / Fanatismo or Entorno /Enfoque: The Problem of the Female Visionary in the Catholic Monarchy, Ronald Cueto; ’Cechs són aquells que tenen lo contrari’: Fanatical Condemnation of Opponents of the Immaculate Conception in 15th-century Valencia, Lesley K. Twomey; Meditation and Contemplation: Monastic Spirituality in early 16th-century Spain, Terrence O’Reilly; Part II: The Imposition of Orthodoxy: Spain’s Little-Known ’Noble Army of Martyrs’ and the Black Legend, A.Gordon Kinder; Did Spanish Crypto-Jews desecrate Christian Sacred Images and why?: the case of the Cristo de la Paciencia (1629-32), the Romance of 1717 and the events of November 1714 in the Calle del Lobo, Michael Alpert; Popular Religious Scepticism and Idiosyncrasy in Post-Tridentine Cuenca, Nicholas Griffiths; Part III: Cross-cultural awareness: The Religious Background of the Sephardic Ballad, Hilary Pomeroy; A Comparison of the Devotional Systems in the Viaje de Turquía, Encarnación Sánchez García; Fervor sin fanatismo: Pedro de Valencia’s treatise on the Moriscos, John A. Jones; Index.

    Biography

    Robert Hooworth-Smith, Lesley Twomey

    'a good and useful collection for anyone interested in religious practice in early modern Spain.' Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. XXX, No. 1 'The volume offers a good, well-informed range of essays, and early modernists of all disciplines will pick up much that is new.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 50, No. 2 'Students of early modern Spanish society or religion, and of religious movements such as fundamentalism, tolerance, or mysticism in whatever religious or cultural context they may be found, will find much that will be interesting or useful to them in these essays.' Church History, Vol. 68, No. 2