Dying in the Law of Moses: Crypto-Jewish Martyrdom in the Iberian World

Miriam Bodian's study of crypto-Jewish martyrdom in Iberian lands depicts a new type of martyr that emerged in the late 16th century--a defiant, educated judaizing martyr who engaged in disputes with inquisitors. By examining closely the Inquisition dossiers of four men who were tried in the Iberian peninsula or Spanish America and who developed judaizing theologies that drew from currents of Reformation thinking that emphasized the authority of Scripture and the religious autonomy of individual interpreters of Scripture, Miriam Bodian reveals unexpected connections between Reformation thought and historic crypto-Judaism. The complex personalities of the martyrs, acting in response to psychic and situational pressures, emerge vividly from this absorbing book.

"Bodian's study is both moving and illuminating.... a major contribution to converso studies and a demonstration of intellectual honesty." --AJS Review, Vol. 33.2 Indiana University Press Indiana University Press

"[A]n important and timely book.... While a great deal of work has been done on the Inquisitionthe approach taken here is very readable and up to date in its findings about this controversial institution; the intricacies of its operation are really brought home in the individual case studies." --Allison P. Coudert

"... an excellent study that successfully brings together many diverse strands of scholarship and will appeal to students of religion, Judaism, and Iberian history alike." --Sara T. Nalle, William Paterson University, Renaissance Quarterly, 61.2 (Summer 2008)

"Throughout, Bodian has crafted a rich and accessible narrative.... [This] is a readable and thoughtful volume that raises many important questions...." --DEAN PHILLIP BELL, Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, Chicago, Bulletin of Spanish Studies, Vol. 87. 3 May 2010

A new interpretation of crypto-Jewish martyrdom in Iberian lands during the Inquisition

Miriam Bodian is Professor of Jewish History in the Graduate School of Jewish Studies at Touro College. Her book Hebrews of the Portuguese Nation: Conversos and Community in Early Modern Amsterdam (IUP, 1998) received a National Jewish Book Award for History and a Koret Prize for History.

List of Illustrations

List of Maps

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

1. The Historical Setting

2. The Dogmatista Crypto-Jewish Martyrs

3. A Conquistador's Nephew in New Spain

4. A Monk of Castanheira

5. A Converso Surgeon in the Viceroyalty of Peru

6. A Hebrew Scholar at the University of Salamanca

7. Echoes in the Portuguese-Jewish Diaspora

Appendix A: Commemoration of Individual Martyrs in the Literature of the Portuguese-Jewish Diaspora, to 1683

Appendix B: Summary of Luis Carvajal's Nine Reasons for Adhering to the Law of Moses, Audience of February 15, 1595, PLC, 235238

Glossary

Notes

Bibliography

Index