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Masked Jews: Conversion and Secret Identities in Late Medieval Iberia

Mon, December 17, 5:00 to 6:30pm, Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center, Amphitheater

Abstract

Religious conversion effected perhaps the most fundamental transformation of identity in the medieval world. Jews of the medieval Iberian Peninsula converted to Christianity for many reasons—religious conviction, financial gain, desire to marry a Christian or another partner forbidden to them by Jewish law, and (especially after the massacres of 1391) to save their lives. At least before the mass conversions of 1391, medieval Christians hoped that conversion would bring about a complete and seamless transformation of identity: that they would completely cease to be Jews, and fully become Christians. Converts even received new names to reflect their transformation. In reality, however, converts developed dual identities, as both Jewish and Christian, although they often sought to hide or downplay one or the other. This paper will employ Tom Morris’ work on superheroes and secret identities to explore the experiences of Jewish converts to Christianity in medieval Iberia—those who remained Christian, sincerely or nominally, as well as those who risked openly returning to Judaism. Converts who reverted to Judaism, like many masked superheroes, actively sought to disguise their dual identities, for the knowledge of their alternative Christian identity could put themselves and their communities at risk. Converts who practiced Judaism in secret could not necessarily hide their Jewish past, but they sought to mask their current Jewish identity in the ways they presented themselves to a Christian public. Even sincere converts often had dual identities, due to lingering family ties to Jews or participation in Christian conversionary efforts. Comparison to the blended or hidden identities of superheroes provides an alternative perspective on the complex dual identities of the men and women who lived between Judaism and Christianity in the Iberian kingdoms from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, raising important questions about which identity was “real,” which was “constructed,” and how this changed according to both historical circumstances and the choices made by converts. The paper will place evidence drawn from late medieval responsa literature, the archives of the Crown of Aragon, and visual images in conversation with the theory of secret identities in critical work on superheroes.

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