Boabdil: See, for example, his partnership with Ferdinand in that king’s siege of Málaga, in Harvey, Islamic Spain 1250 to 1500, pp. 300–301.
82Granada was starved into submission: This is a story that has been told innumerable times. See, for example, the authoritative Harvey, ibid., pp. 307–314.
The Articles of Capitulation: This text and summary of this pivotal document is from Harvey, ibid., pp. 315–321.
84an Edict of Expulsion: For the text, Edict of Expulsion, Web, http://www.sephardicstudies.org/decree.html.
Effectively transferred the preponderance of Jewish wealth to Christian hands: I write this as someone with long business experience, buying and selling in a variety of markets. It is remarkable and painful to read of these forced and violent transfers of wealth earned by long labor. Anyone who has ever been in business will know what you get in a forced and urgent liquidation of assets. And such destruction of Jewish families led often enough to their enslavement or death. See Liss, ibid., pp. 310–312. Also Snow, Spain, the Root and the Flower, pp.147–149. Also Reston, The Dogs of God, pp. 262–266. Almost all commentators point out that the Crown got an important share, which they used for rewards to their allies, for debt payments, or simply for royal enrichment.
85Hernando Talavera: Liss, ibid., pp. 259–263. Harvey, ibid., p. 329. Castro, The Spaniards, p. 250.
Cardenal Ximenes de Cisneros: Liss, ibid., pp. 358–361 and pp. 368–370. Barrios Alguilera, Granada Morisca, la convivencia negada, pp. 72–74. On the consequential and prophetic negotiation with Portugal, see Harvey, Muslims in Spain, pp. 16–21. In the same volume, for details on the provocative and aggressive actions of Cisneros, see pp. 28–33.
88It amounted to more than five thousand volumes: Bosmajian, Burning Books, p. 64. To get an accurate account of the grotesque details, see Baez, Historia universal de la destrucción de libros, pp. 126–129.
Ferdinand and Isabella issued another edict: For the background and explanation of this contemptuous declaration, Harvey, ibid., pp. 56–58.
89a further series of proclamations: Carrascosa Salas, ibid., pp. 105–112.
90This attempt to eradicate a whole culture: To get a sense of the issues, the back and forth, the bribes and intimidation and sorrow of these times, see Nuñez Muley, A Memorandum for the President of the Royal Audiencia and Chancery Court of the City and Kingdom of Granada, passim.
91By the end of 1568: For an account of the period leading to the war, see Harvey, Muslims in Spain 1500–1614, pp. 209–217.
92There were repellent massacres: For an account of the slaughter of four hundred Muslim women and children who were prisoners of Ferdinand and Isabel’s army, see Marmol, Historia de la rebelion y castigo de los mariscos del reino de Granada, p. 220. Where Muslim villagers found Spanish troops looting their houses, they burned the houses down with the soldiers inside, Harvey, ibid., p. 228.
they tore it to pieces: Carrascola Salas, ibid., pp.129–130. For a description of the various studies of what was left, Barrios Aguilera, “Albaicín morisco,” pp. 35–41.
Contemporary accounts record the scene: For a precisely observed and mortifying account of this expulsion, see Marmol, ibid., pp. 183–184.
93In 1571: Carrascola Salas, ibid., p. 129.
94But then in 1595: For a summary of this fantastical episode, see Harvey, ibid., pp. 265–290. For a translation of some lead tablets in the same volume, see pp. 382–400. For a superb and detailed treatment in a religious and historical context, see Harris, From Muslim to Christian Granada, pp.108–152.
96By 1620: Pozo Felguera, ibid., p. 71.
“A radical depopulation”: Barrios Aguilera, ibid., p.33.
97“the rents from the property”: Barrios Aguilera, ibid., p. 36.
In the Albayzín: Carrascola Salas, ibid., pp. 158–162. Also Pozo Felguera, ibid., pp. 72–73.
98“Many are the curious old …”: Tenison, Castile and Andalucia, p. 98
“almost all of this opulent barrio …”: quoted in Carrascola Salas, ibid., p. 167. To get an idea of how much of the barrio was turning back to fields and gardens, there is a postcard from 1900 that is reproduced in Barrios Rozúa, El Albaicín: paraíso cerrado, conflicto urbano, p. 103.
The Maristan: An extended description and background of this extraordinary institution—a hospital and refuge for those with mental disorders—is in Castilla Brazales, En busca de la Granada andalusí, pp. 103–109. There is a lovely sketch of the building.
99The first carmenes in the Albayzín: Tito Rojo, “Los cármenes del Albaicín, entre la tradición y el invento,” pp. 58–65. For a pictorial summary of their evolution, see pp. 69–70. See also an account of the history Pozo Felguera, ibid., pp. 103–108.
100“The streets are narrow …” García Lorca, Granada, paraíso cerrado y otras páginas granadinas, pp. 231–234.
102García Lorca spent time: Gibson, En Granada, su Granada, pp. 114–116.
The poverty, crime, hunger, and hopelessness: An indispensable summary of the background and details of this time, and the relations between clergy and barrio, is in Barrios Rozúa, “Iconoclastia y resacralización del espacio urbano en el Albaicín,” pp. 71–86. For an account of the churches burned or sacked, with photos, see Pozo Felguera, ibid., pp. 79–89.
103Through 1936: Barrios Rozúa, ibid., pp. 87–88.
104Nobody likes to see history run the same tape over and over: Barrios Rozua, ibid., pp. 88–92.
105“We must redeem the Albayzín from Godless Marxism …”: quoted in Barrios Rozúa, ibid., p. 91.
“The glory of Spain coincides …”: This paragraph is taken from speech of Generalissimo Franco given in 1942. The text, and other excerpts from his speeches, are widely available. See, for example, Intercentres, La nueva España de General Franco. “Imperio y religión,” Web.
106The population: Pozo Felguera, ibid., p. 148.
“In fact, the Albayzín has arrived …”: quoted in Carrascola Salas, ibid., p. 204.
AL-ANDALUS: NOTES ON A HIDDEN, LUSTROUS, INDISPENSABLE ERA
111A medieval chronicle: These writings sometimes have named authors and are sometimes anonymous. They are intensely political and are full of wondrous and portentous language, with a full dosage of the messianic and the biblical. Some of the principal writers were Hernando de Pulgar, Gutierre de Palma, Diego de Valera, Anton de Montoro, and Iñigo de Mendoza. For a discussion of the way certain chronicles were meant to serve directly and deliberately as propaganda for Isabel in particular, early in her reign, and the close relation of the chronicles to other texts, see Guardiola-Griffiths, Legitimizing the Queen: Propaganda and Ideology in the Reign of Isabel I of Castile, pp. 45–46, 71–73, 95.
112St. James the Moorslayer: For a summary with images of this crusading, emblematic figure, see Menocal, Dodds, and Balbale, The Arts of Intimacy, pp. 100–101.
the narrative core: For a much more comprehensive account of the fevered and phantasmagorical story I have condensed here, see Liss, Isabel the Queen, pp. 168–176, with accompanying notes, which give us the type and tenor of the many chronicles and other texts that contributed to the story as a whole.
114Even through the twentieth century: The great polemic, of course, was between Americo Castro, who introduced the notion of convivencia to describe the decisive interactions of Christians, Jews, and Muslims in medieval Spain, and his adversary Claudio Sancho-Alboroz, who broadly rejected such ideas. Sancho-Alboroz even proposed that the backwardness of Spain was somehow due to Semitic influence, an idea that would be startling if it were not so transparently a part of the toxic idea of “blood purity.” Though Castro’s ideas have been criticized, refined, and corrected, his contribution was determinative and brilliant. For a useful, technical discussion of some of this controversy, see Glick, Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages, pp. 340–348.
115Jose Maria Aznar: This piece of braggadocio is available on the Web on YouTube. See Aznar, Speech at Georgetown, September 21, 20
04.
116What books do they translate?: They translate the very widest range. For many of the books and a fascinated portrait of the process, see Burnett, “The Translating Activity in Medieval Spain,” pp. 1042–1048. Also Menocal, Dodds, and Barbale, The Arts of Intimacy, pp. 232–235. And the indispensable Glick, Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages, pp. 327–336. It is wonderful to read about this laborious and consequential work, the very portrait and model of the convivencia at its best.
118a crucial part of the foundation of the Renaissance: The reliance of late medieval and Renaissance Europe on scientific and mathematical texts translated in Spain is now firmly established. See, for example, al-Khalili, The House of Wisdom, pp. 190–203, 229–231.
120“People of a Book.”: For the basics of this principle, see Armstrong, A History of God, pp. 159–160.
121An architectural convivencia: Menocal, Dodds, and Barbale, ibid., pp. 12–13. For a description and drawings of the form, see Burkhardt, Moorish Culture in Spain, pp. 13–14.
123The medieval synagogue of Samuel Halevi: Menocal, Dodds, and Barbale, ibid., pp. 241–246, with illustrations.
124Cristo de la Luz: Menocal, Dodds, and Barbale, ibid., pp. 113–117.
125Abd al-Rahman III: As the best known of the rulers of Al-Andalus, information on his rule is widely available. For a whole range of readings, see the following: Makki, “The Political History of Al-Andalus.” pp. 35–38; Menocal, Dodds, and Barbale, The Arts of Intimacy, pp. 22–25; Cabrera, “La pacificación de Al-Andalus,” pp. 27–32; Lewis, God’s Crucible, pp. 319–327.
Hasdai Shaprut: another legendary figure, very well-known. For a richer suite of information, see the following: Pinilla, “Figuras relevantes de la Corte,” pp. 66–67; Bueno, Los Júdios de Sefarad, pp. 39–49; Scheindlin, “The Jews in Muslim Spain,” p. 190; Lewis, God’s Crucible, pp. 330–332.
126Ismail ibn Neghrela: Scheindlin, “The Jews in Muslim Spain,” pp. 190–194. Shmuel HaNagid, Selected Poems of Shmuel HaNagid, Peter Cole, trans. pp. xiii–xx.
127Earth to man: Selected Poems of Shmuel HaNagid, ibid., p. 121.
Luxuries ease: Selected Poems of Shmuel HaNagid, ibid., p. 131.
I’d give everything: Selected Poems of Shmuel HaNagid, ibid., p. 15.
128Solomon Ibn Gabirol: For a illuminated and illuminating look at the work and life of this man, see Solomon Ibn Gabirol, Peter Cole, trans., pp. 3–39. The discovery that the great Christian/Muslim philosopher Avicebron was the Jewish Gabirol is told on pp. 13–14. Peter Cole has brought the Jewish poetry of Al-Andalus to the world. For a fine essay on Gabirol that sets his work in the context of Jewish theology and literature, see Tanenbaum, The Contemplative Soul, pp. 57–83.
130florilegio: The poems that follow here are a small sampling from the treasure house of the poetry of Al-Andalus. May the reader find her way into that house and stay a long while. See Recommended Reading for some sources.
“Is it the darks of your eyes …”: Jayyusi, “Andalusi Poetry: The Golden Period,” p. 333.
“She’s played adulteress …”: Jayyusi, ibid., p. 338.
“But what is strange …”: Jayyusi, ibid., p. 340.
131“Do you belong …”: Jayyusi, ibid., p. 342.
“Blest be the one who …”: Jayyusi, ibid., p. 342.
“Your love is firm …”: Jayyusi, “Nature Poetry in Al-Andalus and the Rise of Ibn Khafaja,” p. 383.
“He almost drank my soul …”: Jayyusi, ibid., p. 385.
“Its covering is composed …”: Jayyusi, ibid., p. 376.
132“The silence of gardens …”: Jayyusi, ibid., p. 371.
“It blocked every which way …”: Jayyusi, ibid., p. 391.
133a deep study of Arabic prosody: Scheindlin, “The Jews in Muslim Spain,” p. 193. In more detail, Scheindlin, “Hebrew Poetry in Medieval Iberia,” pp. 39–45. For a more complete idea of the literary context, Menocal, Dodds, and Barbale, The Arts of Intimacy, pp. 144–153.
“By God and God’s faithful—”: this poetry and many of the verses that follow are taken from the work of Peter Cole, who has selected, edited, and translated work from the whole range of poetry in Hebrew written in Al-Andalus. There are no words to convey the importance of what Professor Cole has accomplished: He has given to the world, in English, for the first time, some of the most powerful, insightful, and beautiful poetry of the whole Middle Ages. This first quote is from his Selected Poems of Shmuel HaNagid, ibid., p. 6.
134“You who seek my peace …”: Selected Poems of Solomon Ibn Gabirol, Peter Cole, trans., p. 57.
“We woke …”: Cole, The Dream of the Poem, p. 122.
“Why is that dove …”: Cole, ibid., p. 127.
135“The heavenly spheres …”: Cole, ibid., p. 174.
“Man in his love …”: Cole, ibid., p. 197.
“As long as a man seeks …”: Cole, ibid., p. 223.
136“The day you left …”: Cole, ibid., p. 258.
137Ibn Tufayl: For a fine and searching account of his work, see Burgel, “Ibn Tufayl and his Hayy Ibn Yaqzan: A Turning Point in Arabic Philosophical Writing,” pp. 830–839.
138“It became clear to him …”: Tufail, The Journey of the Soul, p. 16.
139“he realized that …”: Tufail, ibid., p.28.
140“he would select …”: Tufail, ibid., p. 42.
“he imitated …”: Tufail, ibid., p. 43.
141“When he spun rapidly …”: Tufail, ibid., p. 43.
“Immersed in this state …”: Tufail, ibid., p. 45.
142He will be called Averroes in the West: For background and context on Averroes, see Urvoy, “Ibn Rushd,” passim. For his views on the intellect and psychological material, see al-‘Alawi, “The Philosophy of Ibn Rushd,” pp. 804–825. For an overall sense of how his thought relates to evolving philosophy in the West, see Colish, Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition 400–1400, pp. 144–148.
146Science and mathematics: I am of course condensing and selecting from a whole spectrum of materials. To get a more expansive sense of the scientific work of the period, a scholarly and exceptionally useful survey is in Glick, Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages, pp. 293–336. For many details on mathematics, astronomy, geometry, and instrumentation, see Samso, “The Exact Sciences in al-Andalus,” pp. 952–964. For advances in mechanics, botany, agriculture, pharmacology, see Vernet, “Natural and Technical Sciences in al-Andalus,” pp. 938–945. For a fascinating review of maritime, geographical, and navigational expertise, see Hamdani, “An Islamic Background to the Voyages of Discovery,” pp. 273–280. For an account in the context of Europe in the Middle Ages, see Lewis, ibid., pp. 367–370. For a look at the science of Al-Andalus in its position as the undisputed leader of European science, see Vernet, “The Legacy of Islam in Spain,” pp. 108–182. For a complete account in Spanish, see Vernet, Lo que Europa debe al Islam de España, pp. 197–379. To have a look at some astrolabes and globes, see Dodds, Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain, pp. 376–383.
150Dioscorides: Vernet, “Natural and Technical Sciences in al-Andalus,” p. 938. Also Glick, ibid., p. 306.
151In agriculture: on the organization of irrigated agriculture in Al-Andalus, Trillo San José, Agua, tierra y hombres en Al-Andalus, pp. 42–69. For clear explanation with helpful drawings of the noria and qanat and other technologies, see Trillo San Jose, Agua y paisaje en Granada, pp. 50–64. For an account of agronomy and a sense of the richness of agricultural writing, as well as plant lists and the work of al-Tighnari, see Garcia Sanchez, “Agriculture in Muslim Spain,” passim. For a summary look, see Glick, Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages, pp. 79–81. And in the same volume, for municipal agricultural technique and crops in specific regions in Al-Andalus, pp. 68–79.
153“The month when …”: Schultz-Dornberg, Sonnenstand. Medieval Hermitages Along the Route to Santiago de Compostela, “The Calendar of Cordoba,” intro.
156“We must not he
sitate …”: quoted in al-Khalili, The House of Wisdom, p. 132.
157Abulcasis: For one portrait of Abulcasis, see Morgan, Lost History, pp. 198–205. Further comments are in Vernet, Lo que debe al Islam de España, pp. 247–249.
161by the vigor of its survival: For material on Ziryab, see Wright, “Music in Islamic Spain.” The Legacy of Islamic Spain, pp. 556–560. Also Glick, ibid., 228–229. For more context and the relation of music to literary arts, see Menocal, The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History, pp. 28–33 and pp. 99–103. More very helpful commentary with many additional historical details is in Reynolds, “Music,” pp. 64–67. To have a look at the instruments themselves, see the illustrations in Musica y poesia al sur de Al-Andalus, pp. 73–93. In the same volume, a general summary is on pp. 35–39, followed by a description of the instruments. The text is in Spanish, French, and English. For examples of the music itself as it has been recovered and interpreted, a number of CDs are available. See Paniagua, La música de pneuma: las tres culturas de la música medieval española, as well as Paniagua’s other collections.
“The Arabo-Andalusian musical legacy …”: Reynolds, “Music.” p. 60.
162qiyan: Menocal, Dodds, and Barbale, ibid., pp.105–106. Also Menocal, The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History, pp. 27–28. Also Reynolds, ibid., pp. 63–64.
164the troubadours: To read about this extraordinary poetry, as it relates to Al-Andalus, the most illuminating text I know of is Menocal, The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History, pp. 27–33, 71–90, 103–111, 118–120. For a sampling of verse written by women in this same tradition, see Bogin, The Women Troubadours, pp. 80–159.
the Cantigas de Santa Maria: There is online a complete text and translation of all of the Cantigas, including the original text of the poems, an English translation, notes on the manuscripts, classification of miracles, a bibliography, and search capacity. Surpassingly useful. See the Oxford Cantigas de Santa Maria database. For a discussion of Alphonso’s personal role, see Snow, “Alfonso as Troubadour: The Fact and the Fiction,” passim.
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