abjuration |
public renunciation by an accused, usually done during an auto de fe |
alfaqui |
Muslim clergy who ministered to the Muslim/Morisco population |
aljama |
Arabic word for the community in which Muslims or Jews lived separate from their Christian neighbors; known in Castilian as a judería or a morería |
alumbrado |
an illuminist, mystic who minimized the role of the Church and ceremonies |
anusim |
Hebrew term for Jews converted to Christianity against their will |
arbitrista |
writer of arbitrios, or proposals for reform |
auto de fe |
“act of faith,” often held in public, at which those tried by the Inquisition had their sentences declared |
beata |
woman who dedicated herself to a solitary religious life, within or without a religious order |
calificador |
assessor, usually a theologian, who examined evidence to see if heresy was involved |
censo |
annuity from investments |
Chancillería |
the Castilian high court in Valladolid and Granada; other high courts were called audiencias |
colegios mayores |
elite graduate colleges at the main universities |
comisario |
select local clergy who helped the Inquisition in administrative matters |
conseller |
member of the Consell de Cent, the city council of Barcelona |
converso |
a person converted from the Jewish or Muslim faiths, especially the former; applied also to all descendants of the same |
convivencia |
coexistence, in this case of the three religious cultures of Spain |
corregidor |
civil governor in the main Castilian towns |
Cortes |
parliament of each realm of Spain (in Catalan, Corts) |
Diputación |
(in Catalan, Diputació) standing committee of the Cortes, of particular importance in the crown of Aragon. Members were called diputados in Aragon, diputats in Catalonia |
ducat |
Castilian unit of coinage, equivalent to 375 maravedis or 11 reales |
edict |
declaration (of “grace” or of “faith”) read out publicly by the inquisitors or their officials at the commencement of proceedings in a district |
encomienda |
in medieval Spain, a knighthood in one of the military orders; in colonial Spanish America the word had a different meaning |
familiar |
lay official of the Inquisition |
fuero |
local law or privilege |
hermandad |
a brotherhood or confraternity, usually based on a parish church and associated with devotion to a particular saint |
hidalgo |
one of noble rank |
judaizer |
used in this book to refer to a converso accused of illicitly practicing the Jewish religion |
judería |
Castilian word for a Jewish community |
limpieza de sangre |
“purity of blood,” freedom from Semitic blood |
maravedi |
medieval Castilian unit of account |
Marrano |
abusive word, of obscure origin, applied to Jewish conversos |
meshumadim |
Hebrew term for Jews who converted “voluntarily” to Christianity |
Moor |
in Spanish, moro, term used by Spaniards to refer to a Muslim |
Moriscos |
Castilian term for Muslims converted to Christianity and their descendants |
Mozárabes |
Christians living under Muslim rule |
Mudéjares |
Muslims living under Christian rule |
New Christian |
term applied (especially in Portugal) to people of Jewish origin |
sanbenito |
penitential garment of the Inquisition |
Sephardic |
term applied to Jews of Spanish origin, from “Sepharad,” a Hebrew word referring to Iberia |
Suprema |
central council of the Inquisition |
taqiyya |
the tactic of conformism permitted in certain conditions to Muslims living under an alien faith |