Marrano

Marrano
/meuh rah"noh/, n., pl. Marranos.
a Spanish or Portuguese Jew who was converted to Christianity during the late Middle Ages, usually under threat of death or persecution, esp. one who continued to adhere to Judaism in secret.
[ < Sp: lit., pig, from the Jewish law forbidding the eating of pork (prob. < Ar mahram forbidden)]

* * *

Spanish Jew who converted to Christianity to escape persecution but continued to practice Judaism secretly.

During fierce persecutions in the late 14th century, many Jews died rather than renounce their faith, but at least 100,000 converted to Christianity in order to survive. In time the Marranos came to form a compact society within Spain, growing rich and gaining political power. They were viewed with suspicion, and the name Marrano was originally a term of abuse. Resentment against them led to riots and massacres in 1473. In 1480 the Inquisition intensified the persecution, and thousands of Marranos lost their lives. In 1492 a royal edict ordered the expulsion of all Jews who refused to renounce their faith. Many Marranos settled in North Africa and Western Europe. By the 18th century, emigration and assimilation had led to the disappearance of the Marranos in Spain.

* * *

people
      in Spanish history, a Jew who converted to the Christian faith to escape persecution but who continued to practice Judaism secretly. It was a term of abuse and also applies to any descendants of Marranos. The origin of the word marrano is uncertain.

      In the late 14th century, Spanish Jewry was threatened with extinction at the hands of mobs of fanatical Christians. Thousands of Jews accepted death, but tens of thousands found safety by ostensibly converting to Christianity. The number of converts is moderately estimated at more than 100,000. By the mid-15th century the persons who had been baptized but continued to practice Judaism in secret—Marranos—formed a compact society. The Marranos began to grow rich and to rise to high positions in the state, the royal court, and the church hierarchy. They intermarried with the noblest families of the land. The hatred directed against them by the old Christians, ostensibly because they were suspected of being untrue to their converted faith, was in fact directed indiscriminately against all conversos, or Jewish converts.

      In March 1473, riots against Marranos broke out in Córdoba, with pillage and carnage lasting for three days. The massacres spread from city to city, carried out by fanatical mobs. In 1480 the Inquisition was introduced to provide institutional control over the persecution of the Marranos. In the Inquisition's first year, more than 300 Marranos were burned, their estates reverting to the crown. The number of victims grew into tens of thousands.

      To the Jews, the Marranos were pitiful martyrs. The Jews maintained religious bonds with the Marranos and kept strong their faith in the God of Israel. The Inquisition finally became convinced, however, that only the total expulsion of the Jews from Spain could end Jewish influence in the national life. Purity of faith became the national policy of the Catholic sovereigns, and thus came about the final tragedy, the edict of expulsion of all the Jews from Spain on March 31, 1492. Portugal promulgated an edict of expulsion in 1497 and Navarre in 1498.

      A considerable minority of Jews saved themselves from expulsion by baptism, thus adding strength and numbers to the Marranos, but the mass of Spanish Jews refused conversion and went into exile. The physical separation of the Marranos from their spiritual sympathizers, however, did not make them more amenable to inquisitorial discipline. The Jewish religion remained deeply rooted in their hearts, and they continued to transmit their beliefs to the succeeding generations. Many Marranos did eventually choose emigration, however, principally to North Africa and to other western European countries. Marranism had disappeared in Spain by the 18th century owing to this emigration and to gradual assimilation within Spain. See also converso.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • marrano — marrano, na adjetivo,sustantivo masculino y femenino 1. Uso/registro: coloquial. Pragmática: intensificador. Que es muy sucio: Yo no vuelvo a ese bar, hacía tiempo que no veía un sitio tan marrano. 2. Que tiene malas intenciones o hace marranadas …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • MARRANO — MARRANO, term of opprobium used to denigrate the New Christians of Spain and Portugal. Various origins for the term have been suggested. These include the Hebrew marit ayin ( the appearance of the eye ), referring to the fact that the Marranos… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • marrano — (ant. marano) s.m. [dallo sp. marrano porco , prob. dall arabo maḥram cosa proibita ]. 1. (lett.) [chi non tiene fede alla parola data] ▶◀ (lett.) fedifrago, (lett.) fellone, traditore. 2. (estens., scherz.) [persona che si comporta con rozzezza… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • marrano — marrano, na sustantivo 1) (animal) cerdo, cochino. adjetivo y sustantivo 2) coloquial sucio, desaseado*, cochino (coloquial), puerco (coloquial). * * * …   Diccionario de sinónimos y antónimos

  • Marrano — Jew or Moor converted to Christianity, 1580s, from Spanish, probably lit. pig, swine, an expression of contempt, from Arabic muharram forbidden thing (eating of pork is forbidden by Muslim and Jewish religious law), from haruma was forbidden (see …   Etymology dictionary

  • marrano — adj. s. m. 1. Designação injuriosa que se dava aos muçulmanos e judeus que viviam em Portugal. 2.  [Portugal: Trás os Montes] Porco já crescido. • adj. 3. Imundo. 4. Excomungado …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • Marrano — [mə rä′nō] n. pl. Marranos [Sp, lit., swine (expression of contempt) < Ar muḥarram, forbidden thing] [also m ] during the Spanish Inquisition, a Jew who professed Christianity to escape death or persecution, often continuing to observe Judaism …   English World dictionary

  • Marrano — (De origen incierto.) ► sustantivo masculino 1 Madero que sujeta las paletas de una rueda hidráulica con el eje. 2 Madero que sirve para igualar la presión en las presas de los molinos de aceite. 3 Madero que forma la cadena del fondo de un pozo …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • marrano — Del árabe vlg. mahran , cosa prohibida, porque los musulmanes tienen vedada la carne de cerdo. • Más marrano que la pata un pato. (loc.) (col.) (Andalucía) • Más marrano que la Pisebrona. (loc.) (col.) • Más marrano que la Tota. (loc.) (col.) Muy …   Diccionario Jaén-Español

  • Marrano — No debe confundirse con Morrano (Huesca). Etimológicamente proviene del árabe moharrama. El origen de la palabra marrano utilizada de forma despectiva con los judíos conversos de España y Portugal es controvertido. Etimológicamente parece… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Marrano — Marranos: Secret Seder in Spain during the times of inquisition, painting by Moshe Maimon Marranos were Jews living in the Iberian peninsula who were forced to convert to Christianity but continued to observe Judaism in secret. The term came into …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”