Remembering Sepharad: Jewish Culture in Medieval Spain

Sepharad is the name that the Spanish Jews gave to the Iberian peninsula, and to remember this place is to remember its people. Highlighting diverse practices--from architectural design to bread-baking; from marriage ceremonies to the legislation of personal attire--Remembering Sepharad traces the vibrant cultural, political, and religious life of the Jewish people in Spain from Roman antiquity to the expulsion of Jews in 1492.

Drawing on a wealth of material, including archaeological pieces, furnishings, codices, sculptures, paintings, scale models, maps, and excerpts from primary texts, this highly readable account recreates the contentious and mutually transformative relationships among Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the period. As a religious and ethnic minority under an alternately Christian or Muslim majority, the Jewish community adapted its cultural practices to the situation, even as it retained its distinctive religious heritage. The material culture of the period thus reflects both the potential for intercultural hybridity and the persistence of the kind of anti-Semitism that culminated in the Inquisition and the expulsion. Remembering Sepharad provides an extensive and beautifully illustrated archive of material that testifies to the diversity and richness of a culture that endured centuries of oppression, leaving an indelible mark on the history of Spain.