Figure 1 El Tránsito Exterior |
In relation to my recent academic inquiries about the status of Jews in medieval Spain, I would like to devote this post to the Synagogue of Samuel Ha-Levi, or what is better known as El Tránsito.
El Tránsito was built within the Christian kingdom of Toledo and was founded and financed by Samuel Halevi Abulafia who was treasurer of the Castilian king Peter I, and a prominent member of Toledo’s Jewish community.[1] El Tránsito was built in the fourteenth century for personal use by Ha-Levi and was attached to his home via private gates.[2]
Based upon an exterior view, the
synagogue has an appearance of a simple edifice with horseshoe shaped windows,
which were a common aspect in medieval Spanish architecture.
However, the interior of the
synagogue has decorative aspects that may be likened to the interior of Alhambra
(constructed intermittently between the 9th-14th
centuries in the Muslim kingdom of Granada) in regard to the Nasrid style finely
carved stucco with arabesque motifs as well as the horseshoe shaped archways.[3]
These decorative aspects are reflective of the predominant styles within the medieval Iberian Peninsula and could be could be found in Christian, Jewish and Islamic architectural structures.
These decorative aspects are reflective of the predominant styles within the medieval Iberian Peninsula and could be could be found in Christian, Jewish and Islamic architectural structures.
Figure 3 El Tránsito Interior |
Figure 4 Alhambra |
But the aspect of El Tránsito that I find particularly interesting is the incorporation of both Hebrew and Arabic inscriptions within one edifice. To me, this relates to how the social structure of Toledo and other areas within the Christian kingdoms of Spain were, in certain instances, indefinable. I shall use the socio-political role of the Jew as an example. On one hand the Jews were ‘servants’ of the crown used to proliferate its wealth, whilst on the other hand, they were vilified for the very acts they were entrusted to complete. I would suggest this may be due to the nature of some of these acts in the eyes of Christianity (such as usury), which, in turn, reflected upon, and propagated, the perceived ‘nature’ of the Jews.
Figure 6 Alhambra |
Figure 7 Teófilo in Satan’s court.
Source: Escorial Ms. T. I, fol. 3r, detail.
|
The Jews were also known to be knowledgeable about sciences and medicine, which proved to be useful in the medical treatment of Alfonso X. [9] However, within literature and other religious accounts, the Jews were not to be trusted. The Jew’s proficiencies, which many people sought and relied upon, were conveyed as a form of trickery because as a people the Jews were devilish magicians who formed a brotherhood with the devil.[10] Furthermore, within illuminated manuscripts, this brotherhood was amalgamated by the illustrative representations of the physical similarities between the devil and the Jew. [11]
Figure 8 El Tránsito Hebrew Inscriptions |
Even though there are numerous accounts (both written and Illustrative) delineating the socio-political and religious standing of the three Abrahamic religions living within medieval Iberia, one cannot ignore the visual intermingling of ideas and traditions that occurred within the area. To some, these intertwined visual aspects speak to the idea that the Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together in medieval Iberia happily and openly shared ideas, but, to me, it speaks of the delicate nature of the socio-political currents of the time period. The existence of architectural structures that exchanged hands (from Muslim to Christian or Jewish to Christian) but were still able to retain much of its cultural identifiers relates to what I would consider to be a power struggle even though the area was dominated by one religious culture.
~Shandra
[1]Sinagoga del Tránsito http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=7587
[2] Ibid.
[3] The Art of the Nasrid Period
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nasr/hd_nasr.htm
[4]Jonathan Ray, The Sephardic Frontier: The Reconquista and the Jewish Community in Medieval Iberia, Cornell UP 2006, 68.
[5] Robert I. Burns, S.J. ed, Las Siete Partidas, Vol 2: The Medieval Government: The World of Kings and Warriors, translated by Samuel Parsons Scott, University of Pennsylvania, 2001, 327.
[6]Jonathan Ray, The Sephardic Frontier: The Reconquista and the Jewish Community in Medieval Iberia, Cornell UP 2006, 90.
[7]Gonzalo de Berceo, The Miracles of Our Lady, stanzas 679-681;648.
[8]Walter Mettmann ed, Alfonso X, el Sabio: Cantigas de Santa Maria, Castalia, Madrid, 1989
[9]Francisco Prado Vilar, 'Iudeus Sacer: Life, Law, and Identity...,' in Kessler and Nirenberg, Judaism in Christian Art, Philadelphia/Oxford: Pennsylvannia UP 2011, 116.
[10]Gonzalo de Berceo, The Miracles of Our Lady, stanzas 766-769.
[11] Pamela Patton, 'Constructing the Inimical Jew in the Cantigas de Santa Maria: Theophilus' Magician in Text and Image.' In Beyond the Yellow Badge: Anti-Judaism, Anti-Semitism and European Art Before 1800, ed. Mitchell Merback. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2008, 244.
Figures:
Figure 1-http://www.spainisculture.com/en/monumentos/toledo/sinagoga_del_transito.html
Figure 2- Ibid.
Figure 3-http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulayjesus/5354939383/
Figure 4-http://www.ecotravellerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Canopy-at-the-Alhambra.jpg
Figure 5-Sinagoga del Tránsito http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=7587
Figure 6-http://tourists360.com/alhambra-palace/
Figure 7-David Nirenberg, “Christian Love, Jewish ‘Privacy,’ and Medieval Kingship,” in Center and Periphery: Studies on Power in the Medieval World (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2013), 30.
Figure 8-Sinagoga del Tránsito http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=7587
<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com">www.HyperSmash.com</a>
[4]Jonathan Ray, The Sephardic Frontier: The Reconquista and the Jewish Community in Medieval Iberia, Cornell UP 2006, 68.
[5] Robert I. Burns, S.J. ed, Las Siete Partidas, Vol 2: The Medieval Government: The World of Kings and Warriors, translated by Samuel Parsons Scott, University of Pennsylvania, 2001, 327.
[6]Jonathan Ray, The Sephardic Frontier: The Reconquista and the Jewish Community in Medieval Iberia, Cornell UP 2006, 90.
[7]Gonzalo de Berceo, The Miracles of Our Lady, stanzas 679-681;648.
[8]Walter Mettmann ed, Alfonso X, el Sabio: Cantigas de Santa Maria, Castalia, Madrid, 1989
[9]Francisco Prado Vilar, 'Iudeus Sacer: Life, Law, and Identity...,' in Kessler and Nirenberg, Judaism in Christian Art, Philadelphia/Oxford: Pennsylvannia UP 2011, 116.
[10]Gonzalo de Berceo, The Miracles of Our Lady, stanzas 766-769.
[11] Pamela Patton, 'Constructing the Inimical Jew in the Cantigas de Santa Maria: Theophilus' Magician in Text and Image.' In Beyond the Yellow Badge: Anti-Judaism, Anti-Semitism and European Art Before 1800, ed. Mitchell Merback. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2008, 244.
Figures:
Figure 1-http://www.spainisculture.com/en/monumentos/toledo/sinagoga_del_transito.html
Figure 2- Ibid.
Figure 3-http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulayjesus/5354939383/
Figure 4-http://www.ecotravellerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Canopy-at-the-Alhambra.jpg
Figure 5-Sinagoga del Tránsito http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=7587
Figure 6-http://tourists360.com/alhambra-palace/
Figure 7-David Nirenberg, “Christian Love, Jewish ‘Privacy,’ and Medieval Kingship,” in Center and Periphery: Studies on Power in the Medieval World (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2013), 30.
Figure 8-Sinagoga del Tránsito http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=7587
<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com">www.HyperSmash.com</a>
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