El Choque de las Creencias: Christian Interactions with Muslims and Jews in Medieval Iberia Through the Lens of Las Cantigas de Santa Maria

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyze the attitudes of the Christian rulers and communities toward Jewish and Islamic individuals living within Christian Iberian kingdoms during the 'la Convivencia' period of the late middle ages. To do so, its research focuses on selected portrayals from Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a group of over 400 hymns and stories collected in the 13th century and predominantly associated with the court of Alfonso X (Alfonso el Sabio) of Castile and Léon. Careful study of the perspectives presented in Las Cantigas and the context of Alfonso's government support the notion that there was a significant degree of respect and cooperation between different religious groups, particularly for Western Europe in the given time period. However, the level of tolerance was still limited, sometimes to the bare minimum of what was required for a pragmatic functioning of society, and there were also marked difference in attitudes and treatment toward Jews as compared to Muslims. La Convivencia was a period of great scientific and cultural advancement due to the collaboration of the different religious and ethnic populations, but that is not to say that it was entirely harmonious.