Marrano

This designation officially began in 1492 with the Castilian Alhambra Decree , reversing protections in the Treaty of Granada (1491) , and used for conversos , or ' confirmed converts', at first. However, soon Marranos was used for people that continued to practice Judaism secretly, crypto-Jews preserving their Jewish identity , 'the secret Jews' or judíos escondidos (in Hebrew Anusim ). Marrano in 15th century Spanish first meant pig , from the ritual prohibition against eating pork, practiced by both Jews and Muslims . During the Spanish Inquisition Marrano acquired the pejorative meanings: "filthy-pig" (sucio) ; swine (sin escrúpulos) ; and "filthy-dirty". In contemporary Spanish the word is no longer associated with Jews. In contemporary Portuguese the word refers only to crypto-Jews, with marrão meaning the animal pig or swine.

Marranos: Secret Seder in Spain during the times of inquisition , an 1892 painting by Moshe Maimon Marranos ( ; , , sing. marrano ; , , sing. marrà . Means in Spanish : "Christianized Jew", "pig" or "dirty".) were originally Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula who converted or were forced to convert to Christianity , some of whom may have continued to practice Judaism in secret . The term came into later use in 1492 with the Castilian Alhambra Decree , reversing protections originally in the Treaty of Granada (1491) . The converts were also known as cristianos nuevos ( Spanish ) or cristãos-novos ( Portuguese ), which mean New Christians ; conversos (the converted); or anusim ( Hebrew for "forced").

Jews forcibly converted to Catholicism in Spain Further information: Anusim and Converso Marranos: Secret Seder in Spain during the times of inquisition , an 1892 painting by Moshe Maimon Marranos were Spanish and Portuguese Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula who converted or were forced to convert to Christianity during the Middle Ages , yet continued to practice Judaism in secret . The term specifically refers to the charge of crypto-Judaism , whereas the term converso was used for the wider population of Jewish converts to Catholicism, whether or not they secretly still practised Jewish rites. Converts from either Judaism or Islam were referred to by the broader term of " New Christians ". The term "marrano" came into later use in 1492 with the Castilian Alhambra Decree , ordered by Inquisitor Torquemada , himself from a Converso family. Espina, confessor of Queen Isabel, had been a rabbi. It prohibited the practice of Judaism in Spain and required all remaining Jews to convert or leave, under the premise that, "If they are not good Christians, their descendants will be". By then, the great majority of Jews in Spain had converted to Catholicism, perhaps under the pressure from the Massacre of 1391 , and Conversos numbered hundreds of thousands. They were monitored by the Spanish Inquisition and subject to suspicions by Catholics of the secret practice of Judaism, also known as "Marranism". In modern use "marrano" is sometimes, but not always, considered offensive; and "crypto-Jew" is occasionally preferred in scholarly works.

Jews from the Iberian Peninsula forcibly converted to Catholicism Further information: Anusim and Converso Marranos: A secret Passover Seder in Spain during the times of Inquisition . An 1893 painting by Moshe Maimon . Marranos is one of the terms used in relation to Spanish and Portuguese Jews who converted or were forced by the Spanish and Portuguese crowns to convert to Christianity during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but continued to practice Judaism in secrecy or were suspected of it, referred to as Crypto-Jews . "Crypto-Jew" is the term increasingly preferred in scholarly works, instead of Marrano . The term specifically refers to the charge of crypto-Judaism , whereas the term converso was used for the wider population of Jewish converts to Catholicism , whether or not they secretly still practised Jewish rites. Converts from either Judaism or Islam were referred to by the broader term of " New Christians ." The term marrano came into later use in 1492 with the Castilian Alhambra Decree , which prohibited the practice of Judaism in Spain and required all remaining Jews to convert or leave. The Spanish Inquisition was established prior to the decree, surveilled New Christians to detect whether their conversion to Christianity was sincere. The vast majority of Jews in Spain had converted to Catholicism, perhaps under pressure from the Massacre of 1391 , and conversos numbered hundreds of thousands. They were monitored by the Spanish Inquisition and subject to suspicions by Old Christians of the secret practice of Judaism, whether or not that was the case. In modern use marrano can be considered offensive and pejorative, although some scholars continue to use the term interchangeably with converso or Crypto-Jew. The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy gives the first definition of marrano as cerdo , "pig" or "swine." Because of these possible meanings for the term Marrano might also be offensive to some descendants of Spanish Jews.

Jews from the Iberian Peninsula forcibly converted to Catholicism Further information: Anusim and Converso Marranos: A secret Passover Seder in Spain during the times of Inquisition . An 1893 painting by Moshe Maimon . Marranos is a term for Spanish and Portuguese Jews , as well as Navarrese Jews , who converted to Christianity, either voluntarily or by Spanish or Portuguese royal coercion , during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but who continued to practice Judaism in secrecy or were suspected of it. They are also called crypto-Jews , the term increasingly preferred in scholarly works over Marranos . The term specifically refers to the charge of crypto-Judaism, whereas the term converso was used for the wider population of Jewish converts to Catholicism , whether or not they secretly still practised Jewish rites. Converts from either Judaism or Islam were referred to by the broader term of " New Christians ". The term marrano came into later use in 1492 with the Castilian Alhambra Decree , which prohibited the practice of Judaism in Spain and required all remaining Jews to convert or leave. The Spanish Inquisition was established prior to the decree, surveilled New Christians to detect whether their conversion to Christianity was sincere. The vast majority of Jews in Spain had converted to Catholicism, perhaps under pressure from the Massacre of 1391 , and conversos numbered hundreds of thousands. They were monitored by the Spanish Inquisition and subject to suspicions by Old Christians of the secret practice of Judaism, whether or not that was the case. In modern use, marrano can be considered offensive and pejorative, although some scholars continue to use the term interchangeably with converso or crypto-Jew. In modern Spanish, marrano means "pig", or, more often, "dirty person". Because of these possible meanings for the term Marrano might also be offensive to some descendants of Spanish Jews.