Between Christians and Moriscos: Juan de Ribera and Religious Reform in Valencia, 1568–1614

268 Pages·2006·2.519 MB·English

by  Benjamin Ehlers

The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science
124th series (2006)
1.benjamin ehlers, Between Christians and Moriscos: Juan
de Ribera and Religious Reform in Valencia, 1568–1614
2.eric r dursteler, Venetians in Constantinople: Nation,
Identity, and Coexistence in the Early Modern Mediterranean

Between Christians and Moriscos
Juan de Ribera and Religious Reform
in Valencia, 1568–1614
benjamin ehlers
The Johns Hopkins University Press
Baltimore
This book has been brought to publication with the generous assistance
of the Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spain’s
Ministry of Culture and United States Universities.
© 2006 The Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2006
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
The Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363
www.press.jhu.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ehlers, Benjamin.
Between Christians and Moriscos : Juan de Ribera and religious reform in
Valencia, 1568–1614 /Benjamin Ehlers.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
isbn0-8018-8322-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Juan de Ribera, Saint, 1532–1611. 2. Valencia (Spain)—Church history.
3. Moriscos—Spain—Valencia. I. Title.
bx4700.j739e35 2006
261.2(cid:1)7(cid:1)0946763—dc22 2005021648
A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Frontispiece:Pere Oromig, Embarque de los Moriscos en el Grau de Valencia (1612–13). Colección
Bancaja, Valencia, Spain. At the moment of his exile from Valencia, a kneeling morisco father bids
farewell to his daughter, who has been adopted by an Old Christian family. Detail from Pere
Oromig, Departure of the Moriscos from the Port of Valencia (1612–13). La Expulsión de los Moriscos
del reino de Valencia, 51–53. Valencia: Fundación Bancaja, 1997. Photographed by Juan García
Rosell and Gil Carles.
To my family
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
Prologue. The Formation of a Tridentine Bishop 1
1 Two Flocks, One Shepherd: Christians and Muslims in Valencia 9
2 The Limits of Episcopal Authority: The Pasquinades of 1570–1571 36
3 Reform by Other Means: The Colegio de Corpus Christi 58
4 From Moriscos to Moros: Ribera and the Baptized Muslims of Valencia 80
5 Disillusionment and Its Consequences: Ribera, Philip II,
and the Valencian Moriscos 106
6 Justifying the Expulsion: Ribera and Philip III 126
Conclusion. The Ideal Bishop and the End of Spanish Islam 151
Notes 159
Bibliography 215
Index 237
Illustrations appear following page 79
This page intentionally left blank
Preface
In February 1610, the archbishop of Valencia, Juan de Ribera, petitioned King
Philip III to close the schools in the capital city dedicated to educating the children
of moriscos, or baptized Muslims, in the Christian faith. Founded nearly a hundred
years earlier, these schools represented the hope that the children among this reli-
gious minority could be induced to lead Christian lives despite the widespread sur-
vival of Islamic practices among their parents. Early in his tenure as archbishop
(1568–1611), Juan de Ribera had demonstrated his belief in the possibility of con-
version by supporting these schools and reorganizing the parish system to place
priests in morisco areas throughout the diocese. Over time, however, Ribera de-
spaired of these projects and came to advocate instead the wholesale expulsion of
Spain’s three hundred thousand moriscos to North Africa, an event that came about
in 1609–14. His request of 1610 emerged from the ensuing debate over the fate of the
morisco children. Doubting that even four-year-olds separated from their parents
and immersed in Spanish society could be truly remade as Christians, Ribera at-
tempted to at least free himself of this financial burden by asking that all the chil-
dren from the morisco schools be placed in private homes.1 His cynicism on this
score in his last years of life reflected his belief that only total expulsion could free
Spain of any lingering morisco practices.
Ribera had another motive as well: closing the schools would allow him to divert
their rents to his prized foundation in the city of Valencia, the seminary and chapel
he christened the Colegio de Corpus Christi. Ribera’s relationship with the Catholic
majority in his diocese followed a very different trajectory from his increasing hos-
tility toward the moriscos. The so-called Old Christians, who claimed to be un-
tainted by Jewish or Moorish blood, distinguished themselves from the baptized de-
scendants of these other faiths, whom they referred to as New Christians. After
stumbling through an initial series of obstacles in the capital city, Ribera caught his
stride among the Old Christian community, modifying his program of reform to ac-
commodate the religious impulses of the Valencian laity. Through his patronage of