Mozarabs in Medieval and Early Modern Spain

172 Pages·2008·1.11 MB·English

by  Richard Hitchcock

MOZARABS IN MEDIEVAL AND
EARLY MODERN SPAIN
For Molly, Clem and Grace, and above all, for Meg
Mozarabs in Medieval and
Early Modern Spain
Identities and Influences
RICHARD HITCHCOCK
University of Exeter, UK
© Richard Hitchcock 2008
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Richard Hitchcock has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
Ashgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing Company
Gower House Suite 420
Croft Road 101 Cherry Street
Aldershot Burlington, VT 05401–4405
Hampshire GU11 3HR USA
England
Ashgate website: http://www.ashgate.com
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Hitchcock, Richard
Mozarabs in medieval and early modern Spain : identities and influences
1. Mozarabs 2. Mozarabs – Spain –Andalusia 3. Christianity and other religions – Spain
– History – To 1500 4. Islam – Spain – Relations – Christianity 5. Spain – Religious life
and customs 6. Spain – History – 711–1516
I. Title
274.6’03

ISBN 978–0–7546–6314–0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hitchcock, Richard.
Mozarabs in medieval and early modern Spain : identities and influences / Richard
Hitchcock.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978–0-7546–6314–0 (alk. paper)
1. Mozarabs. 2. Christians – Spain. 3. Spain – Church history.
I. Title.
BR1024.H58 2007
305.9’27009460902–dc22 2007023181
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
Contents
Introduction: The Terminological Question ix
1 Meaning and Origins 1
2 Muslims and Christians in al-Andalus in the Early Eighth Century 7
3 The Case of Córdoba in the Ninth Century 25
4 Christians in Córdoba 41
5 Mozarabism in León I: Arabic Nomenclature 53
6 Mozarabism in León II: Mozarabs 69
7 Mozarabs in Toledo 75
8 Mozarabs in Aragón 99
9 Mozarabs after 1492 109
Postscript 129
Bibliography 131
Index 147
Map 1 The territory of al-Andalus in the tenth century
Map 2 Mozarabic churches and others in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula in the tenth century
This page intentionally left blank
Introduction
The Terminological Question
When my late friend and colleague M.A. Shaban embarked on the long and
arduous journey into the origins of the Islamic revolution, he made the following
observation about his own modus operandi: ‘Considerable care has been taken to
ascertain the exact meaning and to define the precise use of important terms
used by the compilers of the sources and the authorities they quote.’1 Later on
he elaborated on this: ‘The meaning of such terms varied from place to place and
often enough changed over the centuries, and it is of vital importance to examine
systematically these changes in order to obtain proper understanding of the
source material.’2 One such ‘important term’ is the subject of this book, and the
warnings voiced by Shaban have been taken to heart. The interpretation that is
presented for the word ‘Mozarab’ is one that is believed to fit the variegated data
afforded by sources, which themselves can only considered to be exceptionally
heterogeneous.3
The origin of the word ‘Mozarab’ is musta‛rib, active participle, or musta‛rab,
passive participle of the tenth derived form of the Arabic root ‛araba, meaning in
the active sense, ‘to make oneself similar to the Arabs’, and in the passive, ‘having
assimilated Arabic customs’, or, most specifically designating someone who had
the appearance of an Arab, was indistinguishable from Arabs, and would not stand
out in a crowd of Arabs.4 Phonetically, the passive participle would appear to be
the more probable etymon, in view of the post-tonic ‘a’, and this supposition is
supported by entries in early vocabularies.5 Arabic dictionaries are unanimous
1 M.A. Shaban, Islamic History AD 600–750 (AH 132). A New Interpretation, Cambridge:
University Press, 1971, p. viii.
2 M.A. Shaban, Islamic History. A New Interpretation. 2. AD 750–1055 (AH 132–448),
Cambridge: University Press, 1976, p. ix.
3 The nature of these sources has been subject to much revision and scrutiny over
the past thirty years. See the article by Norman Daniel, published posthumously: ‘Spanish
Christian Sources of Information about Islam (ninth–thirteenth centuries)’, al-Qanṭara,
XV (1994), 366–84; P.S. Van Koningsveld, ‘Christian-Arabic Manuscripts from the Iberian
Peninsula and North Africa: A Historical Interpretation’, al-Qanṭara, XV (1994), 423–51;
Actas del I Congreso Nacional de Cultura Mozárabe,Córdoba, 27–30 April 1995, Córdoba: Cajasur,
1996.
4 Juan Corominas, Diccionario crítico etimológico de la lengua castellana, Berne: Francke,
1954, I, p. 244b.
5 Pedro de Alcalá, Vocabulista aravigo en letra castellana,Granada, 1505, ed. Pauli Lagarde,
Gottingae: Arnold Hoyer, 1883: ‘Arabigo Musta’arabi’ (p. 103, line 23), unpaginated MS in
the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid, (R2209), and Federico Corriente, El Léxico árabe andalusí
según P. de Alcalá,Madrid: Universidad Complutense, 1988, p. 134; Vocabulista in Arabico, ed. C.