Heretics or Daughters of Israel? The Crypto-Jewish Women of Castile

Between 1391 and the close of the fifteenth century, large numbers of Jews in Spain were baptised, mostly under coercion. Before and after 1492, the year Jews were formally expelled from Spain, many of these converts kept hidden ties to their former faith while outwardly following Catholicism.

Renee Levine Melammed works through the Inquisition's own records to study the crypto-Jewish women of Castile and how they lived their faith in secret. Her focus on women brings out a side of this history that is easy to miss in accounts centred on men and institutions.

Readers of medieval and early modern Spanish history, Jewish studies and women's history will find the book especially relevant.

Edition note: published by Oxford University Press. ISBN-13: 9780195151671.