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Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispnicos

The Treatment of the Jew and the Moor in the Catalan Works of Francesc EiximenisAuthor(s): DAVID J. VIERASource: Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispnicos, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Invierno 1985), pp. 203-213Published by: Revista Canadiense de Estudios HispnicosStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27762367 .Accessed: 06/06/2011 08:04

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DAVID J. IERA

The Treatment f the Jew nd the Moor inthe Catalan Works of Francese Eiximenis

Durante su vida Francese Eiximenis (1325-1409) recibi? muchos favores yhonores de los reyes de la Corona de Arag?n, quienes le ayudaron a

conseguir laMaestr?a en Teolog?a de laUniversidad de Tolosa. El rey Pedroel Ceremonioso apoy? el proyecto de la enciclopedia del fraile titulado ElCresti? (Elcristiano). La fama del franciscano creci? durante su estancia enValencia (1383-1408), ciudad ilustre que lleg? a su punto m?ximo en el

siglo XV.Eiximenis jug? un papel activo en esta ciudad y recibi? el apreciode los Jurados que gobernaban laciudad. Durante sus a?os en su ciudad

adoptiva pod?a observar lasminor?as jud?as ymoriscas. La influencia queejerci? este grupo fue tan evidente que el fraile describ?a Valencia comouna ciudad casi morisca.

Las ideas de Eiximenis sobre estas dos minor?as nos interesan no s?loporsu gran prestigio sino tambi?n porque reflejan actitudes del pueblo cristi

ano, de los jurados, y sobre todo de los burgueses y del clero hacia los dosgrupos, ideas que a veces contradicen las de losmonarcas catalanes, a

quienes Eiximenis tambi?n serv?a lealmente. Su silencio sobre losjud?os enel Llibre deis ?ngels (Libro de los ?ngeles) y las contradicciones queincorpora el Dotz? se pueden explicar por el saqueo del barrio jud?o de

Valencia en 1391.

The opinions expressed by Francese Eiximenis on the Jew re traditional, attimes ambiguous, and mirror popular prejudices; his attitude toward Islamis unfavorable. To arrive at Eiximenis, sentiments toward the Jew and

Muslim we must evaluate the way inwhich the Catalan friar treated bothgroups from theological, social, and historical perspectives. Regulations ofthe late medieval Church and the rulers of the kingdom of Aragon on thetwo races are reflected inthe opus of Eiximenis. Although much legislationand many opinions on the Jew are also applied to the Muslim, we willdiscuss both groups separately.

The works of Eiximenis present littleoriginality, for the medieval writersought to substantiate Christian beliefs and political ideas with quotationsfrom the Classical moralists, the Church Fathers, and monastic and medie

REViSTAanadiense de estudios hisp?nicos Vol. IX,No. 2 lnvierno1985

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val authorites. The Catalan friar, who admits ignorance of the Hebrewlanguage, had to rely on the Church Fathers and Jewish and Christian

authors such as Peter Martyr of Verona, Isidore of Sevile, Pon? Carbonell,Raymond Marti, and Josephus, the Hebrew historian, for his opinions onJudaism.1 A detailed reading of the Primer de Cresti? (1379-1381), however,reveals that Eiximenis drew upon Nicolaus de Lyra (c 1270-1349),2 aneminent French Franciscan who lived a generation before the Catalan,when confronted with arduous problems regarding the Jewish faith.

An attitude of apprehension toward Jews ispatent in Eiximenis' works,and the root of this suspicion lies in the fact that the Catalan friar held the

Jew responsible for the crucifixion of Christ,3 an act which must be punished. Jewish rejection of Christ's teachings (Primer, chs. 22, 71,117, 367)

and those of his disciples4 reinforces his resentment and leads to severalsimiles inwhich this race iscompared to stone, the cold, and must.5 Theyshun the sun (Christ) in their migratory movement from east to west(Primer, ch. 367), and

-quoting Augustine-are inneed of the candlelight

(faith) to view the sun.6 Along with the rejection of Christ and Christianity,Eiximenis attacked the Jew for another motive: hisOld Testament idolatry(Primer, chs. 116,120, 260, 263; Ter?, ch. 615).

In the Primer del Cresti?, Eiximenis proposes eight reasons for the"malicia judaica," which brought about the wrath of God: 1) the evil rootsof the Jewish race (i.e. illegitimate birth of some of its leaders); 2) the evilinfluence of the land (Jerusalem) on itspeople (repeated in the Ter?, ed.

Marti de Barcelona, , 14); 3) the celestial influence of Saturn (cold, sad,melancholic, dry), according to Ptolemy; 4) their rural and peasant origins(Eiximenis disliked the peasant class); 5) their proximity to evil people (i.e.the Egyptians); 6) the desire and accumulation of worldy goods (repeatedin the De vita Christi, fol. 267ro); 7) their freedom to tempt others (an evil

granted them by the devil); 8) their presumption (overconfidence inGodfor having made them the chosen people).

Despite this negative attitude, Eiximenis does take on an occasionalconciliatory stance toward Judaism for he sees in the Old Testament,Jewish institutions, and inmonotheism, a base on which Christianity hasbuilt. Jewish circumcision and Christian baptism are equated, althoughEiximenis condemns Jews for rejecting the latter rite (De vita Christi, fol.99). Other traditional views are expressed: Christianity tempered theseverity of the Mosaic lawwhile bringing it to completion; darkness andlight are used to compare the Old and New Testaments.7 In short, the

purpose of the discussion of Judaism in the Primer del Cresti?, and to alesser extent in the De vita

Christi,is to

provethat

Christianityisthe

onlytrue religion.Nolasc del Molar, who previously had studied the Jewish argument in

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thePrimer,

hadconcluded

thatthe

Catalan Friar notonly

scrutinizes thehistorical background of the Jewish faith s presented in theOld Testament,but indoing so he attacks Judaism as it xisted during his time.8 Eiximenislived at a time when anti-Semitism often ran rampant, as attested by the

sackings of thejewish quarter inBarcelona (1348,1391), the mutiny againstthe Jews in the rural areas such as Peratallada (1387), and the widespreaddestruction which took place throughout Iberia in 1391.9 Jill .Webster, anoted authority on the works of Eiximenis, has expressed surprise that theCatalan friar remains silent on the unrest and attacks on the Jews whichtook place at the height of his literary roduction.10 Two possible motives

have been suggested for the Franciscan's tolerance: 1) Eiximenis may havecome from Jewish stock; 2) he may have withheld negative opinions toconform to the monarchy's protective stance on Jews.11While the first

possibility isconjectural, the second theory deserves some attention, as theJews represented a substantial resource to the monarchy and the city of

Valencia. Indeed the sackings of 1391 in Barcelona and Valencia causedJohn and the city authorities of Valencia to react abruptly in defense ofthisminority group.12

In the Primer, the testimony of the Jew isdoubted:

...dels quals valdr?a m?s un testimoni que m?lia de gent incr?dula, bestial e folla, ax?com tostemps fonch la gent e p?ble dels jueus. (Primer, ch. 115)

To illustrate the deceit of the Jews, Eiximenis recounts an anecdote,taken perhaps from Peter Martyr of Verona, about a Jew who sold theRoman emperor to the devil.13 What especially disturbed the CatalanFranciscan was the vice of avarice and the practice of usury with which heidentified the Jew. The subject of usury brought out such racial slurs as

"jueu falsari per avaricia," "aquell orrible e malvai p?ble de Israel,"14 ndother opinions which reflect popular attitudes.15 In the Llibre de lesdones,the maiden is dvised to always avoid Jews and Muslims,16 a reflection ofthe segregation which existed during the time, which was mandatedby Papal decrees.17

Despite seemingly negative remarks, the attitude of Eiximenis towardthe Jew is t times ambiguous: rather than condemning the Jews, he hopesfor their salvation. Led by the prophecies of Joachim of Flora, Ubertino daCasale, John f Roquetaillade, and Arnau de Vilanova,18 Eiximenis believedthat the seventh seal or age of Christianity was approaching, which would

bring about peace, restore the Church to itsprimitive state, and bring anend to

Judaism.The Catalan friar

ponderedand wrote

extensivelyin the

Primer (chs. 102,204,405,270), Segon (ch. 66), Ter? (ed.M. de Barcelona, il,14),Dotz? (459-473), the Llibre dels ?ngels (treatise 5, ch. 34-43), and the De

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vita Christi, fol. 149voof Spanish translation,on

the conversion of the Jews,which some authors whom Eiximenis quotes believed to be at hand

(Dotz?, ch. 459,466).Despite Biblical references that Jewish lawand ceremonies would never

cease (Primer, ch. 205), Eiximenis expressed the opinion several times thatJewswould convert to Christianity and that the event would occur whenJerusalem was captured by Christians (Primer, ch. 270). In the meantime,

Christians were to simply tolerate Jews nd Moors (Primer, ch. 205; De vitaChrist, fol. 149vo). The conversion would take place in the near future

according to Eiximenis, for Christians would soon capture Jerusalem (Pri

mer, ch. 270).Nolasc del Molar, who wrote on the theme of prophetic tendencies and

the conversion of the Jews in Eiximenis' works,19 limited his analysis of the

topic to the Primer. Eiximenis announced that he would discuss this topicagain in Book vin, which he may have never written (Primer, ch. 204).However, in the Dotz?, the medieval friar complicated prophecies he hadmade in the Primer. Pere Bohigas' excellent article on the subject of

prophecies in the works of Eiximenis concludes that chapters 467-473 ofthe Dotz? were added at a later date (1391), perhaps due to a reprimandthe Franciscan may have received from John for prophecies favoring the

king of France20 as conqueror of infidels and sole monarch to rule theworld.

In the Dotz?, Eiximenis relinquishes (perhaps unwillingly) the beliefs of

Cyril (probably he meant the Catechetical Lectures of Cyril of Jerusalem),of John f Roquetaillade and others on the imminent conversion of Jews atthe death of Antichrist, the rule by one pope and one king or nationfollowed by the millennium, and he adopts instead the belief that after thedeath of Antichrist, a short grace period would be given to allow for Jewishconversion, which he specifies as forty days in the Llibre dels angels(treatise 5, ch. 42) and the final chapters of the Vida de ?esucrist, which

elaborate on the former chapter, during which time Jews would accostChristians, "axi com a cans rabiosos," to find out more about Christ.

Dr. Bohigas and others, having given their entire attention to the changein Eiximenis' political interpretation of the "Casal de Franca," failed tonotice another belief which may also have been brought about by theletter of John of November 17, 1391.21Reexamining the interpolated

chapters of the Dotz? (467-473), we find that the first three chaptersconvey two main ideas: 1) the center of Christianity will not be movedfrom Rome to Jerusalem; 2) Jewswill not convert to Christianity in a short

time,nor will

theyconvert at the death of

Antichrist,but rather

justbefore

the Last Judgment. Eiximenis then goes on to rectify his political stance inthe last three chapters (471-473).

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Eiximenis took up prophetic tendenciesin

the ilibre dels angels,written

in 1392, a year after he had composed the interpolated chapters of theDotz?, and in the Vida de Jesucrist,22 hich he brought about after thedeath of John (1395).These works are consistent with the aforementioned

interpolated chapters regarding Jewish conversion. Eiximenis falls backinto the Pseudo-Methodius prophecy, avoiding mention of Jerusalem asthe new seat of Christianity, the mass conversion of the Jews t the death of

Antichrist, and specific dates of future events.Given the fact that the chapters in the last three Catalan works appear on

or after 1391, we can posit several motives for the changes in Eiximenis7

interpretation of imminent Jewish conversion: 1) pressure put on the friarby John to change his interpretation of previous prophecies, especiallythose of the Dotz?; 2) sympathy toward the Jewish minority having witnessed the results of the sackings which took place in the Jewish quarter ofValencia, an event which had just occurred; 3) a desire to create a positiveattitude toward Jews among the Christian populace. Eiximenis' prophecyof the defeat of Antichrist and his Jewish followers and their conversionbefore the millennium may very well have irked John I,not to mention theJews of his kingdom whom he favored, all of whom had just witnesseddeath and devastation in the Jewish quarter of their cities.lt must also be

mentioned that Vincent Ferrer's vision of the Apocalypse and the flagellantmovement he led in southern Europe took place in 1396, after the death ofJohn . Ferrer, inone of his Sermons, condemned the 1391 destruction inthe Jewish quarters.23 Indeed there appear to be further motives to the

king's dissatisfaction with Eiximenis, prophecies than simply the latter'sfavoritism toward the French monarch.

In the Dotz? (chs. 165-170,470), Eiximenis upholds specific civil libertiesfor Jews and non-Christians, which can best be subdivided into two

categories: 1) Jews may not be forced to convert to Christianity; 2) Jewsmay own land, property, and non-Christian slaves. Although critics have

applauded these liberal principles in Eiximenis' works25 at a time when the

growth of anti-Semitism was evident, itmust be admitted that the Catalanfriar in the chapters just quoted was simply reiterating passages from theChurch Councils.25 Chapters 170 and 836 of the Dotz?, on the other hand,show the restrictive side of Eiximenis' attitude toward the Jew, again areflection of canon law in the works of the Franciscan, more specificallythe Council of Vienne's restraints on Jews and Muslims living inChristiandominated land. Itmust be admitted that some of the mandates, such asthose prohibiting Jewish physicians and statesmen to serve Christian

monarchs,were not followed

bythe Catalan rulers.26

owever, throughoutthe works of the Catalan friar, anon law has precedence over civil law.Francese Eiximenis envisioned his world as comprised of three major

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religions or "sects/' as he called them: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam(Primer, chs. 99,208), each of which corresponds to "les principals ?engues

del m?n, ax? com s?n Nati, hebraic e morisc."27 It is important to establishthis point, as medieval writers and legal documents classify Muslims aseither pagans28 or heretics.29 Although the Catalan friar referred toMuslims,for the most part, as "serrahins," a term also used inCatalan legal docu

ments of the time,30 he believed they should be called "agarens" or"isma?lites," for they owe their origins to Agar, the slave of Abraham, andIsmael, the illegitimate son of Abraham and Agar, not to Sara, Abraham's

wife (Primer, ch. 353).Despite occasional positive opinions on Moorish customs31 and beliefs

which Eiximenis derived from observing the Mudejares of his time, theCatalan author holds a negative concept of Islam,32 regarding it as the

leading enemy of Christianity. The terms used to describe the prophetMohammed are quite uncomplimentary: "un gran falsari ab ses falsesmaneres," "horn vii e orreu, sutze e abhominable," "damn?t et enemichde veritat" (Primer, ch. 63); "endiablat" (Primer, ch. 73); "fill de perdido"(Regiment de la cosa p?blica, pp. 16-17). The Koran is escribed as: "puresfalsies e oradures" (Primer, ch. 97); "gran volum ... en lo quai parla en

manera d'om ?xit de seny o qui ?s endiablat o embriach" (Primer, ch. 97).33Eiximenis' negativism toward Islam isbased on historical motives and

Islamic beliefs which came down to him, not by a direct reading of theKoran or the Sunna but, as Enrico Cernili has indicated, through Latin orRomance sources: The Libro della Scala, Augustine's De Civitate Dei, the

Legenda Aurea of Jacobo da Voragine, the works of Arnau de Vilanova,especially the Confessi? de Barcelona and the Tractatus de mysterio cynbalorum, and several French "chansons."34 To Eiximenis, Islam was con

ceived by a deceiver, Mohammed, who selected beliefs and traditionsfrom Judaism and Christianity to draw disciples from each faith (Primer, ch.

96).35The Catalan friar found inMohammed's idea of a material heaven,

replete with sensual pleasures, an absurd and appalling belief (Primer, chs.22,101). As in the case of the Jew, Eiximenis sought the works of astrologerslike Ptolemy to explain the "evil" of the Moor: "els pus ergullosos, els pus

vans e mundanals h?mens del m?n, carnals, pereosos e maliciosos e

envejosos contra tota secta del m?n" (Primer, ch. 125).Whereas avarice is

given as the leading vice of the Jew, an inordinate desire for sexualsatisfaction issaid to be the major defect in the Moor, which isdue to theinfluence of the planet Venus (Primer, chs. 100-103,183, 208).36

The Muslim is less desirable than the Jew to Eiximenis and to another

medieval Hispanic author, Alfonso x,el Sabio, for nother apparentreason :

Islam depended on military force to extend its territory, religion andinfluence.37 In rder to counteract Muslim expansion, Eiximenis approved

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and preached in favor of the Crusades.38 The Catalan Franciscan spenttwenty-five years (1383-1408), the most productive and influential years ofhis life, inValencia, a city he described as "quasi morisca" (Regiment de lacosa p?blica, p. 19). The situation of the Mud?jar community of this cityand province, which John Boswell has recently described (see footnote26), no doubt affected Eiximenis' concept of Islam. Historically, the eventswhich took place in the Kingdom of Aragon during the Catalan friar's

lifetime, more specifically, the Mud?jar revolt (1364)39and the Mudejardefection during the War with Castile (1356-65),40 in no small measuremust have added to his negativism. In the famous chapter on "Les especi?isbelleses de Val?ncia," Eiximenis is somewhat negative on the influence of

Moorish culture inValencia (Regiment, pp. 16, 27).The privileges and obligations of the Muslim conform to Eiximenis'

interpretation of canon lawand therefore closely overlap those pertainingto the Jewwhich were previously cited. The Catalan Franciscan specifiesthat Jews could own land, provided that ithad not previously belonged to

Christians (Dotz?, ch. 99), a reflection of the Council of Vienne's decrees of1311-12; another reflection of this Council's decisions was the prohibitionof Islamic religious manifestations, which were not prohibited in the legalcode until 1403when Martin condemned these outward religious practices.41 Eiximenis also advocates that Muslims inChristian territory be prevented from carrying arms42 (Primer, ch. 103; Regiment de la cosa p?blica,pp. 18-19), again voicing sections of canon law, while the legal codevacillated in regard to both prohibitions.43

Eiximenis insisted several times in his works that Islam would be extin

guished from the face of the earth in short time (Primer, chs. 71,102-103,207, 247; Regiment de la cosa p?blica, p. 36). As in the case of the Jew,Eiximenis modifies predictions of a general conversion based on Cyril ofJerusalem, which was to take place at the end of the fourteenth century.He

reluctantly acknowledgesthe

growthof Islam

duringhis time, a fact

which contradicted Cyril's prophecy (Dotz?, ch. 469). However, the Catalanfriar oes not, as in the case of the Jews, soften his attitude toward Islam inthe interpolated chapters of the Dotz? (chs. 467-473), written in 1391, norin the Llibre dels angels, written the following year.44

The role of conqueror of Islam isnow assigned to the Christian kingdoms of Spain (Llibre dels angels, tr. 5, ch. 38), and France isdenied her

place in the conquest.45 It is urious that although Eiximenis resorts to thePseudo-Methodius prophecy, which was originally diffused to console

Syrian Christians of the seventh and eighth centuries living under Muslim

oppression,46 his principal preoccupation appearsto

be the role of theJews. References to the conquest of Islam appear in the Llibre dels angels(tr. , chs. 55, 57; tr. 5, ch. 38-40, 55) but are completely absent in the final

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chapters of the Vida de fesucrist, although Eiximenis assures us in bothworks that Mohammed will be cast into hell in the company of Lucifer,Judas, and Antichrist (Llibre dels ?ngels, tr. 4, ch. 55, 57). In the Vida dejesucrist this reference appears in the chapter on the fifteen signs of the

Apocalypse.The attitude toward the Jew and the Muslim in the works of Eiximenis

reflects traditional and popular beliefs and prejudices of the Christian

populace. However, his opinions were conditioned and to a large extent

tempered by canon law,which rejected forced conversion and allowedthe ownership of property, and by the Catalan monarchs such as Peter m

and John I,who were tolerant in their dealings with both groups.Eiximenis may have lacked the apostolic zeal of Vincent Ferrer, or

perhaps the difference lies in the diverse attitude and dynamism withwhich the Franciscan and Dominican orders pursued the conversion ofJews and infidels and an end to heretical sects and doctrines. Therefore,

one must not condemn our Catalan friar for making apocalyptic prophecies, nor should this aspect inhis vast literary roduction be regarded as adefect48 which is en oposici? amb el seny pr?ctic i l saber viure."49 The

tendency to prophesy came from a preoccupation with morality at a timeof change in the socio-economic structure of southern Europe and theconviction of the need for conversion or elimination of all dissidents,which became an obsession not only for Eiximenis, but also for VincentFerrer in 1398, aswell as other contemporaries of the Catalan friar. herefore, the eschatological euphoria in the works of Francese Eiximenis mustbe viewed in this light nd not as aweakness in the Catalan friar's haracter.Convinced that Christianity was the only means of salvation, Eiximenis

ardently desired the conversion of Jews nd infidels, unlike other moralistsof the Middle Ages who either condemned all Jews and infidels r, likehis

predecessor Catalan Dominican Ramon Marti,50 believed that only a fewwould be saved. Salvation was the

greatest privilegeof humankind which

was not to be denied any group. Judged from a fourteenth-centuryperspective, the attitude toward the Jew and Muslim in the works ofFrancese Eiximenis, despite popular prejudices, reflects the lofty ense of

justice and humane treatment which characterize the opus of our CatalanFranciscan.

Tennessee Technological University

NOTES1 See our more detailed study on the topic: "Francese Eiximenis, O. F.M. y la lengua

hebrea," Balmesiana (1983), 151-53. Regarding the last two authors, Eiximenis appears to

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have known Mart?'s Pugeo F/de/' nd Joseph us; De Bello Judaico. It lso appears thatEiximenis may have used the Contra perfidiam Judaeorum of Peter of Blois, especiallychs. 3-5, in his f nal chapters of the Primer in his comparison of the Tetragrammaton andIHUH orjahweh.

2 The treatise Disputatio contra perfidiam Judaeorum was well known in the Middle

Ages. Edward A. Gosselin, "A Listing of the Printed Editions of Nicolaus de Lyra/; Traditio, 26 (1970), 39^-426.

3 This aspect isparticularly apparent in the Primer del Cresti? (Valencia: Lambert Palmart,1483), chapters 71,116, 204, 266, 367, 369, and the De vita Christi (Spanish translation:

Granada: Meinart Ungut, 1496, fols. 89ro, 116vo).4 In the Primer, ch. 204, Eiximenis holds the Jew specifically responsible for the stoning of

St. Steven and the death of James the Less.

5 De vita Christi, ch. 350; Primer, ch. 119.6 De vita Christi, fol. 253ro. On fol. 27ro, Eiximenis recalls the Biblical reference to the Jews

being "llenos de musto."7 De vita Christi, fol. 239.8 "Francisco Eiximenis y los 'espirituales.' Sobre un cap?tulo de ordenaci?n jer?rquica,"

Miscell?nea de Melchor de Pobladura (Roma, 1964), i, 55.9 Antoni Rovira iVirgili, Historia nacional de Catalunya (Barcelona, 1928), v, 547-50; J.

Amador de losR?os, Historia social, pol?tica y religiosa de los jud?os de Espa?a y Portugal(Madrid, 1960), 466; Ferran Soldevila, Historia de Catalunya (Barcelona, 1962), u, 503-04;

Carmen Battle Gallart, La crisis social y econ?mica de Barcelona amediados del siglo xv

(Barcelona, 1973), i, 107-08; J.N. Hillgarth, The Spanish Kingdoms (1250-1516) (Oxford,1978), 136-37.

10 Francese Eiximenis, "Edition of the Dotz? del Cresti?," (Diss: Toronto, 1969), 4.11 Ibid., 26-27.12 Amador de los R?os, 470-471; Andr?s Ivars, "El escritor Fr. Francisco Exim?nez en Valen

cia (1383-1408), "Archivo Ibero-Americano, 15 (1921), 305, 321.13 Francese Eiximenis, Contes i Faules, ed. M. Oliver (Barcelona, 1925), 85.14 Ibid.; also consult F. Elias y Tejada, Historia del pensamiento pol?tico catal?n (Sevilla,

1965), ni, 141. Eiximenis lashed out against the practice of usury in the Ter? (ed. Mart? de

Barcelona), (Barcelona, 1932), in, 2, and Regiment de la cosa p?blica, ed. Daniel deMolins de Rei (Barcelona, 1927), 173-76. Also see JillR.Webster, "Francese Eiximenis on

Royal Officials," Medieval Studies, 31 (1969), 247^9. This attitude is vident in Spain atthe time: Francisco Cantera, "La usura jud?a en Castilla," La ciencia tomista, 43 (1931), 10.

15Josep

Torres iBages,

La tradici? catalana(Barcelona, 1935),

n, 108.16 Lo libre de lesdones, ed. Frank Naccarato, revised by Curt J. ittlin and Antoni Comas

(Barcelona, 1981), ,31.17 Solomon Grazel, The Church and the Jews in the Thirteenth Century (New York, 1966),

184^85, 204-05; A. A. Neuman, The Jews of Spain (New York, 1970), n, 11-12, 200, 248-49;Robert I,Burns, Islam under the Crusaders (Princeton, 1973), 163.

18 The leading studies on the prophetic tendencies in Eiximenis are given in their orderof importance: Pere Bohigas, "Prediccions iprofecies en lesobres de fra FranceseEiximenis," Franciscalia (Barcelona, 1928), 23-38; J. . Pou i art?, "Visionarios

beguinos y fraticelos catalanes," Archivo Ibero-Americano, 23 (1925), 349-69; Tom?sCarreras y Artau, "Fray Francisco Eiximenis: su significaci?n religiosa, filos?fico-moral,pol?tica y social," Anales del Instituto de Estudios Gerundenses, (1946), 270-93.

19 Nolasc del Molar, 1,263-64.20 Bohigas, 31-34; a subsequent study by Bohigas continues this thesis: "Profecies deMerlin," Butllet?de la Biblioteca de Catalunya, 8 (1929-33), 275-79. Soldevila, , 104,states that "Juan de Aragon fue el ?nico rey que castig?, condenando a la?ltima

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pena a no pocos de la culpables. Pero algunas aljamas, como la de Barcelona, ya no

resurgieron." He was thus the only king to punish those responsible for the sackingsof 1391.

21 Antoni Rubio iLluch, Documents per Thist?ria de la cultura migeval (Barcelona,1908-21), , 372-73.

22 Two different dates are given: Rubio iLluch, ii, 06-96, established itswriting at 1404,whereas Marti de Barcelona, "Fra Francese Eiximenis. O. M. (1340?-1409?)," Estudis

Franciscans, 40 (1928), 472-73, insisted on 1397-98. John died in 1395.23 Roque Chabas, "Estudio sobre los sermones de San Vicente Ferrer, que se conservan

manuscritos en laBiblioteca de la Bas?lica Metropolitana de Valencia, "Revista de

Archivos, Bibliotecas yMuseos, 8 (1903), 124-25.24 Eduardo de

Hinojosa,Obras de Eduardo de

Hinojosa (Madrid, 1948),i,

7-70; J.H.

Probst, "Francesch Eiximeni?. Ses id?es politiques et sociales, "Revue Hispanique, 39

(1917), 54. Jews and Muslims were not allowed Christian slaves for fear of proselytism(Neuman, n, 94; Grazel, 171-73).

25 For Papal decrees against forced conversion see Neuman, n, 188- 9; this attitude of

leniency is lso apparent in the Papal Bull of the Spanish anti-Pope Benedict :Nolasc de Molar, Eiximenis (Olot, 1962), 17.

26 Jews were not allowed to hold public office nor serve as physicians to monarchs:

Grazel, 187-88, 298-99. Spanish rulers, however, ignored the latter decree: Grazel,154-55; Neuman, n, 214-15; Burns, 254; Hillgarth, 135. Jews also served as taxcollectors and liaisons between the Muslim and Christian communities of Valencia;John Boswell, The Royal Treasure, Muslim Comunities under the Crown of Aragon in

the Fourteenth Century (New Haven, 1977).27 Regiment de la cosa p?blica, ed. Molins de Rei, 35.28 Boswell, pp. 164, 374; Albert I.Bagby, Jr., The Moslem in the Cantigas of Alfonso , l

Sabio," Kentucky Romance Quarterly, 20 (1973), 184-90.29 Enrico Cernili, Nuove richerche sul libro della Scala e la conoscenza dell'Islam in

Occidente (Citt? del Vaticano, 1972), 77. The Islamic belief in material paradisebrought about the concept of Islam as a pagan belief, whereas Islamic monotheismand the denial of the crucifixion led some to believe it as a heresy. Eiximenis clearlyseparates Islam from the heresies of his time: see De vita Christi, fol. 319ro and the

Primer, ch. 99.30 Burns, p. 64.31 Eiximenis admired the solemnity with which Muslim women enter the mosque and

the fact that non-Muslims are denied entrance (Primer, ch. 228), their judicial system(Regiment de la cosa p?blica, 154-55), their eating habits (7er?, in, 185), their dress

(Dotz?, ch. 208, Dones, ch. lvi), their respect for Mary (De vita Christ, fol. 13ro) and

regard for Christ as a prophet (Primer, ch. 99). He may also have believed that theidiom spoken by the Mud?jares influenced the language spoken among the

Christians of Valencia (Regiment, 35). The rigorous military training of Muslim youth is

applauded (Dones, ch. clxxi).32 Nolasc del Molar, "Francese Eiximenis y los 'espirituales/" 255-56; also see his "Un

altre volum d'Eiximenis," Estudis Franciscans, 44 (1932), 410-411.33 In the Primer, ch. 97 et seq., Mohammed is referred to as "lo malestruch," "malvat,"

"astut e savi en ... art de nigromancia e fonch gran encantador," "mogut de spirit deambici? e de sup?rbia," "fill del pare de mon?onega," "om ?xit de seny o que esendiablat o embriach," "fill del diable," "fill del peccat e dexeble del demoni." In theLTibre dels angels (tr. 4, ch. 57), he isunwillingly dragged into hell by Antichrist.

34 Cernili, 41-77.

8/2/2019 eiximinis

12/12

213

35 Also see Francese Eiximenis, "Ter? del Cresti?: Edition and Study of Sources," ed. j. E.Gracia (Diss: Toronto, 1971), 377.

36 Moors are also described as being fickle (Primer, ch. 208). Although Mohammed wasconsidered a trickster and traitor, Eiximenis does not insist that Moors in general are

guilty of these "vices", as does Alfonso x, el Sabio: Bagby, 181-83.37 Primer, ch. 72,103; Albert I.Bagby, Jr., Alfonso x, el Sabio, compara moro y jud?os,"

Romanische Forschungen, 82 (1970), 583.38 Dotz?, ch. 168; Regiment, ed. Molins de Rei, 16-17; Andr?s Ivars, Dos creuades

valenciano-mallorquines a les costes de Berber?a ( 397-99), (Valencia, 1921), xxii et

seq.39 Leopoldo Poles Ros, Estudio documental sobre el Bayle General de Valencia

(Valencia, 1970), 299, note 819.40 Boswell, 391-94. Eiximenis was no doubt aware of the deaths of two Franciscans at the

hands of Valencian Moors which had occurred years before: Le?n Amor?s, "Lossantos m?rtires franciscanos B. Juan de Perusa y B. Pedro de Saxoferrato en la historiade Teruel," Teruel, 15 (1956), 5-142.

41 Hillgarth,130; Burns, 187-88,196.42 Rovira iVirgili, v, 550.43 Boswell, 172-93,286-93.44 "El Llibre dels ?ngels de Fr. Francisco Exim?nez y algunas versiones castellanas del

mismo," Archivo Ibero-Americano, 19 (1923), 108-24.45 Bohigas, Franciscalia, 24-25, 34; Dotz?, ch. 471; Llibre dels ?ngels, tr. 5, ch. 38-40, 55. It

is urious that Eiximenis had previously stated that the kingdom of Aragon as well as

the kingdom of France would eliminate Islam (Primer, ch. 247).46 Leonard Cohn, The Pursuit of the Millenium (London, 1962), 17,146-47: the last two

pages outline a renewed interest in certain sections of the Pseudo-Methodius

prophecy which occurred inThuringia at the time Eiximenis wrote the Llibre dels

angels and the Vida de Jesucrist.47 See two studies by Robert I. Burns, "Christian-Islamic Confrontation in the West,"

American Historical Review, 76 (1971), 1384-1434, and The Crusader Kingdom ofValencia. Reconstruction of a Thirteenth-century Frontier (Princeton, 1973). See

Chapter .

48 Pou iMart?, 368.49 Bohigas, Franciscalia, 38.50 A. Lukyn Williams, Adversus judaeos. A Bird's-eye View of Christian "Apologiae"

until the Renaissance (Cambridge, 1935), 248-55.