All Papal documents concerning statutes of cleanliness of blood
(limpieza de sangre) in Spain during the Sixteenth Century. Perhaps a
document dated may 20th 1548, emanating from the Pope Paul III. The
main object being the presence in Spain of "Moriscos", i.e. Moors
converted to the Christian religion.

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Request for Question Clarification by livioflores-ga on 18 Apr 2003 05:56 PDT

Hello Santiago!!

Please can you tell us what is the information that you need, and also
which is the format of the answer required (an essay, only a set of
links that lead you to articles referred to this topic, etc.)?
We need this in order to provide you with a proper answer, according
to your needs.
Thank you.
livioflores-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 24 Apr 2003 17:25 PDT

Santiago,

From the little I've discovered thus far, this appears a fascinating
chapter of history.

I haven't uncovered the papal documents.  But there are a number of
articles available that mention the Moors in the context of "limpieza
de sangre" [NOTE though, that I haven't actually read any of these
articles yet, so I won't know how closely they relate to your topic
until I actually look them over].

Some of the articles are listed below -- there are many more out there
as well.

Would any of this be of interest to you...perhaps a list of some key
articles from both the scholarly and popular press that discuss
limpieza de sangre and the history of the Moors in the 16th century?

If so, just let us know.


ARTICLES THAT DISCUSS THE MOORS AND LIMPIEZA DE SANGRE

--Spanish history and Sephardic influences: the positive influences of
Arab and Jewish cultures are much in evidence in Spain.

--Before the Moor's Last Sigh

--An Iberian chemistry

--The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision

--State and public sphere in Spain during the ancient regime; 16th to
18th century

--The rule of faith over reason: the role of the Inquisition in Iberia
and New Spain

--National character and national stereotypes.

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Request for Question Clarification by kriswrite-ga on 25 Apr 2003 11:46 PDT

Hi Santiago81~

The likelihood of finding *all* the papal documents concerning this
topic online is very slim. You may have to settle for a few, and/or
for articles related to the topic. Would this be acceptable?

kriswrite

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Clarification of Question by santiago81-ga on 26 Apr 2003 04:48 PDT

According to my information, statutes of "limpieza de sangre" were
implemented bythe "Consejo de la Corona" after the Pope Paul III gave
his blessing, on or about May 20 1548, to Charles V (First as King of
Spain) project to make it a law applicable in all Spain and in
whatever activity. Thereby, a purely religious problem became a racist
law: anyone, whether a sincere Catholic or not, having either Jewish
or Muslim ancestors, was barred from most if not all professions as
well as marriage. The important point is therefore to find out if
there is a papal document actually proving that Pope Paul III
officially approved the measure. Such a document, if it exists, should
be kept in the Vatican archives, if not as an original, at least as an
official copy of the original document. If not in the Vatican, the
next most obvious place should be some public archives in Spain. Then
again, such documents have often been taken out of Spain, so its
whereabouts are anybodies guess: Great Britain? France? America?
   Thankyou. Santiago81-ga. Question ID: 192168.

Hello santiago,

I hope you'll check back here (even though this question has expired)
because I heard from a contact about some good information pertaining
to your question.  In reply to my query to him on limpieza de sangre,
he replied:

I found an article by  James W. Reites, S.J., of the University of
Santa Clara entitled "St. Ignatius and the Jews," Studies in the
Spirituality of Jesuits, vol. 13:1981, pp. 1-48. I scanned the article
and have used it for study in a course I teach on Catholicism. It is
at my website http://www.loyno.edu/~nicoll,
under Catholicism. It is class 23 -- Jesuits and Jews). 

There are a number of references in the article, e.g., C. Roth, The
History of the Jews of Italy (Philadelphia, 1946) and  Bullarium
Romanum, VI, 498-499.
A full text and translation of the Paul IV's bull Cum Nimis Absurdum
(1555)  is available in K. Stow, Catholic Thought and Papal Jewry
Policy
1555-1593 (New York, 1977), pp. 291-298

That is the only document with which I am familiar but some of the
books mentioned in the article might give you some leads.

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Hope this helps.