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This book explores two areas of interest: the Papal Inquisition in Modena and the status of Jews in an early modern Italian duchy. Its purpose is to deepen existing insights into the role of the former and thus lead to a better understanding of how an Inquisitorial court assumed jurisdiction over a practising Jewish community in the seventeenth century. The book highlights one specific aspect of the history of the Jews in Italy: the trials of professing Jews before the Papal Inquisition at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Inquisitorial processi against professing Jews provide the earliest known evidence of a branch of the Papal Inquisition taking judicial actions against Jews on an unprecedented scale and attempting systematically to discipline a Jewish community, pursuing this aim for several centuries. The book focuses on Inquisitorial activity during the first 40 years of the history of the tribunal in Modena, from 1598 to 1638, the year of the Jews' enclosure in the ghetto, the period which historians have argued was the most active in the Inquisition's history. It argues that trials of the two groups are different because the ecclesiastical tribunals viewed conversos as heretics but Jews as infidels. The book emphasizes the fundamental disparity in Inquisitorial procedure regarding Jews, as well as the evidence examined, especially in Modena. This was where the Duke uses the detailed testimony to be found in Inquisitorial trial transcripts to analyse Jewish interaction with Christian society in an early modern community.
3 The Jewish household: Jewish masters and Christian servants There are more Inquisitorial processi against Jews for hiring Christian servants than for any other breach of ecclesiastical regulations. It was an offence that alarmed Inquisitors, implying intimate contact between a Jewish master and a subordinate Christian behind closed doors, in the private space of a Jewish household, and as such representing an unknown level of promiscuity. When Christian servants entered Jewish households they became exposed to the Jewish family’s daily routine and the real
. In Modena, Jews were accused of a number of offences, which included employing Christian servants and wetnurses, irreverently cursing, dissuading other Jews from being baptized, desecrating Christian images, disturbing Christian prayer, fraternizing with Christians, possessing prohibited books, proselytizing, obstructing the work of the Holy Office, building synagogues without licences, sexual intercourse with Christians, abusing the Christian sacraments, threatening neophytes, maleficio, astrology and divination. Most of these offences, the Inquisition argued, had
religionists and neophytes. Here delations were driven by intra-community tensions, anger, frustration or vengeance. Jews delated a variety of offences including blasphemy, desecration of images, possession of prohibited books, hiring of Christian servants and wetnurses, hampering the work of the Inquisition and the moves of neophytes towards Judaism. Some Jews even delated on more than one occasion. Although these delations were in general unreliable, since only five of the sixteen ended in conviction, their actions still speak of a certain mastery of the larger culture and
1604. Dramatis personae of the processo of Viviano Sanguinetti Archangelo Calbetti de Recanati – Inquisitor General of Modena from 1600 to 1607. Viviano Sanguinetti – a Jewish banker. Miriana Sanguinetti – daughter of Viviano Sanguinetti. Ludovico Mirandola – Miriana’s Christian admirer. Aron-Beller_01_TextAll.indd 168 18/02/2011 14:22 the jew’s balcony 169 Alberto de Bassio – Miriana’s Christian tailor. Dr Paulo Emilio – Miriana’s Christian clavichord teacher. Caterina de Bonai – a Christian servant in a neighbouring house. Sebastiano de Ludignani – a 26–year
generally confined itself to offences listed Aron-Beller_01_TextAll.indd 55 18/02/2011 14:22 56 the inquisition and disciplining jews Table 1 Types of offence for which professing Jews were prosecuted by the Modenese Inquisition in 1598–1638 Type of offencea Employing Christian servants Blasphemyb Dissuading others from being baptized Possessing prohibited books Fraternizing/dining with Christians Desecrating Christian images Proselytizing Obstructing work of the Holy Office Employing Christian wetnurses Building a new synagogue without licences Sexual relations
grida (proclamation) that in particular demanded that Jews wear a distinguishing sign upon their clothing – as had Pope Paul IV, fifteen years earlier in his bull Cum nimis absurdum, which reinitiated this medieval ruling – as a means of visual discrimination.39 The grida also stated that besides Jewish men wearing a special hat, and women a badge on their clothing, Jews were not allowed to let Christian servants stay in their homes. There is little indication that these rulings were enforced, and the same edict was renewed in 1602 and again in 1620.40 On 31 January
Inquisitorial order, being accused with other Christians of fraternizing with Jews and attending a wedding in the house of the Jew Giuseppe Melli in the company of some twenty Christian friends.14 In this same category of offence, two Jews were accused of bringing Christians into their synagogues. Simone Sanguinetti admitted in 1627 that his wife had told their Christian servant Giulia, wife of Giovanni Lotti, to bring two of his four small children into the Sanguinetti synagogue in Modena. Although Simone and the Christian servant Giulia were imprisoned during the
be returned to the condition of serfs, without any appeal. 19 XI About the rape of virgins If anyone presumes to rape holy virgins veiled by God, even for the purpose of marriage, he shall suffer capital punishment, or other penalty which royal censure shall decree. 20 XII 21 No Jew or pagan shall dare either to buy or sell Christian servants
-based ‘Lady Resident’, writing in the 1860s, voiced her strong reservations about ‘native’ Christians. She revealed that she and her husband had been ‘robbed and cheated’ so often by Christian servants, that it had made her ‘resolve[d] never to engage another’ again, preferring ‘unmitigated heathens’ as servants – even ‘at the risk of scandalizing a