“Reading Aljamiado Mansucripts”
Mediterranean Studies Summer Skills Seminar
2—5 August 2022 • Remote
Course overview
In the decades following the conquest of Granada in 1492, the free Muslim (Mudéjar) communities of Christian Spain (Mudéjar) were subject to decrees that forced them to convert to Catholicism in 1502 (Castile), 1515 (Navarre) and 1526 (the Crown of Aragon). While some converted genuinely, most Moriscos continued to secretly practice Islam, or developed Islamic modes of religiosity inflected by Christianity and Judaism. In any event, conversion did not bring integration, and Moriscos (both converts and their descendants) continued to be subject to fiscal and legal discrimination, social marginalization, and cultural repression. Andalusi and Islamic cultural practices, including, the wearing of traditional clothes, halal butchery, traditional dances, music, and pastimes, would be eventually prohibited. From the 1560s the use of spoken and written Arabic was forbidden; however, most preserved Morisco texts were copied after that date.
Even prior to this, many or most Mudéjares spoke local Romance vernaculars, and in some areas Arabic had completely disappeared. Mudéjares in the Crowns of Aragon and Castile began writing in Aljamía - local vernaculars with some specific features using Arabic script. This movement gained momentum through the sixteenth century, and a particular variant of the Arabic alphabet developed here. Works produced in Aljamía included copies of the Qur’an, prophetic and sacred works, poetry and secular literature. These works constitute a vivid and unique source for the history and culture of the Mudéjar and Morisco communities of Early Modern Spain. [For more information, see N. de Castilla, “Uses and Written Practices in Aljamiado Manuscripts” and “Les emplois linguistiques et culturels derrière les textes aljamiados”.]
This four-day intensive skills seminar will provide participants with an overview of the interests and preoccupations of the Muslim communities of Aragon in the fifteenth, sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries, as expressed on their own terms, in their own texts, using this unique alphabetic system. We will read, discuss and analyze unpublished and published manuscript fragments held today in various archives and libraries around the world, from the perspective of literal meaning, linguistics, sociology, material culture, historical context, and so on. The focus is on “hands-on” skills, and we will read Aljamiado manuscripts together, progressing through increasingly challenging texts as the course proceeds and students’ abilities develop. The contents will be catered as much as possible to the participants’ interests and needs. Medievalists and Modernists in all fields, graduate students, and qualified undergraduate students, as well as library and archival professionals are encouraged to apply.
The goal is to provide participants with a solid foundation for reading and understanding the manuscripts and texts produced by these Muslim Spanish communities, essential to understand Spain in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. This course will not only further their own research but also provide them with a bona fide (in the form of a certificate of completion for those who attend the full seminar), which may be advantageous in securing grants or other funding for research and travel. The ability to do research with primary sources is a skill relatively few doctoral students master, and it enhances the research profile and CV of academic job-seekers.
Faculty
The course will be conducted by Prof. Nuria de Castilla (History of the Book in Arabic Script, École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL, Paris). A specialist in Arabic Manuscripts, her main research fields are Aljamiado Literature, Arabic Codicology and Paleography and Cultural History in Early Modern Europe, with special attention to Muslim-Christian relations.
Program
Tuesday, 2 August 2022
9am-11am; noon-2pm
1. Introduction. A Secret Culture in Golden Age Spain.
2. Let’s begin reading
Wednesday, 3 August 2022
9am-11am; noon-2pm
1. Travelling in Morisco times
2. While preaching in in the same period
Thursday, 4 August 2022
9am-11am; noon-2pm
1. Cornerstone
2. Other famous texts
Friday, 5 August 2022
9am-11am; noon-2pm
1. Problems with reading Aljamiado texts
2. Encore! The Qur’an in Mudéjar and Morisco communities
Participants
Susan Shoshan Abraham (Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese: University of Virginia)
Saqer A. Almarri (Humanities Research Fellowship for the Study of the Arab World: New York University Abu Dhabi)
Amanie Antar (History: Queen’s University)
Julia Banzi (Music: Portland State University, Lewis & Clark College, University of Portland)
Ilil Baum (The Buber Society of Fellows: The Hebrew Unirsity of Jerusalem)
Farah Bazzi (History: Stanford University)
Manuela Ceballos (Religious Studies: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Alvaro Garrote Pascual (Modern Languages: William & Mary)
Khadija Harsolia (Spanish Language and Culture: Soka University)
Alex Korte (University of Minnesota Department of Spanish and Portuguese)
Paige Milligan (late of Near East Studies: University of Michigan)
Clare O'Brien (Comparative Literature and Languages : University of California, Riverside)
Seher Rowther (World Languages and Culture: Chapman University)
Marina Schneider (Art History: University of Texas at Austin)
Elizabeth Spragins (Spanish: College of the Holy Cross)
Reem Taha (Comparative Literature: University of California, Santa Barbara)
Jessica Zeitler (UCATT: University of Arizona)
Some comments from participants:
”It is one of the best courses I have ever taken, and certainly the best zoom course I participate in! Nueria is so knowlegeable and built the course perfectly.”
“The idea for this course was a great one! For four days, we were introduced to an appropriate amount of material in a way that allowed us to quickly improve Aljamiado reading skills while learning about the codicology aspect of the field.”
“This course was phenomenal. Dr. Nuria's patience, knowledge and preparedness contributed so profoundly to my understanding of aljamiado and has helped improved my reading abilities. This will prove invaluable to my research and my own dissertation. I only wish that the course was offered for longer than 4 days...”
“Nuria is an incredibly organized, knowledgeable, and supportive person, just such an amazing guide for all the individuals interested in Aljamiado literature. Having the seminar on Microsoft Teams made it so much more convenient for us all to come together from different locations and since so many of the manuscripts were in the digital format, we were all able to refer to our screens. This course on Aljamiado literature is perfectly placed in the Mediterranean seminar. As my classmates and I discussed, the failure to fit Aljamiado literature into a neat nutshell of university disciplines as led to a lot of institutional obstacles for individuals ready to do the work. This skills seminar created a network that I really feel will lead to some great work being accomplished in the future.”
“Nuria is so lovely! And I really feel like I got a different perspective and a lot of good background info on some "canonical" texts, and on the texts we worked on in particular. The reading practice itself was very appropriately paced, ramping up over the 4 days, and doing it as group work was a wonderful experience, as other participants from different linguistic/academic backgrounds often would catch things you missed - we each brought something different to the task of reading.”
“Doctor de Castilla is incredibly knowledgeable, smart, and just as importantly, inviting. She is obviously an expert in her field as well as an effective teacher. I liked the lecture/group reading structure of the course, as it allowed me to learn both from her as well as the diverse professional experiences of my colleagues.”
“She provided everything we needed in terms of samples and bibliography. She was incredibly responsive and respectful of our time, and immensely patient with any of the technological hiccups we had. We completed every topic in the schedule she laid out for the course. It was intense, but Nuria made it very easy for us and the way she tied all the lectures, discussions and activities together made all the practical elements of transcribing the texts and the historical significance really hit home. Such an amazing experience.”