THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Spain: Nationalism and the Rejection of the Morisco “Other” A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures School of Arts and Sciences Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © All Rights Reserved By Kathleen E. Bartels Washington, DC 2013 One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Spain: Nationalism and the Rejection of the Morisco “Other” Kathleen E. Bartels, Ph.D. Director: Lourdes M. Alvarez, Ph.D. In the latter half of the sixteenth century, Spain’s Catholic rulers faced a problem of their own making: having forced Spain’s remaining Muslim population to convert to Christianity, these rulers now suspected that these converts, known as Moriscos, were not faithful to the crown or to their newly-adopted Catholic faith. Decades of political and theological debate concerning the Moriscos’ ensued, only to be resolved when King Philip III, in 1609, finally determined to expel the Moriscos, aiming to rid the Iberian Peninsula of their purportedly destabilizing influence. The decision was not universally popular, and out of concern that the expulsion could be undone, several clerics and men of political influence became apologists for the massive deportation campaign, justifying the expulsion and glorifying its results. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore how the treatises of the apologists Pedro Aznar Cardona (Expulsión justificada de los Moriscos españoles), Damián Fonseca (Justa expulsión de los moriscos de España), Marcos de Guadalajara y Javier (Memorable expulsión y justísimo destierro de los Moriscos de España and Prodición y destierro de los moriscos de Castilla hasta la Valle de Ricote), and Jaime Bleda (Crónica de los Moros de España) provide a foundation for the formation of a Spanish national identity based on a shared Catholic faith. This study specifically examines the apologists’ rhetorical strategies and goals, exploring the ways in which they seek to establish Morisco otherness as a means of reinforcing the institutional hegemony of the Catholic faith. The apologists hope to persuade their Catholic audience of the risks to their physical and spiritual safety if Moriscos were to return to the Peninsula, thereby safeguarding their ideal Spanish Catholic nation from future contamination. This dissertation by Kathleen E. Bartels fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in Spanish approved by Lourdes M. Alvarez, Ph.D. as Director, and by Bruno M. Damiani, Ph.D. and Peter Shoemaker, Ph.D. as Readers. Lourdes M. Alvarez, Ph.D., Director Bruno M. Damiani, Ph.D., Reader Peter Shoemaker, Ph.D., Reader ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements............................................................................................................. v Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Parameters for the Faith.............................................................................. 17 Why Apologize? ........................................................................................................... 17 The Moriscos in Scholarship ........................................................................................ 27 Archbishop Juan de Ribera and the Catholic Apologists ............................................. 31 The Islamic Threat ........................................................................................................ 41 Construction of an Essentially Catholic Spain ............................................................. 49 Catholic Christianity Under Siege ................................................................................ 60 Chapter Two: Cultures in Contact .................................................................................... 74 Arguing Against a Hybrid Space .................................................................................. 74 Francisco Núñez Muley and the Argument for Cultural Hybridity.............................. 77 Cultures in Contact and Anxiety in the Wake of Forced Conversion .......................... 84 Chapter Three: Delimiting Sacred Space........................................................................ 109 Perceived Threats to Catholic Sacred Structures, Objects, and Rituals...................... 109 Debating the Legitimacy of Religious Symbols ......................................................... 113 Delimiting Sacred Space............................................................................................. 118 Sacramental Activity................................................................................................... 120 Sacred Structures ........................................................................................................ 139 A Threat to National Identity...................................................................................... 153 Chapter Four: A Culture of Fear..................................................................................... 162 A Difficult Decision.................................................................................................... 162 Economic Distress ...................................................................................................... 167 A State of Fear: East vs. West and La Turbación Quotidiana ................................... 183 Fear of the End of Days .............................................................................................. 199 Antichrist on Spanish Terrain ..................................................................................... 206 Unity Threatened ........................................................................................................ 226 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 228 iii Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 241 iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank my dissertation committee members and readers Dr. Peter Shoemaker, Dr. Bruno M. Damiani, Rev. John T. Ford, and Dr. Enrique Pumar for their insightful comments and encouragement. I am especially grateful for the guidance of my advisor, Dr. Lourdes M. Alvarez, who stuck with me until the end of the project even though a job opportunity relocated her to another state. I also appreciate the generous support of the Lee Hatzfeld Dissertation Guidance Scholarship, awarded by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the Catholic University of Amerca. Many CUA professors provided me with invaluable support throughout the dissertation-writing process. I am especially thankful to Dr. Mario A. Ortiz of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and to Dr. Shawqi Talia of the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures for their assistance and encouragement as I conducted my research. My family has always supported me in my educational pursuits. I am especially grateful for my mother, Casey Hanley, who traveled to DC countless times to care for Jack while I was sick. Without her patience, encouragement, and willingness to do whatever I asked at whatever hour, I would not have even started writing this dissertation let alone finished it. Likewise, I remain eternally grateful to the surgeons who cared for me in my recovery and who also always inquired about my research, Dr. Luis Sanz and Dr. Othon Wiltz. v I am also grateful to have had the endless support of friends throughout the process. I especially thank Elena Gutiérrez, Rebecca Crisafulli, David Barkley, and June Wai for their humor, wit, support, and chocolate that made the project infinitely easier. In particular I want to thank Elena, who offered a shoulder to cry on more than once, and who became a “library character” with me. I also thank Dr. Rose McEwen, who planted the seed for this crazy idea in the first place and who continued to offer wisdom and guidance along the way. Above all I thank David Bartels, who, as perhaps the world’s most supportive husband, made this dissertation emotionally and financially feasible. Words simply cannot express my gratitude for all that he has done to help me achieve this goal. He even formatted the manuscript. vi Introduction O Católica España, que alabanza tan única y digna de estima alcanzas en este particular, que con haber habido en sus tiempos, Arrianos, Judíos, y Mahometanos, tus moradores (con el favor del Cielo) tan puros en la Fe Cristiana, tan firmes, tan sin mezcla de secta alguna, tan Católicos, y tan obedientes a la Iglesia Romana, como si jamás infiel alguno hubieras visto.1 Throughout the sixteenth century, the Spanish Crown led an effort to forcibly convert Spanish Muslims to Christianity, with the converts becoming known as “Moriscos.” The conversions were intended to quell a perceived threat to the nation, but at the end of the century, King Philip III remained unconvinced that the conversions were sufficient. Consequently, in late 1609, the King issued the first of several edicts that would result in the expulsion of the Moriscos from the Iberian Peninsula. This decision found support among the many Spanish Catholics who regarded the Moriscos as the most persistent in a line of heretics that had threatened the purity of Spain’s Catholic faith.