§ Debates · Ch. 7 · Under the Cross
Is there a contrast between Ashkenazi martyrdom in 1096 and the conversions in Spain in 1391?
2 positions · no single answer
Position A · held by Historians in the past
A contrast between martyrdom and conversion
Ashkenazi Jews would have preferred to die, while Spaniards converted en masse.
Rests on: p. 207
Reads the same page as : the same source, different readings.
Where the debate comes up
Statements tied to the debate
- Historians in the past pointed to a contrast between the evident readiness of Rhineland Ashkenazi Jews to die as martyrs instead of accepting baptism during the First Crusade and the sweeping baptisms of Spanish Jews from 1391 onward. The comparison is shaky from the start, since the two settings were entirely different, in separate parts of Europe and three centuries apart. It also errs in another way: there was widespread 'martyrdom' in Spain, and thousands died, whether at their attackers' hands or by giving up their own lives.