Marrano Poets of the Seventeenth Century: An Anthology of the Poetry of João Pinto Delgado, Antonio Enríquez Gómez and Miguel De Barrios(The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization)

The story of the Marranos (the Jewish converts to Christianity in Spain and Portugal) has long been a source of fascination for Jews interested in their heritage and for all those concerned with the struggle for freedom of conscience against authoritarianism. In this volume are presented the selected works of three Marrano poets, together with translations into English and explanatory notes. Each of the three poets is introduced with a biography and brief critical assessment. In a general introduction the editor explains the historical and literary background of their works and examines the inter-relationship between the Jewish and Christian cultural elements. Drawing on a wide range of published and manuscript sources, he gives a balanced picture of the Marranos and describes the process of Jewish re-education they had to undergo in order to reach their goal of integration with authentic Judaism in the Jewish communities outside the Iberian peninsula.  The three poets—João Pinto Delgado, Antonio Enríquez Gómez, and Miguel de Barrios—are presented against this background as exemplifying three different 'paths to Judaism', which nonetheless have in common the dramatic experience of life under the Inquisition and the halfway house of the Marrano communities. Symbols of exile and insecurity abound. Each poet shares a sense of guilt over his past observance of Christianity and endeavours to reach out towards the authentic sources of the Jewish tradition, such as the Talmud and the rabbinic commentaries, to invest his writings with a greater cultural depth.  The poems in this volume have been selected with the aim of giving a representative view of each individual poet's experience and particular literary talents. Through the translations and notes the general reader is provided with insight into their significance and purpose. The specialist reader, too, will gain from finding the writings of three little-known poets of similar background brought together for the first time and set in context.

Table of Contents:
List of illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction The Origins of the Marranos Crypto-Jews under the Regime of the Inquisition The Communities outside Spain The Tradition of Language The Literary Tradition of Spain The Jewish Inheritance of the Marranos The Marrano Poets Notes The Texts and Translations 1 João Pinto Delgado Tres poemas autobiograficos A la salida de Lisboa A la despedida de un amigo En alabanza del Senor Poema de la Reina Ester El sueño y las lástimas de Mardochay La triste consolación de Amán La oración de la reina Ester Conclusión Lamentaciones del profeta Jeremías Lamentación 1:1 Lamentación 1:12 Lamentación 1:13 Lamentación 2:6 Lamentación 2:7 La historia de Rut Canción, aplicando misericordias divinas y defetos proprios a la salida de Egipto hasta la Tierra Santa Notes 2 Antonio Enríquez Gómez Cuando contemplo mi pasada gloria La culpa del primer peregrino Diálogo de Adán y Eva La injusticia en el mundo Sansón Nazareno Sansón encuentra a la tamatea La oración y muerte de Sansón Romance al divín mártir, Judá Creyente, martirizado en Valladolid por la Inquisición Notes 3 Miguel de Barrios A la muerte de Raquel A la segura confianza Real consideración del hombre La memoria renueva el dolor (Sonetos dobles fúnebres) Alabanza jocosa a lay Ley santísima en la fábrica de la sinagoga Providencia particular de Dios sobre Israel Pregón harmónico del Día del Juicio Acto sexto de contrición Acto séptimo de contrición Imperio de Dios en el teatro universal Día primero Notes

About the Author :
Timothy Oelman was born in North Wales in 1943 and studied at Lincoln College, Oxford, and King’s College London, where he took his doctorate in 1976. For a number of years he taught languages in Harrow, Middlesex, and contributed articles to academic journals. In 1986 he published a critical edition of the Romance al divín mártir, Judá Creyente. He has since retired and is pursuing a career as a visual artist.