L'Espagne des Torquemada

Analyzes the period from 1388 to 1498, tracing the lives of Cardinal Juan de Torquemada (1388-1468), Dominican reformer, and his nephew, Tomás de Torquemada (1420-1498), known as the Grand Inquisitor. Deals specifically with their milieu in Castile as a background to attitudes toward the Jews and the Conversos and reactions to the increasingly centralized power of the Catholic Monarchs. Contrasts the attitudes toward Jews, during the Inquisition, of Juan vis-à-vis Tomas de Torquemada, both of whom were the descendants of Conversos. Emphasizes the role of Tomas as the one who inspired the numerous edicts - notably, rigid laws - which restricted further the rights of Conversos to the fourth generation and inspired the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)