Origins of the Inquisition Fifteenth Century Spain Netanyahu Random House 1st VG

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Origins of the Inquisition Fifteenth Century Spain Netanyahu Random House 1st VG. The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain is Benzion Netanyahu's life work, over thirty years in the making, running to more than 1,300 pages. Benzion Netanyahu was a Revisionist Zionist who had served as personal secretary to Ze'ev Jabotinsky in the 1940s. The Origins of the Inquisition — B. Netanyahu — JT Enterportals JT Enterportals · History · Medieval Judaica & Spanish Inquisition ★ First Edition · First Printing · 1995 Random House · Benzion Netanyahu VG · Mylar-Protected DJ The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain Benzion Netanyahu · Random House, New York · 1995 · ISBN 0-679-41065-1 · Hardcover About This Book This is one of the most significant works of medieval Jewish history published in the twentieth century — and one of the most controversial. The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain is Benzion Netanyahu's life work, over thirty years in the making, running to more than 1,300 pages. It was published by Random House in 1995, when Netanyahu was 85 years old, and it immediately ignited a firestorm in academic circles that has never fully died down. The central thesis is explosive by the standards of the field: Netanyahu argues that the Spanish Inquisition was not primarily motivated by religious zeal or a genuine fear of secret Jewish practice among the conversos (Jews who had converted to Christianity). Instead, he argues, it was driven by racial antisemitism — by Old Christians who resented the social and economic success of New Christians regardless of their sincerity of conversion. In Netanyahu's reading, the Inquisition was not a theological institution but a racial one, and its targets were people who had genuinely abandoned Judaism and were being persecuted anyway. The implications reach well beyond medieval Spain. Netanyahu is arguing, implicitly, that modern racial antisemitism has deeper and older roots than the 19th-century nationalism that is usually given credit for inventing it — that it predates the Enlightenment, predates modernity, and was fully operational in 15th-century Castile. Published just two years before his son Benjamin became Prime Minister of Israel for the first time, this book was read — and debated — with that biographical context very much in mind. The cover reproduces Francisco Goya's Scene from an Inquisition — one of the most harrowing paintings of institutional cruelty in Western art. It is a perfectly chosen image for a perfectly matched book. ✦ Did You Know? Benzion Netanyahu (1910–2012) lived to be 102 years old — and spent virtually his entire adult life as a working historian. He completed his Ph.D. at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, spent decades at American universities including Cornell and Denver, and edited the Encyclopedia Hebraica and the World History of the Jewish People. His earlier book, The Marranos of Spain (1966), was already considered a foundational work on converso history before this even larger volume appeared. The French hispanist Marcel Bataillon called it "a fundamental work"; the leading Spanish historian of the conversos Antonio Dominguez Ortiz described Netanyahu's thesis as "irrefutable." These are not small endorsements. About the Author Benzion Netanyahu (1910–2012) was Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia Hebraica, general editor of the World History of the Jewish People, co-editor of the Jewish Quarterly Review, and a Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research. He was also a member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes y Ciencias Históricas in Spain. He was the father of Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, and of Yonatan Netanyahu, the Israeli commando killed leading the 1976 Entebbe hostage rescue operation — one of the most celebrated military actions in Israeli history. Benzion Netanyahu was a Revisionist Zionist who had served as personal secretary to Ze'ev Jabotinsky in the 1940s. His historical work and his political commitments were deeply intertwined, and The Origins of the Inquisition cannot be fully understood without that context. ✡️ The Converso QuestionThe central historical puzzle: were Jewish converts to Christianity (conversos) sincere, and did it matter to their persecutors? ⚖️ Origins of Racial AntisemitismNetanyahu's explosive argument that modern racial antisemitism has medieval roots — not 19th-century origins as usually claimed. 🏰 15th-Century CastileDeep immersion in the political, social, and religious history of late medieval Spain — Ferdinand, Isabella, and the Reconquista. 📜 Primary Source ScholarshipOver 1,300 pages grounded in primary sources — chronicles, legal documents, theological treatises — in Spanish, Latin, and Hebrew. 🎨 Goya's Inquisition SceneCover reproduces Goya's Scene from an Inquisition — one of Western art's most powerful images of institutional terror. 🌍 Scholarly ControversyOne of the most debated works of medieval Jewish historiography — praised and challenged in equal measure since publication. Title The Origins of the Inquisition Subtitle in Fifteenth Century Spain Author Benzion Netanyahu Publisher Random House · New York Year 1995 · First Edition · First Printing Format Hardcover with Dust Jacket ISBN 0-679-41065-1 Condition VG · Mylar-Protected Dust Jacket ⚠ Condition — VG / Minor Edge Wear Protective mylar cover over dust jacket — dust jacket has been cared for Minor wear to edges of dust jacket Minor wear to page edges Binding tight — no cracking, loosening, or stress Pages crisp throughout No writing, underlining, or highlighting anywhere Sold as-is; all flaws fully disclosed — please see photos Ideal For Medieval Jewish History Collections Spanish Inquisition Scholars Judaica Libraries History of Antisemitism Converso & Marrano Studies Netanyahu Family Collection Iberian History Random House First Editions JT ENTERPORTALS · SAME OR NEXT BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING · ALL FLAWS DISCLOSED · QUESTIONS WELCOME >>Powered by WonderLister App