Young Man of Arévalo
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The Young Man of Arévalo ( es, el Mancebo de Arévalo) was a
Morisco Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open p ...
crypto-Muslim Crypto-Islam is the secret adherence to Islam while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Islam are referred to as "crypto-Muslims." The word has mainly been used in reference to Spanish Muslims and Sicilian Mus ...
author from
Arévalo Arévalo is a municipality in Spain, it is situated in the province of Ávila and is part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. The name came from the Celtic word ''arevalon'', meaning "place near the wall." Regional importance The ...
, Castile who was the most productive known Islamic author in Spain during the period after the
forced conversion Forced conversion is the adoption of a different religion or the adoption of irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which ...
of Muslims there. He traveled widely across Spain to visit crypto-Muslim communities and wrote several works about Islam which includes accounts from his travels. His real identity and dates of birth and death are unknown, but most of his travels took place in the first half of the sixteenth century.


Biography

The Young Man was born in
Arévalo Arévalo is a municipality in Spain, it is situated in the province of Ávila and is part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. The name came from the Celtic word ''arevalon'', meaning "place near the wall." Regional importance The ...
to a mother who was converted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. His birth date is unknown, but his youth was estimated to be in the period following the end of
Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
, marked by the
Fall of Granada The Granada War ( es, Guerra de Granada) was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1491 during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada. It e ...
in 1492 and the forced conversion of Muslims in Castile, 15001502. When he was young, he traveled to virtually all parts of Spain except the seaboard provinces, which were forbidden to him due to his status as
Morisco Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open p ...
. Places he visited include
Alcántara Alcántara is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word ''al-Qanṭarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge". History Archaeological findings have atteste ...
,
Almagro Almagro () may refer to: People *Diego de Almagro (1475–1538), Spanish explorer *Diego Almagro II (1520–1542), assassin of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro *Luis Almagro (born 1963), Uruguayan lawyer, diplomat and politician *Nicolás ...
, Astorga,
Ávila Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m abov ...
,
Gandia Gandia ( es, Gandía) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar (or ''Costa dels Tarongers''), south of Valencia and north of Alicante. Vehicles can acce ...
,
Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
, Jaén, Ocaña, Requena,
Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...
,
Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau (''Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of th ...
, and
Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
. He collaborated with Bray de Reminjo, the faqih of the village of
Cadrete Cadrete is a small town in north-east Spain, close to Zaragoza. It is notable for its Muslim castle, Mudejar Church and famous Cardoons. More recently, a massive wind-turbine has been installed at less than 300 metres away from the village, prod ...
in
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
, to write an Islamic religious manual called ''Brief compendium of our sacred law and sunna'', in the 1530s. At this point he was presumed to have been a reputable writer. Bray de Reminjo described him as "intellectual", a Castilian from Arévalo, and described that in addition to speaking Spanish and being well-versed in ''aljamiado'', he also read Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. His works show his familiarity with the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
, the writings of
Thomas à Kempis Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380 – 25 July 1471; german: Thomas von Kempen; nl, Thomas van Kempen) was a German-Dutch canon regular of the late medieval period and the author of ''The Imitation of Christ'', published anonymously in Latin in the N ...
, especially ''
The Imitation of Christ ''The Imitation of Christ'', by Thomas à Kempis, is a Christian devotional book first composed in Medieval Latin as ''De Imitatione Christi'' ( 1418–1427).''An introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious studies'', by Orlando O. Esp ...
'', as well as the medieval novel ''
La Celestina ''The Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea'' ( es, Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea), known in Spain as ''La Celestina'' is a work entirely in dialogue published in 1499. It is attributed to Fernando de Rojas, a descendant of converted Jews, w ...
''. His familiarity with Christian works was likely the result of his being obligated to attend missionary sermons. Accounts of his travels included participating in a secret congregational ritual prayer ('' salat jama'ah'') in
Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
, meeting with Muslim notables and preachers, including some women, and collecting alms to go for pilgrimage to Mecca. It is unclear whether he was ultimately successful in visiting Mecca, given that travel out of the country was illegal for Moriscos. Throughout his writings he showed deep conviction that Islam was the right faith and that it would triumph again in Spain within his lifetime.


Works

He wrote at least three extant works, the ''Brief compendium of our sacred law and sunna'' (c. 1533), the ''
Tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
a'' (c. 1533), and the ''Summary of the Account and Spiritual Exercise'' (c. shortly before 1550), all written in Spanish with Arabic script (''
aljamiado ''Aljamiado'' (; ; ar, عَجَمِيَة trans. ''ʿajamiyah'' ) or ''Aljamía'' texts are manuscripts that use the Arabic script for transcribing European languages, especially Romance languages such as Mozarabic, Aragonese, Portuguese, Sp ...
''), and primarily about religious topics. In addition to the religious content, the works included accounts of his travels, his meetings with other clandestine Muslims, and descriptions of their religious practices and discussions. These accounts and reminiscences provide historians with information about the
crypto-Muslim Crypto-Islam is the secret adherence to Islam while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Islam are referred to as "crypto-Muslims." The word has mainly been used in reference to Spanish Muslims and Sicilian Mus ...
community in fifteenth-century Spain and their practices. The ''Brief Compendium'' is a work of
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
(Islamic jurisprudence), covering topics of ''
ibadah ''Ibadah'' ( ar, , ''‘ibādah'', also spelled ''ibada'') is an Arabic word meaning service or servitude. In Islam, ''ibadah'' is usually translated as "worship", and ''ibadat''—the plural form of ''ibadah''—refers to Islamic jurispru ...
'' (Islamic acts of worship) and
Islamic economics Islamic economics ( ar, الاقتصاد الإسلامي) refers to the knowledge of economics or economic activities and processes in terms of Islamic principles and teachings. Islam has a set of special moral norms and values about individua ...
. It was written in collaboration with Bray de Reminjo, marking a rare collaboration between Castilian (represented by the Young Man) and Aragonese (by Bray) Muslim traditions. The ''Tafsira'' is a ''
tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
'' or a commentary of the Quran. The ''Summary'' is a religious book on topics of devotion and piety. Spanish scholar
Pascual de Gayangos y Arce Pascual de Gayangos y Arce (June 21, 1809 – October 4, 1897) was a Spanish scholar and orientalist. Life Born in Seville, he was the son of Brigadier José de Gayangos, intendente of Zacatecas, in New Spain (Mexico). After completing his pr ...
mentioned in 1839 of having seen an additional work he called ''The Pilgrimage of the Young Man'' in Madrid, but this work is now lost. In 1980, Spanish author Gregorio Fonseca Antuña discovered close similarities between passages in the ''Summary'' and passages from
Thomas à Kempis Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380 – 25 July 1471; german: Thomas von Kempen; nl, Thomas van Kempen) was a German-Dutch canon regular of the late medieval period and the author of ''The Imitation of Christ'', published anonymously in Latin in the N ...
's 15th-century work ''
The Imitation of Christ ''The Imitation of Christ'', by Thomas à Kempis, is a Christian devotional book first composed in Medieval Latin as ''De Imitatione Christi'' ( 1418–1427).''An introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious studies'', by Orlando O. Esp ...
'', a Christian
devotional book Christian devotional literature (also called devotionals or Christian living literature) is religious writing that Christian individuals read for their personal growth and spiritual formation. Such literature often takes the form of Christian daily ...
. The passages were often adapted to replace specific Christian contexts and features with Islamic ones while keeping the spiritual and moral meaning intact. These similarities occur frequently throughout the book, including in long passages. According to historian L. P. Harvey, Kempis' influence is "established beyond doubt", and could not have been due to chance. The Young Man did not cite Kempis as sources for the passages, and frequently attributed the passages to Islamic scholars such as
al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
and
Ibn Arabi Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , 'Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influenti ...
, misleadingly. The adaptation of Christian devotional literature in his Islamic work could be the result of his being obligated to attend missionary sermons, and a lack of access to actual Islamic literature. In contrast to the ''Summary'', the Young Man's other works show considerable originality.


Possible identity

Historian
L. P. Harvey Leonard Patrick Harvey (often credited L. P. Harvey, 25 February 1929-4 August 2018) held lectureships in Spanish at Oxford University (1956–58), Southampton (1958–60), and Queen Mary College, London (1960–63), was Head of the Spanish Depar ...
proposed that the Young Man of Arévalo might have been the same person as Agustín de Ribera, a Morisco from Arévalo who claimed to be a prophet and had the epithet of ''el mozo'' (the lad), although he admitted that the theory had a lot of difficulties that he had not resolved. Agustín was arrested by the
Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...
in 1540 and records from his interrogation survived.


Legacy

The Young Man's works became known throughout the Morisco community, and he achieved fame as a scholar. His works were copied up to the end of the sixteenth century, and cited by Morisco authors up to the beginning of the seventeenth century, just before the
expulsion of the Moriscos The Expulsion of the Moriscos ( es, Expulsión de los moriscos) was decreed by King Philip III of Spain on April 9, 1609. The Moriscos were descendants of Spain's Muslim population who had been forced to convert to Christianity. Since the Spani ...
. He was the most productive known Islamic author in Spain during the period after the
forced conversion Forced conversion is the adoption of a different religion or the adoption of irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which ...
of Muslims there: today historians often single him out for attention in studies of Morisco literature in this period.


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * *


External links


The manuscript of the ''Tafsira''
published by
Spanish National Research Council The Spanish National Research Council ( es, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote res ...
(CSIC) {{DEFAULTSORT:Young Man of Arevalo 16th-century Spanish people Moriscos Travel writers of the medieval Islamic world People from the Province of Ávila Date of birth uncertain Date of death unknown 16th-century travelers Unidentified people