Ignoring that Muslims were not just “outsiders” but long-established in Iberia and Sicily.
Overlooking economic and political motives behind hostility, focusing only on religion.
Treating Muslim states as static rather than acknowledging their periods of strength and decline.
Exam technique
Balance religious causes with political and economic ones.
Avoid Eurocentric phrasing like “backward Muslims” — acknowledge sophistication of Muslim states.
Case study
The 1391 Pogroms in Spain
By the late 14th century, Spain had one of the largest Jewish populations in Europe, especially in Castile and Aragon.
Jews held key positions in trade, finance, and administration, but faced growing resentment from both urban poor and Christian elites.
The Black Death (1347–51) had already triggered massacres against Jews across Europe, strengthening scapegoating traditions.
Causes of the Pogroms
Religious hostility
Sermons by Ferrand Martínez, archdeacon of Écija, incited violence, portraying Jews as enemies of Christianity.
Anti-Jewish preaching emphasized accusations of deicide and heresy.
Economic resentment
Jews were often moneylenders → resentment among debtors (including nobles).
Economic hardship in the 14th century worsened hostility.
Political instability
Castile and Aragon were plagued by civil wars, weak monarchies, and noble rivalries.
Rulers often failed to protect Jewish communities.
Events of 1391
Riots broke out in Seville in June 1391, spreading rapidly to Córdoba, Toledo, and Barcelona.
Thousands of Jews were killed and synagogues were destroyed.
Many Jews were forced to convert to Christianity (conversos), creating a large population of “New Christians.”
Consequences
Mass conversion
By 1415, large parts of Spain’s Jewish population had converted, either genuinely or under duress.
This created tensions over sincerity of faith, leading to later hostility toward conversos.
Rise of the Inquisition
Concerns over “crypto-Judaism” (secret practice of Judaism) led to the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition (1478).
Decline of convivencia
The pogroms undermined centuries of coexistence in al-Andalus and Christian Spain.
By 1492, the Alhambra Decree formally expelled Jews from Spain.
Diaspora
Survivors fled to North Africa, the Ottoman Empire, and other parts of Europe, where they contributed to trade and scholarship.
Christian Doctrine and Teaching
The Church portrayed Islam as heretical, sometimes as a “Christian deviation” or even as devil-inspired.
Preachers depicted Muslims as a threat to Christian souls and Christendom’s survival.
Clerical teaching emphasized exclusivity of Christianity: coexistence with Muslims was seen as dangerous.
Hostility linked to efforts to purify Christian society (e.g., Reconquista framed as a holy struggle).
Common Mistake
Confusing doctrinal hostility with political reality: while the Church preached intolerance, rulers often tolerated Muslims for pragmatic reasons.
Over-generalizing Church teaching → not all Christian thinkers condemned Muslims in the same way.
Ignoring the difference between theory and practice: sermons vs. lived coexistence.
Exam technique
Highlight contrast between official doctrine (intolerance) and pragmatic tolerance (economic/cultural necessity).
Don’t confuse Islam with paganism (many medieval Christians didn’t see Muslims as idolaters but as heretics).
Show nuance: e.g., Thomas Aquinas vs. papal decrees → different levels of hostility.
Active recall
To what extent did the Crusades shape long-term European perceptions of Islam and contribute to the idea of a permanent religious divide between Christianity and Islam?
How did fear of Muslim political, military, and economic power in al-Andalus and beyond influence Christian kingdoms’ decision to frame conflicts as holy wars?
In what ways did Church doctrine and papal rhetoric justify and sustain hostility toward Muslims during the Crusades and the Reconquista?