The literature of Medieval Europe has been studied so extensively that there are a great number of academic contributions that can be analyzed by current and future generations. The purpose of this particular work is to examine this topic, but as it pertains to the Medieval Iberian Peninsula. The medieval age of Spain has been considered a period wrought with conflict and religious persecution throughout the confines of its borders. From the inception of the invasions of various European tribes into the Iberian Peninsula, the stage was set for a continual onset of conquest for many years to come. This conquest took place during the 800 years that the Muslims maintained control of the southern half of the Medieval Iberian Peninsula. Such an occupation was achieved by way of the Strait of Gibraltar in which a mixed force of Arabs and Moroccan Berbers overthrew the Visigothic kingdom, giving this Muslim power an unquestioned supremacy (O'Callaghan 1). In an effort to closely examine this period, this study analyzed Las jarchas, El cantar de mio Cid, and Las coplas por la muerte de su padre. The first two literary works written anonymously, the third by Jorge Manrique. With all three being key works from the Iberian Peninsula during the early part of the Middle Ages, the goal was to apply their principles to modern day culture. This work has interpreted in depth the code of honor and its use during the Middle Ages as a key element of its time, and has demonstrated that it is no longer followed as closely as it once was. It has supported the idea that although the Medieval Iberian Peninsula saw its conflicts, there was in fact a certain level of coexistence among the various religious groups sharing the peninsula. Along with these findings, this work presents the conclusion that although the distance in time is clear, it is important to analyze the literary works of the past in order to have a clearer image of what the life and culture may have been like for the individuals who lived and breathed when the Middle Ages was their present time.

Leben und Werk des berühmten Mäzens König Alfons X. von Kastilien sind vielfach gelobt und getadelt worden. In den letzten Jahrzehnten hat die Forschung dabei insbesondere auf den Widerspruch hingewiesen zwischen dem großen Interesse Alfons’ an orientalischem Wissen und einem friedlichen Wissensaustausch an seinem Hof einerseits und der Unterdrückung religiöser Minderheiten unter seiner Herrschaft andererseits. Doch wie und wo beeinflussten das im Werk Alfons’ dargestellte Weltbild seine politischen Handlungen gegenüber Nicht-Christen (insbesondere gegenüber den Mauren)? Welche Vorstellung und Ausübung von Toleranz war in der Regierungszeit Alfons’ vorherrschend und inwiefern vertrat Alfons den Geist seiner Zeit? Diese Fragen sind geeignet, Zweifel an dem behaupteten Widerspruch zu wecken. Nach seinen Weltanschauungen konzipierte Alfons sein Königreich als Ganzes, wobei die drei religiösen Gruppen in einer klar hierarchisierten Gesellschaftsordnung ihren jeweiligen Platz mit einer jeweils unterschiedlichen Bedeutung zugewiesen bekamen. Sowohl in seiner idealisierten als auch in der realen Gesellschaft war Toleranz für Alfons X. von Kastilien überwiegend eine pragmatische Haltung. Im gesellschaftlichen Bereich verteidigten Mudejaren, Sepharden und Christen des mittelalterlichen Spaniens ihre Identitäten, die sie bedroht sahen, weil die kulturellen Verflechtungen im Laufe der Jahrhunderte sehr stark geworden waren. Und im Ringen um die Bildung und den Erhalt eigener Identität stellen Pragmatismus und Toleranz keinen Widerspruch dar, sondern sind vielmehr Bedingung und Folge des „Zusammenlebens“. / The life and the works of famous patron King Alfonso X of Castile have often been praised and critized. In the last decades, research has particular referred to the contradiction between Alfons’great interest in oriental knowledge und a peaceful exchange of knowledge at his court on the one hand and the oppression of religious minorities under his rule on the other hand. But how and where did the conception of the world as presented in Alfons’ work affect his political actions against non-Christians (especially against the Muslims)? Which conception and practice of tolerance were predominant in his reign and to what extent did Alfons represent the spirit of his time? These questions are suitable to cast doubts on the maintained contradiction. According to his view of the word, Alfonso considered his kingdom as a whole, in which the three religious groups were assigned to their respective place with a different meaning to each in a clearly hierarchical social order. In his idealized as well as in the real society, tolerance was predominantly a pragmatic attitude for Alfonso X of Castile. Within the social field, the Islamic Moors (Mudéjares), Sephardics Jews and Christians of medieval Spain defended their identities which they considered to be threatened, because cultural interconnections had become very strong in the course of centuries. And in the struggle for the formation and preservation of one’s own identity, tolerance and pragmatism do not mean contradiction, but rather a condition and consequence of "living together".

No description available.

No description available.