El pecado de los padres: construcción de la identidad conversa en Castilla a partir de los discursos sobre limpieza de sangre

Abstract

The subject of this article is one which has been the focus of attention of various social sciences in recent years: identity, in other words the representation which a group makes of itself and presents to society, based on an edited selection of its historical memory. When there is social conflict among groups, as happened in Castile during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries between old and new Christians, this representation was achieved when the former resorted to the principle of caste —connected to blood lines— with the aim of de-legitimising the social aspirations of the latter. This negative portrait was fabricated by the leading intelligentsia of old Christianity from the moment when converted Jews (in other words new Christians, enjoying as such full rights within established society) desired to achieve honours hitherto reserved for old Christians, and more especially for their elite. These old Christians, often enjoying the social support of the more popular groups, raised legal barriers to prevent their rivals from acceding to the world of privileges.