The first documentary evidence of the Hebrew presence in Ávila dates back to 1144: Alfonso VII assigned the tithe pertaining to the Jews' annual income to the Cathedral. This is the first specific reference but there are many preceding versions further steeped in mythology until the actual foundation of the city. Some say that there were Jews in Ávila well before in Hispano-Roman times. Further evidence backing up this theory is the very legend of how the original Basilica of San Vicente was founded in the 4th century when on the same site as it is in today a Jew built the first martyrial church dedicated to the Vincentian saints Sabina and Cristeta.

In his Historia de las grandezas de la ciudad de Ávila (History of the great Events of the City of Avila), Friar Luis Ariz stated in 1607 - after the taking of the city from the Moslems by the Castilian king Alfonso VI - the first contingents of Jews arrived in around 1085 as part of the repopulation being arranged by his son-in-law Count Raymond of Burgundy. This is how the name of Rabbi Centén arose in the first chronicles of the occupation of Ávila after several centuries during which it was regarded as no man's land, the frontier between the Christian and Moslem kingdoms.

The Jews of Ávila were mainly involved in craft-based activity, particularly rich cloth trading. Nissim ben Abraham wrote in this city too, better known as the Ávila prophet, his Book of the wonders of wisdom, and here the heights of Christian mysticism were reached by Teresa of Jesus and John of the Cross, the offspring of New Christians rooted in old families of Jewish stock.

The Almohad invasion of 1147 had major repercussions on the Hebrew expansion through the peninsula. The threat of this people led to the exodus of Jews and Christian from the south of the Peninsula to the centre and north of Spain.

With Alfonso VIII (1155-1214) the Jews' situation did not vary greatly. The monarch generally treated his subjects as equals in terms of the law. It was attempted to increase the Jews in the Court which gave rise to criticism but this favour came at a price: Jewish collaboration was vital for commercial life and administration. What's more, the Jewish quarter contributed a significant amount in taxes which was usually granted by the king: in 1176, the king granted to the Cathedral and its bishop Sancho a third of the income he received by way of tolls from Jews at a time when the Jewish quarter in Ávila was one of the most important in Castile. At this time the Jewish community was prosperous and had achieved a greater degree of harmony than in other Castilian Jewish quarters.

This policy did not change under Fernando III (1199-1252). The Council of Valladolid of 1228 led to restrictions on the free movement of Jews in streets and commerce on markets, but the King did not apply the new rules to the Jews of Ávila. Sancho IV «the Brave» followed his father's policy and showed a liking for the Hebrew community from Ávila. In 1285 Yuçaf de Ávila was the tax collector for the bishopric and he owned houses in the city. In this year the Jewish population had increased so much both in number and influence that they refused to pay the tithe of their income.

In the early 14th century the Jewish population lived side-by-side with Christians. The Jews initially inhabited the Lomo Street area, today Esteban Domingo. During the course of this century and the 15th century the Jews gradually began to move to the Mercado Chico zone, a very commercial area. Everything changed with the Courts of Toledo Decree in 1480 which ruled that they should live withdrawn and separate. So they settled in an area delimited by Vallespín Street (the former Zapateros Street), the Santo Domingo church and the Polentinos Palace with the town wall forming the southern limit.

In the late 14th century the relations between Christians and Jews started to deteriorate in Castile. But Ávila continued to stand out from this general trend and its Hebrew community expanded further, taking on the mantle in the second half of the century as a people, which had saved the faith, the masoret. The uprisings and disputes brought about by the heights for power of the Trastámara had little impact on Ávila. The worst was yet to come in 1391. At that time almost half a century had elapsed since the death of King Alfonso XI whose attitude to the Jews of Ávila had been positive despite some hostile movements in synods and councils. Pedro I generally adopted a more peace-seeking approach towards the Jewish community in the Courts of 1351 in Valladolid which earned him the title of the Jews' friend, a name which sought to insult the monarch who allowed them to put up new synagogues and expand the old ones. With Pedro I but later too with Henry II, Ávila suffered attacks by some groups who would steal and burn commercial documents and letter of undertaking between 1360 and 1366 owing to the moratorium on Jewish debts, time which some rioters used to get hold of promissory notes and guarantees. However, the King saved the day for the Jews. But in 1375 this same king allowed pressure to be put on the Hebrew community to attend the religious debates in the churches, one of which was protagonised by the convert Juan de Valladolid and Moses ha-Cohen of Tordesillas. Moses ha-Cohen wrote:

En este año vinieron hombres perversos y duros, que habían renegado de nuestra santa ley y tomado una religión nueva; y en virtud de una carta real que les autorizaba a ello, recorrían nuestros pueblos y convocaban a los judíos donde y cuando querían para discutir con ellos sobre su religión [...]. Uno de ellos [...] nos reunió cuatro veces ante la multitud y la asamblea de los cristianos y los musulmanes. Se extendió en alegorías y comparaciones, pero yo le refutaba siempre cuanto decía con pruebas sacadas del Pentateuco y de los Evangelios.

The growing anti-Semitic feeling in Castile gradually led to the conversion of Jews and the start of Crypto-Judaism. At this time Juan I came to the throne and despite a ban on the sermons of Ferrand Martínez, the Archdeacon of Écija, of the most important anti-Semitic preachers, anti-Judaism worsened. Ferrand Martínez became extremely popular because of his sermons and preaching which continually whipped up hatred of the Jews and, through them, he became the great driving force behind the anti-Jewish revolt of 1391. Juan I had a particular affection for Ávila Cathedral and in 1384 he granted it an income of three thousand maravedis for the so-called pechos judíos (Jewish «head-taxes»), payable in November of each year, a privilege which was confirmed in 1391 by Enrique III.

The anti-Jewish slaughters of 1391 did not reach Ávila but the climate of concern and unrest with the general situation began to make itself felt. The Crown did all it could to play defuse the situation but Vincent Ferrer's sermons in 1411 in Valladolid led to many Jews fleeing the town. Ávila was still an oasis in this tense atmosphere and not even the sermons of Alonso de Espina in the mid-15th century could make any impact on this status. The segregation of the Jews envisaged in the Pragmática of 1412 was not applied because the Cabildo (chapterhouse) rented houses and premises to Jews and was not interested in any measure which could have led to a fall in its revenue. The Jews continued to live in the streets neighbouring the Cathedral or between Mercado Chico (small market) and Grande (large market) on Zapateros Street, San Juan square, Arco de Montenegro and from the Gate of Bad Luck to the stretch of the city wall at Adaja Bridge.

In 1442, when the bull Cantate Domino of Eugene IV reached Ávila, Álvaro de Luna, King´s favourite and with close link to the city, rejected its implementation and convinced Juan II to grant favours to the Jewish settlement in the Pragmática of Arévalo. The bull, famous for its thesis «There is no salvation outside the Church», requested the conversion of Jews to Christianity. After Enrique IV came to the throne in 1454 he adopted the previous laws and authorised unlimited commerce, a free market and economic freedom which benefitted the Jews of Ávila. Some people wished to interrupt this approach after ten years of his reign with the sentence of Medina del Campo which, amongst other measures, included the separation of Jews in ghettos and the humiliation of obliging Jewish citizens to wear a sign on their clothing, the ban on wearing doublets and silk attire or from holding palace office. Henry IV prevented the sentence of Medina from being applied, leading to his being deposed in the so-called farce of Ávila when the League of Nobles led by Juan Pacheco and allied with some anti-Jewish elements of the city, proclaimed Alfonso, the monarch's brother, as King and revoked all the rulings which had favoured the Jews.

The reign of the Catholic Monarchs seemed hopeful. Many Jews, like Abraham Senior, had supported the monarchs. Nevertheless, the Courts of Madrigal of 1476 implemented measures such as the withdrawal of the Moorish quarters' capacity to judge criminal lawsuits and the requirement that Jews wear a roela bermeja (golden or silver circle). The new measures created conflictual situations in Ávila both in terms of the attire and the restrictions on usury. The Jewish Quarter leaders recommended that money should not be lent under these terms which put at stake the city's funding. Faced by this situation, Isabel I looked for formulas to prevent the damaged caused to Jews and thereby prevent them from leaving Ávila, a threat which she held in fear in view of their importance to the economy and commerce. In 1478 and in Medina del Campo the Catholic Monarchs granted their Charter in favour of the Jews of Ávila which constitutes the first case of habeas corpus applied to a Jewish community in European history:

Cada que ante Vos [...] fuese dada querella de algund judío de esa dicha cibdad por qualquier persona [...] de algund delito que digan aver cometido, no dades contra ellos mandamiento para que los prendan syn primeramente traer información sobreello según e como el derecho lo quiere el manda.

The Municipal ordinances of the city of 1485 stressed the long-rooted tradition of tolerance and good relations: their text ignored and played down any kind of humiliating discrimination or rules offensive to the members of religious minorities and they granted everyone the same rights as citizens:

Ordenamos [...] que estos derechos del suelo paguen los judíos [...] desta cibdad según e por la manera que lo han de pagar los cristianos e de suso se contiene. Quier salgan a la feria quier non [...] [ningún cristiano] se entremeta a prender a los judíos en sus juderías [...] aunque labren y fagan sus labores puertas abiertas en los días de Pascua e Domingos e Fiestas que son de guardar, ni en otras algunas aunque dentro de ellas anden sin señales, e quien lo contrario hiciere caya en la pena.

In this way, the Ordinances moved away from the criteria of the previous year's Synod and the Church's recommendations and they distanced themselves from what was the norm in most Castilian districts which were always endeavouring to reduce their rights. The pro-Jewish stance of the Council of Ávila was supported by the Catholic Monarchs who were in Murcia one year later in 1488, authorising certain rights to the Non-Christian community, in particular as regards the trading of foodstuffs.

In the last quarter of the 15th century the Council which had defended the Jews' rights, denied them the title of residents. Under the «enclosure» law the Jews of Ávila had to move to the area around the Gate of Bad Luck, into a very small zone considering the large number of Jews in the City. This wouldn't be for long. On May 1st 1492 the edict of expulsion reached Ávila. The Jews of the city sold their property and homes. Their synagogues and cemeteries and all their communal properties became Council property. All aspects of local life felt the impact and this measure was decisive for the city's fall from grace, immersed as it was in a socio-economic crisis which lasted for several centuries. The expulsion of the Jews was a hammer blow which did not seem to garner any support amongst the local population.

Cathedral

The cathedral from the city wall

Looking over San Segundo street there emerges the imposing defensive «Cimorro» (large tower) of Ávila cathedral. A symbol of the city represented on its coat-of-arms materialises two of the main characteristics of Ávila, bringing together religiosity, very prevalent in its streets with its sound stone defences.

Started in the 11th century in late Romanesque style, it was completed in the 16th century with the features of the first Gothic cathedral in Spain. In its exterior architecture the details of a fortress prevail over religious aspects, revealing the medieval marrying of the cross and the sword. Inside worthy of note are the Plateresque retrochoir by Lucas Giraldo and Juan Rodríguez, the spectacular ambulatory built from the bleeding stone of La Colilla, the sculpture of the sepulchre of El Tostado, a work by Vasco de la Zarza. Also outstanding is the series of altarpieces of the main altar by Pedro Berruguete, Santa Cruz and Juan de Borgoña set in a sumptuous frame by Vasco de la Zarza, and which form one of the richest sets of Spanish painting of the 15th and 16th centuries. The Museo Catedralicio (Cathedral Museum) has been remodelled and has pieces of great artistic worth such as a Custodia de Juan de Arfe (custody of Juan de Arfe).

Ávila Cathedral was declared a National Artistic Monument in 1914.

The Chapterhouse and the Jews

Relations between the Jewish collective and the Cathedral´s chapterhouse form a major, interesting series of documents which allow us to establish what the Jews of Ávila were like and how they lived between the 11th and 14th centuries. In 1176, the King Alfonso VIII of Castile granted to the cathedral and bishop don Sancho a third of the rents he received by way of passage way rights and pechos (head-taxes) of Jews at a time when the aljama of Avila already stood out amongst the taxpayers of the kingdom. The contracts between the Chapterhouse, the owner of the majority of the urban estates in the city and Jewish individuals, are constant in Ávila throughout the Middle Ages, to such an extent that the very influence of the Chapterhouse prevented the Pragmatic of 1412 from being applied in Ávila which required the segregation of the Jews as if it was enforced, the Cathedral institution ran the risk of losing a hefty part of its income.

Decree of Expulsion

Decree of Expulsion

The whereabouts of the original of this legal order is not known as we have only been left copies sent to specific cities where Jews resided. The Decree of expulsion to be found in the Provincial Historic Archive of Ávila is the version of the decree for the Kingdom of Castile signed by Isabel and Fernando. A further two versions of the edict are known of:

  • One, dated March 20th 1492 and sent by the Inquisitor-general Torquemada to the Bishop of Girona ten days before the edict signed by the Catholic Monarchs.
  • The other signed in Granada on March 31st by Fernando of Aragón and Isabel of Castile, valid for the Crown of Castile. The document kept in Ávila is the only copy retained of this version.
  • A third, also signed in Granada on March 31st 1492 only by Fernando of Aragón, valid for the Kingdom of Aragón.

The Decree of Expulsion of 1492

The expulsion of the Jews from the Spanish kingdoms should not be regarded as an isolated incident in the European context. Growing religious intolerance had already brought about similar cases in England, France and elsewhere. The decision by the Catholic Monarchs thus came as no great surprise. It could even be said that the incorporation of Spain into this widespread process of European Christendom against the Jews actually came late.

Before signing the Decree of expulsion the Catholic Monarchs attempted to eradicate Jewish proselytism by adopting certain measures. These included the Jews living in separate places which does not seem to have been enough, giving rise in 1480 to the foundation of the Inquisition Court and, in 1483, their expulsion from Andalusia. As these measures were not sufficient to prevent those evils which, in the opinion of the Monarchs, were being brought upon the Christian religion, after much deliberation and listening to their advisors and the prelates, they agreed to set a final deadline of the end of July 1492 for all Jews to leave their kingdoms forever, on pain of death and confiscation of their assets despite the economic problems this measure would cause.

Consequently, the banishment order was communicated to all prelates, nobles, Masters of Orders and priors of Castile, commissioning them to ensure that the Jews left their lands without any harm coming to themselves or their assets. Until this time the monarchs would afford them protection, authorising them to exchange or sell their property on equitable terms and take them outside the Kingdom except for gold, silver, coins and anything else prohibited by law. However, the cases of exploitation and fraud were widespread and the Jews were forced to sell their assets at very low prices or to abandon them leaving them with their Christian representatives.

Former Don Samuel Synagogue

Sinagoga de Don Samuel or del Pocillo (Don Samuel or Pocillo Synagogue)

On Pocillo street, a broken road, packed with flavour which zig zags between low houses, a house emerges with a surprising brick arch throughout its façade and which some academics have related with the synagoguemade by don Simuel. This place of worship is mentioned in documents between 1430 and 1460 and it was one of the centres of the Jewish faith located in the Jewish quarter of Santo Domingo and dating from the 15th century.

The property was turned into a private home but it still stands out for its huge arch which dominates its façade and it does not follow the model of a habitual dwelling.

The synagogue

The synagogue (place of congregation, in Greek) is a Jewish temple. It faces Jerusalem, the Holy City, and it is a place for religious ceremonies, communal prayer, studying and meeting.

The Torahis read at the ceremonies. This task is conducted by the Rabbis aided by the cohen or singing child. The synagogue is not only a house of prayer but also an instruction centre as it is there where the Talmudic schools are usually run.

Men and women sit in separate sections.

The synagogue interior contains:

  1. The Hejal closet located in the east wall, facing Jerusalem, stored inside the Sefer Torah, the scrolls of the Torah, the Jewish sacred law.
  2. The Ner Tamid, the everlasting flame always lit before the Ark.
  3. The menorah, a seven-armed candelabrum, a habitual symbol in worship.
  4. The Bimah, place from where the Torah is read.

Former Sinagoga de Belforad (Belforad Synagogue)

Capilla de Nuestra Señora de las Nieves (Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows)

The Capilla de Nuestra Señora de Las Nieves (Chapel of our Lady of the Snows) on Reyes Católicos street, previously called Cal de Andrín street, was put up by the then vicereine of Sicily, María Dávila, on the plot which had previously accommodated the Ávila synagogue called Belforad. Popular tradition retained the name of the rabbi's house for the dwelling located on Las Nieves street (the current Synagogue Hostelry) and which was connected to the temple. The chapel interior is dominated by a wonderful alabaster relief, the work of Juan Rodríguez and Lucas Giraldo.

The synagogue

The synagogue (place of congregation, in Greek) is a Jewish temple. It faces Jerusalem, the Holy City, and it is a place for religious ceremonies, communal prayer, studying and meeting.

The Torahis read at the ceremonies. This task is conducted by the Rabbis aided by the cohen or singing child. The synagogue is not only a house of prayer but also an instruction centre as it is there where the Talmudic schools are usually run.

Men and women sit in separate sections.

The synagogue interior contains:

  1. The Hejal closet located in the east wall, facing Jerusalem, stored inside the Sefer Torah, the scrolls of the Torah, the Jewish sacred law.
  2. The Ner Tamid, the everlasting flame always lit before the Ark.
  3. The menorah, a seven-armed candelabrum, a habitual symbol in worship.
  4. The Bimah, place from where the Torah is read.

Former Sinagoga del Lomo (Lomo Synagogue)

Entrance to the Lomo synagogue

Some theories posit that the current Moses Rubí chapel was the former Main Synagogue, whilst other academics believe that the Main synagogue could be that of Lomo which was situated in the present Esteban Domingo street.

Documentary evidence pertaining to the synagogue place it in the late 15th century alongside the first incarnation convent, already converted into a church going by the name of Todos los Santos (All Saints). A Royal Decree issued in Madrid on December 6th 1495 by the Catholic Monarchs states that in 1482 doctor Pedro Sánchez Frías, the Chief Magistrate of the city, took possession after the segregation of the Jewish community to the Telares District in compliance with a decree by the Courts of Toledo in 1480, of certain synagogues which the Jews had in Ávila. And as the Lomo synagogue situated alongside the monastery of Saint Mary of the Incarnation was in ruins was used as a farmyard, they donated the temple to this convent at the behest of its Prioress, Catalina del Águila.

Gate of Bad Luck

Gate of Bad Luck

Alongside the Moses of Leon garden the gate of Bad Luck opens (also called the Cursed or Gypsies' Arch). Its name has given rise to many different theories, one of which relates it directly with the bad luck of the Jews who were forced to leave via this gate by the Catholic Monarchs' decree of expulsion and who chose exile rather than convert to Christianity. In the garden, perfectly aligned with the gate, there is a small monolith recalling the verses of the Zohar, so in keeping with the spirituality of Ávila:

Hay momentos en que las almas que están en el jardín suben y alcanzan la puerta del cielo...

Moses of León

Moses ben Sem Tob de León was born in 1240 and died in 1305. He was a rabbi and philosopher and the author of the Book of Splendour, a central work of the Kabbalah.

Since his youth he was interested in philosophy and at the tender age of 24, whilst still following his religious studies, he received a copy of the Guide of the perplexed by Maimonides. From that time he started to get interested in the Kabbalah and devoted several years of his life to getting in touch with Kabbalists from all over the Crown of Castile, even striking up a friendship with a now very old Nahmanides, and spreading the Kabbalist doctrine in view of the increase in the rationalist influence of Judaism.

In Guadalajara, he carries out around twenty four documents about the Kabbalah and in 1286 he had already completed the majority of the Zohar, including a different version of the Midrash. Although to write the Zohar he said he had been guided by old manuscripts by the mystic Simeón Ben Yojai (2nd century), this could never be demonstrated as at that time it was very common between Jewish writers to attribute their books to classical authors.

Incarnation Monastery

Incarnation Monastery

The Incarnation Monastery was founded as a Place of Worship in 1478 at some dwellings near the Gate of St. Vincent owned by its founder Elvira González de Medina. In 1510, with Beatriz de Guiera as the prior, the community is transferred to the current site, previously taken up by a Jewish cemetery and nuns. In the 18th century the interior of the church was transformed, renovating the altars and altarpieces within Baroque aesthetics.

This Monastery is one of the essential places in the life of Teresa of Ávila where she stayed almost uninterruptedly from 1535 to 1574. When Teresa de Cepeda, without her parents' permission, joined the Order of Carmen, the monastery was one of those with the most members in the city. At Incarnation she recovered the advice of Francisco de Borja, John of the Cross and Pedro de Alcántara and then prepared the Carmel Reform.

The Convent houses a Teresian museum. One of the most outstanding works is a drawing undertaken by John of the Cross which portrays Christ on the Cross.

The Incarnation Monastery was declared a National Monument on October 23rd 1983.

Its inclusion on this list of places related with the Jews of Àvila is related with the existence of some documentary references which attest to the fact that this was the location of one of the burial sites of this community.

Jewish Cemetery of Incarnation

Jewish Cemetery of Encarnación (Incarnation)

Tradition has it that the Ávila Jewish cemetery was situated on the sites where the Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación was built. This foundation occurred in August 1511 when Beatriz Guiera (or Yera) acquired the houses of Pilón de la Mimbre to move to them the original convent to be found at that time alongside the Gate of St. Vincent, alongside the Lomo synagogue. Beatriz Guiera literally bought a Jewish Graveyard which was outside the city walls and this was where the convent was built.

The cemetery

The cemetery was located outside the walls at a certain distance from the Jewish district. The chosen site:

  • Must be on virgin soil
  • Must be on a slope
  • Be oriented towards Jerusalem

The Jewish quarter had to have a direct access to the cemetery to prevent the burials from having to pass through the interior of the city.

After 1492 the monarchs authorised (in Barcelona in 1391) the reuse of stones from Jewish cemeteriesas construction material. It is thus not unusual to find fragments of Hebrew inscriptions in several subsequent constructions.

Despite the pillaging they suffered from the late 14th century, the memory of these cemeteries has remained in the name in certain places, for instance, Montjuïc in Barcelona or Girona. We are aware of the existence of more than twenty medieval Jewish cemeteries. Others are only known of thanks to the documentation or the headstones conserved. The one in Barcelona at Montjuïc was excavated in 1945 and 2000, the one in Seville in 2004, the one in Toledo in 2009 and the one in Ávila in 2012.

La Estrella Inn

Estrella Inn Courtyard where the columns with 'roelas' (circles) could be viewed

Opposite the St. John steps are the doors of a former stately home, known as the Estrella Inn and which today houses a language academy. In its courtyard you can still see a chapter decorated with roelas(circles) which were so typical of Jewish culture in a property which had Jewish owners in the Middle Ages.

Medieval Tanneries

Archaeological remains of the medieval tanneries. Amongst the earthenware jars you can see the paving of what could be a street

Discovered in 2004 between the bridge over the River Adaja and the hermitage of Saint Secundus in a space currently part of the city's nature interpretation centre, the medieval tanneries remind us of the industrial past of the city and, to be specific, of the Jewish community.

The Former Tanneries of the St. Secondus Suburbs constitute a unique, relevant example of the craft complex dedicated to tanning hides which operated between the 14th century and the end of the 17th century. As regards the remains, there is a considerable number of earthenware jars still in one piece as well as the oaks (troughs where the fabrics and hides were immersed) and even the flooring of the rooms.

The tanneries dealt with the tanning of hides and until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in the 15th century they were run by the latter. They kept in business for three centuries until the mod-late 17th century, coinciding with a time of economic crisis in Spain which particularly affected industrial production.

At present, these tanneries (the most spectacular of those conserved in the Peninsula) remain concealed, protected until a designed musealization is implemented and their corresponding development.

Mercado Chico (Small market) Square

The Jews also kept on living between the Mercado Chico and the Grande until the issuing of the Edict of Expulsion in 1492

Reyes Católicos street gives out onto the Mercado Chico square, the most intimate heart of the walled city with its colonnades, its Town Hall and St. John's Church. At present, the municipal archives have in their safekeeping one of the scarce surviving originals of the decree of expulsion by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492.

As was usual amongst the Jews, in view of their commercial vocation they settled in the city centre to afford greater projection to their businesses. Their district par excellence was the area which stretched between the St. Vincent Basilica, the Mercado Grande and the San Millán district. In the trades set up there the Jews raw materials were provided in order to make the hamin or hot food in shabbatwhich included the adafinas and pan with chickpeas, egg and sheep's trotters as well as lentil soup, capons and sausages, trout, etc.

The Decree of Expulsion of 1492

The expulsion of the Jews from the Spanish kingdoms should not be regarded as an isolated incident in the European context. Growing religious intolerance had already brought about similar cases in England, France and elsewhere. The decision by the Catholic Monarchs thus came as no great surprise. It could even be said that the incorporation of Spain into this widespread process of European Christendom against the Jews actually came late.

Before signing the Decree of expulsion the Catholic Monarchs attempted to eradicate Jewish proselytism by adopting certain measures. These included the Jews living in separate places which does not seem to have been enough, giving rise in 1480 to the foundation of the Inquisition Court and, in 1483, their expulsion from Andalusia. As these measures were not sufficient to prevent those evils which, in the opinion of the Monarchs, were being brought upon the Christian religion, after much deliberation and listening to their advisors and the prelates, they agreed to set a final deadline of the end of July 1492 for all Jews to leave their kingdoms forever, on pain of death and confiscation of their assets despite the economic problems this measure would cause.

Consequently, the banishment order was communicated to all prelates, nobles, Masters of Orders and priors of Castile, commissioning them to ensure that the Jews left their lands without any harm coming to themselves or their assets. Until this time the monarchs would afford them protection, authorising them to exchange or sell their property on equitable terms and take them outside the Kingdom except for gold, silver, coins and anything else prohibited by law. However, the cases of exploitation and fraud were widespread and the Jews were forced to sell their assets at very low prices or to abandon them leaving them with their Christian representatives.

Moses de León Garden

Moses de León Garden

The aroma of the great Avila mystics, Teresa of Jesus and John of the Cross (who actually also had Judeoconvert and Toledo origins), remains intact when you arrive, passing through Telares street, at the Moses de León garden where homage is paid to the universal author of Sefer ha-Zohar or the Book of Splendour. In this case the actual architecture of the gardens corresponds to the structure of a mystic garden which evokes the deep spirituality of this learned Jew who resided in the house of Yuçaf of Ávila for years. It was in this city where his highly complex text first came to light based on Kabbalistic tradition and which he himself attributed to the esoteric interpretation of the manuscripts of Simeon ben Yohai from the 2nd century found inside a cave.

The garden is located opposite the Gate of Bad Luck which provided direct access to the Jewish quarter.

The Talmudic school of Ávila

Ávila was the location of one of the most important Talmudic academies of the 13th to the 14th centuries, the focus for tendencies to Messianism as the observance of the Law was stricter. Ávila took in Moses bem Sem Tob de León (Moses de León), a Rabbi and wandering wise man who, after living in Guadalajara, wrote and put the finishing touches here to his Sefer ha-Zohar or Book of Splendour which, along with the Talmud and the Bible, form the trilogy of Kabbalistic mysticism. It was Ávila that the first manuscript of the Zohar was disseminated from the house of Yuçaf de Ávila where he lived, the influential, wealthy tax farmer of the King.

A contemporary of Moses ben Sem Tob of León was another illustrious Jew, Nissim ben Abraham, better known as The Prophet of Ávila, the author of the Libro de las maravillas de la sabiduría (Book of the miracles of wisdom) and the man who caused a wave of conversions to Christianity when, in compliance with a prophecy he announced about an apparition of the Messiah, what finally appeared to the Jews of Àvila was the cross of Christ... The most recent texts present Ávila as a certain hub of intellectual and spiritual life where a major Talmudic school flourished and which, for example, in 1236 the illustrious Jewish philosopher David Quimhí visited.

Mosén Rubí Chapel: Main Synagogue or Moçon Synagogue?

The Capilla de Mosén Rubí (Mosén Rubí Chapel) from Bracamonte street

The historian on Sephardic themes D. A. Halperin put forward the hypothesis that the current Mosén Rubí chapel was «originally built in 1462 as a major Synagogue» and that later, when it had already been converted into a church, it was annexed to the hospital constructed following the will of María Herrera on October 2nd 1512. María was the daughter of Diego Martínez de Herrera, a converted Jew.

The construction date of a synagogue in 1462 is highly plausible in view of the fact that the ban on building synagogues was implemented with the law enacted on January 16th 1465 during Henry IV's reign, one year after the temple's construction had been completed. This being the case, it may well be the last built in Spain prior to the Expulsion.

To back up his theory, D. A. Halperin states that the executor of María's will, her nephew Diego de Bracamonte, built a wooden hospital and the chaplains' chambers adjoining an already existing temple. The chapel designed would accommodate around 25 people and the one we are examining has a much greater capacity. Furthermore, he transcribes an enigmatic inscription inside the temple citing the construction date according to the Jewish calendar and notes the existence of a Star of David on the NW face of the building. Finally, the fact there is no large synagogue like those to be found in Toledo or Segovia makes no sense in one of the cities with the largest Jewish populations in the peninsula.

Rabbi's House (annexed to the Belforad Synagogue)

Callejón de las Nieves, donde se encuentra la Casa del Rabino

In the side street on the right of the gate of the (ermita de Nuestra Señora de las Nieves) hermitage of Our Lady of the Snows there is a magnificent mansion which must have been the Rabbi's house and which today houses the Synagogue Hostelry, a very charming hotel rife with Hebrew references. Worthy of special note are some painted features which some have interpreted as a fragment of a Star of David on the old door which connected the house and the synagogue. Also thought to be another symbol was the cross engraved on one of the door jabs, a sign that New Christians marked their doors with to avoid problems in turbulent times.

Reyes Católicos' Street

Reyes Católicos' Street

Accessing the interior of the city wall via the Alcázar Gate and after passing through Don Gerónimo and Alemania streets we come out onto Reyes Católicos street. In the Middle Ages it was known as Cal de Andrín street and this was where one of the city synagogues was possibly located in the same place where today the ermita de Nuestra Señora de las Nieves (hermitage of Our Lady of the Snows) can be found. This street was the location for the majority of Jewish trades and workshops though today its buildings are more characteristic of the 19th and early 20th Centuries.

River Adaja Gate

River Adaja Gate

After perusing Telares street from top to bottom and before leaving the walled site via the gate of Adaja, it's worthwhile taking a little look around St. Dominic street. Next there was the central thoroughfare of the Jewish quarter and, like the whole area, it maintains the features of low dwellings; humble homes, many of them with a yard which today lie in a haven of peace. But that wasn't always the case: during the segregation in the 15th century, they were actually overpopulated, bringing about protests from the Avila Moorish quarter owing to lack of hygiene and the bad odours. Via this gate of Adaja, which the Moslems used to get to their gardens alongside the river, the Jews also accessed their properties in the countryside.

San Pedro Church

Western Façade of St. Peter's Church

St. Peter's Church is undoubtedly one of the most significant temples of Castile and León. Since its Romanesque origins both the building and its decoration have evolved, the upshot of the prolongation of its construction over time. It was probably started in the second quarter of the 12th century but, for unknown reasons, the works were halted until the end of said century.

On the exterior, the triple header, an apse on each of the naves, brings together an amazing sculptoric repertoire with vegetal, fauna and geometric motifs but also including religious scenes like the history of Cain and Abel or the Temptation of Adam. Altogether this would be the first construction stage.

At the second of these stages the transept walls were built and at the third the lateral naves. As early as the 13th century the pillars of the main nave were raised and the roof would gradually be covered with barrel and ribbed vaults. The passage of time meant that the artistic criteria gradually changed and the arches started to become evident as the preface to the Gothic tendencies which would end up prevailing. Finally, upon completing this Romanesque stage, the dome was raised. The temple has a «Latin cross» ground plan with a central nave whose dimensions are larger than the lateral ones, separated by spacious stone arches.

St. Peter's Church was declared a National Monument in 1914.

An esplanade extends throughout almost the whole perimeter of the temple. This is St. Peter's Atrium. It was here that the Castilian monarchs swore to respect the regional charters of Castile and the Inquisition raised a platform to stage the trials of heretics. This all goes to illustrate the great importance of this church in the period of the greatest political importance in the city of Ávila.

It was at St. Peter's Atrium that the notorious trial took place of those Jews accused in the case of the Holy Child of La Guardia, an event which grabbed the attention of the kingdom at that time and which serves as a perfect illustration of the worsening of relations between Jews and Christians in the late 15th century.

The case of the Holy Child of La Guardia

The case of the Holy Child of La Guardia is a prime example of the anti-Semitism prevailing in the late 15th century to achieve religious unification and which, according to some historians, serves as the spark leading to the signing of the decree of expulsion promulgated by the Catholic Monarchs.

Benito García, a convert, who was suspected of stealing consecrated hosts, is arrested. He confesses that he is still practising the Jewish religion along with another convert, Juan de Ocaña, and a Jew Franco de Tembleque. Benito García is set to the Inquisition prison of Ávila where he meets Yucé Franco, a Jewish cobbler. In prison the latter confesses to Antonio de Ávila, a Jewish doctor pretending to be a Rabbi, that a few years previously he had taken part in a ritual crime in La Guardia (Toledo). One Easter Friday he had crucified a boy and then he had mixed his blood and heart with a consecrated host in an act of witchcraft aimed at bringing about a rabies epidemic throughout the land.

Denounced by the Rabbi, an Inquisition spy, Yucé Franco recants saying the story was told to him by a convert, a certain Alonso Franco. Subjected to torture, he again confesses his participation in the crime. The Inquisition decides to arrest them all and takes them to the prison of Ávila.

The proceedings commenced on December 17th 1490 and ended one year later. Despite the fact that there was no corpse and the continuous contradictions appearing in the process, on November 16th 1491, at an auto de fe held in Ávila, the two Jews and there converts are sentenced to death by the Inquisition. Two of them confessed their guilt and their error in at the last moment and they were garrotted before being burned. The rest were burned alive slightly later.

San Vicente Basilica

The Basilica of San Vicente from the city wall

The Basilica of San Vicente dates back to the 12th century but it was built on another prior place of worship which it is hard to define. Although it is a compendium of Romanesque architecture as their construction lasted until the 13th century it also bears traces of late Romanesque, directly preceding Gothic art.

On the exterior the use of cali stone (orange) lends it an amazing array of colours which contrasts with the sober grey granite of its portico.

Inside, it has a «Latin cross» ground plan with three naves which culminate in their attendant apse. Its narrowness lifts our gaze up to the ceilings which are vaulted.

The inclusion of this monument on the Ávila list of cultural heritage related with the Jews can be put down to the extraordinary reliefs which decorate the cenotaph (13th century) or urn where the remains of the martyrs are kept. These saints were the siblings Vicente, Sabina and Cristeta and they suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Diocletian (around 360) by refusing to admit they had carried out pagan rites. Tradition would have it that their bodies were laid out on a rock and the first basilica was built at this site. Its construction was paid for by a Jew who had boasted of his martyrdom: when he was gloating over the torture they were being subject to, a snake wrapped around his body and he felt that if he didn't renounce his faith, it would put paid to him.

Now converted to Christianity the Jew went ahead with the erection of this place of worship where he himself would later be buried. All these events are portrayed in the aforementioned cenotaph reliefs.

At present the martyrs' remains are located in urns arranged at the Main Altar and the cenotaph is admired for its excellent carvings as well as for the canopy which covers it and was added later in 1469.

The Basilica of San Vicente was declared a National Monument in 1882.

The legend of the Jew

Although documents have told us about the arrival of a first contingent of Jews in the late 11th century as participants in the venture to resettle the city by Count Raymond of Burgundy, after a long period as no man´s land on the border between Christians and Moslems, theories abound satting that there were Jews in Ávila well before this historic time, undoubtedly back in Roman times. This possibility is further backed up by the very legend of the foundation of Ávila as a Christian city in the 4th century in which at the same place where the first martyrial church dedicated to the saints Vincent, Sabina and Cristeta, a Jew builds, after having miraculously saved after a deadly snake bite which surprised him whilst laughing about the martyrdom of the brothers at the hands of Roman soldiers. This is recounted in every gory detail on the expressive vignettes surrounding the magnificent tomb of the martyrs at the Basilica of San Vicente, one of the great gems of the Castilian Romanesque.

The brothers Vincent, Sabina and Cristeta were captured and martyrized in Ávila in 306. In the times of Diocletian, the governor of Hispania, they had refused to sign a document acknowledging they had offered sacrifices to the Roman gods. A Jew was collaboration in the martyrdom when a snake curled round his neck. He promised God that if he got free, he would convert to Christianity and provide the martyr brothers with a tomb; at this same place the first church would be erected where, according to tradition, he was buried.

Santo Domingo District

Santo Domingo District. Vallespín Street

The current Vallespín street recently also given its traditional name of Rua de Zapateros, constitutes a major thoroughfare between Mercado Chico and the gate of Adaja which clearly delimits the frontier of the Ávila Jewish quarter which was situated on its left in the Santo Domingo district, well-connected with the main thoroughfares of Santo Domingo and Telares streets. As in many other cities possessing a Jewish quarter, Zapateros (cobblers') street refers to one of the main trades of the Jews inhabiting Ávila who also prevailed in other trades like clothing and footwear as well as various crafts. This streets houses the palacio de Polentinos (Polentinos palace) from the 16th century, currently the Military History Archive which boasts an extraordinary plateresque door.

The separation of the Jews which was to be applied by the Pragmática of 1412 was avoided in Ávila because the Cabildo (council) rented houses and premises to Jews and was not interested in any measure which could have led to a fall in its revenue. The Jews continued to live in the streets neighbouring the Cathedral or between Mercado Chico and Grande on Zapateros Street, San Juan Square, Arch of Montenegro and from the Gate of Bad Luck to the face of the town wall at Adaja Bridge.

In 1442 when the Papal bull issued by Eugene IV arrived, Álvaro de Luna refused to accept it and convinced Juan II to act in favour of the Jewish people who were so loyal. After Enrique IV came to the throne in 1454, he adopted the previous laws and authorised unlimited commerce, a free market and economic freedom which benefitted the Jews of Ávila.

St. Teresa Convent

Saint Teresa Convent. Built in the 17th century on the plot occupied by the house where Teresa of Jesus was born

Via de la Dama street where the remains of the former Santa Escolástica hospital still survive and Intendente Aizpuru street, the Santa square is entered (the inhabitants of Ávila know it in capital letters) where the Santa convent is situated. This monastic foundation was erected on what used to be the house where Teresa of Jesús was born, a top writer on Spanish Golden Century literature and Christian mysticism. And despite her convert origins as she was closely related to a family of new Christians in Toledo.

Built between 1629 and 1636, the convent combines the beauty of its church, a magnificent example of the Carmelite style, a fascinating Santa Teresa Museum located on the underground crypts and which contains pieces which are still relatively unknown to the general public and are extremely valuable.

On the other side of the Santa gate, the Mysticism Interpretation Centre is organised into four rooms which correspond to the three universal elements established by Saint Catherine of Siena (one space where you can be by yourself, another to be with God and a third for being with the world) as well as a fourth identified with tradition.

The Hebrew origin of Saint Teresa of Jesus or of Saint John of the Cross, meant they both suffered some problems when they started to practice their faith and shows how conversion was actually an option accepted by part of the Jewish community.

Old Christian versus New Christian

The old Christian was one who could prove that his four preceding generations had all been Christians. This meant he had cleanliness of blood compared with the New Christians whose origins included Moslem or Jewish blood despite their conversion. This condition was not particularly important but it did serve to disqualify some or prevent their social climbing.

Star of David at R. M. Santo Tomás'

Main Entrance to the Saint Thomas Royal Monastery

The Royal Monastery of Saint Thomas, a convent of Dominicans and the summer palace of the Catholic Monarchs, was built on the site where the house of Fernán González was located, a Judaizing canon, and it is one of the real jewels in the crown of Ávila's heritage. In addition to its church where the superb sepulchre of Prince John stands out, the ill-fated son of Isabel and Fernando and the altarpieces of Pedro Berruguete on the main altar, it also has three amazing cloisters. Saint Thomas is usually recognised as being the figure, the implacable Friar Tomas de Torquemada.

In view of this setting , it is quite astounding that on one of the palace gates, currently included in the tour of the Oriental Museum, a Star of David is clearly engraved. Ornamental recourse? Signature of the paintings' author? It is one of the many mysteries held by this surprising monument.

Telares District

Houses today in the Telares District. This is where the synagogue was located where the last tears were shed of those embarking into banishment to the vicinity of the Gate of Bad Luck

Since the late 11th century the Jews inhabited different areas of the city, both within the city walls and in the immediately outlying suburbs. However, in the last quarter of the 15th century they were forced to be segregated in a small sector around the Gate of Bad Luck and Telares street. The Jewish community thus lost some of their basic rights which they had been previously been ensured by the monarchy and the nobles. For example, in 1442 prior to the formalisation of the ghetto, Álvaro de Luna had convinced the king Juan II to allow a people as loyal to the Crown as the Jews to be exempt from the stipulations of the papal bull of Eugene IV and in 1454 Enrique IV had even improved upon the economic and social conditions of the Jews, authorising unrestricted trade between Jews and Christians.

Nowadays, the Telares street area is an urban space with low dwellings (called Molineras) where there is a garden with aromatic plants whose name, Moses de León Garden, in homage to this distinguished Jew who lived in the city.

The Four Pillars

The Four Pillars

If the tour is in the afternoon and you feel like or intend to get back to your point of departure in a fit state, it is undoubtedly worth ending your visit by crossing to the other side of the bridge and following the road as far as the shrine of the Four Pillars, seeking this intimate, magic moment in which the city is lit up, with the city wall in the foreground and the sky of Ávila turns from blue to black in an unforgettable experience. Viewed from here, the Cabalistic structure of Ávila, the Jerusalem of Castileas it was christened by the poet Avner Pérez, or, if you prefer, the interior castle of Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada is something so clear that it barely needs an explanation.

Vallespín Street (former Zapateros street)

Vallespín Street (former Zapateros street), from Mercado Chico

The current Vallespín street, recently also given its traditional name of Zapateros Street, constitutes a major thoroughfare between Mercado Chico and the gate of Adaja. Its rectilinear layout would mark the frontier of the Ávila Jewish quarter located on its left in what was known as Santo Domingo district, connected by Santo Domingo and Telares streets which run parallel to the southern face of the city wall. As in many other cities with a Jewish quarter, the street map refers to the trade guilds which were very prevalent there. The main trades carried out by the Jews residing in Ávila were everything related with clothing and footwear as well as other crafts like hide tanning.

This streets houses the Polentinos palace from the 16th century, currently the Military History Archive which boasts an extraordinary plateresque door.

Glossary