Marranos
Marranos
(mərä`nōs): see SephardimSephardim, one of the two major geographic divisions of the Jewish people, consisting of those Jews whose forebears in the Middle Ages resided in the Iberian Peninsula, as distinguished from those who lived in Germanic lands, who came to be known as the Ashkenazim (see
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Marranos
in medieval Spain and Portugal, Jews who officially converted to Christianity.
The number of converts increased in the 14th and 15th centuries (especially after the Royal Edict of 1492, which required that all Jews either adopt Catholicism in three months or leave Spain; about 50,000, attested to in various sources, adopted Christianity). They were an isolated group within the population. The Marranos engaged in trade, tax collecting, and state service. Their wealth aroused the envy of the feudal lords and the clergy. The Marranos were persecuted by the Inquisition, which accused them of secretly adhering to their former faith.