MARRANOS. - This was the name given in Spain to converts from Islam - and there were very few of them - but especially to converts from Judaism, who had no sincere adherence to the Christian religion.
Shortly before the Middle Ages, despite the opposition of the Visigothic kings, Jews were very numerous in Spain. Because of this opposition and in order to overcome it, there were many feigned conversions, certainly not encouraged by the Church, which, on the contrary, at the Council of Toledo of 633 had condemned the decree of King Sisebut that left the Jews the alternative of embracing the Catholic faith or leaving the kingdom, and had also opposed a similar order of King Wamba. The Twelfth and Thirteenth Councils of Toledo rather favored with privileges the spontaneous conversion of the children of Israel. Nevertheless, with the increase of these new Christians, their good relations with other Catholics did not grow; the latter suspected that they were supporting the conquest of the nation by the African Mohammedans, as unfortunately happened in 711.
During the centuries-long crusade of the new Christian kingdoms of the peninsula for the expulsion of the Saracens, popular fury was often aroused against the usury and economic oppression exercised by the Jews, and distrust toward the new converts. One cannot recall without horror the almost continuous slaughter of Jews throughout the whole 14th century, carried out by fanatical rabble excited by exaggerated accounts of crimes against Christians. It is understandable that very many followers of the Mosaic law sought baptism solely to avoid death or persecution, while inwardly they preserved their hatred of the religion of the rulers. Many, however, sincerely embraced the evangelical doctrine because of the wonderful preaching of St. Vincent Ferrer, protector at Valencia of those who were unjustly persecuted, or because of the books written at that time in favor of the faith of Christ, even by several converted Jews.
The instinct for religious unity, rightly manifested in the second half of the 15th century as the Catholic conquest of the south of the peninsula was being completed, awakened animosity against the m., that is, the false new converts: the antagonism existing between old and new Christians was incredible. To this state of mind the tribunal of the Spanish Inquisition largely owes its origin, erected in 1482 at the request of the Catholic monarchs with a bull of Sixtus IV, by virtue of which so many capital sentences were issued against hypocritical Judaizers.
The people preserved a deep aversion to Christians descended from the ancient Jews, so that in the statutes for the granting of noble titles or for admission to confraternities, proof of purity of blood was always required, with the aim of excluding the descendants of Jews from every privilege. Until the 18th century this antipathy toward the m. was preserved; and even today on the island of Majorca it has not entirely disappeared.