MARRANI. — This was the name given in Spain to those who had converted from Islam — and they were very few — but especially from Judaism, without sincere adherence to the Christian religion.
Shortly before the Middle Ages, despite the opposition of the Visigothic kings, there were very numerous Jews in Spain. Because of this opposition and in order to overcome it, there were many false conversions, certainly not encouraged by the Church, which, instead, at the Council of Toledo in 633 had condemned the decree of King Sisebut that left the Jews with the alternative of embracing the Catholic faith or leaving the kingdom, and had also opposed a similar order from King Wamba. The 12th and 13th Councils of Toledo rather favored spontaneous conversion of the children of Israel with privileges. However, as the number of these New Christians grew, their good relations with other Catholics did not improve; the latter suspected them of aiding the conquest of the nation by the African Muslims, as unfortunately happened in 711.
During the centuries-long crusade of the new Christian kingdoms of the peninsula to drive out the Saracens, popular fury often flared up against usury and the economic oppression exercised by the Jews and against the distrust of the New Converts. One cannot recall without horror the almost continuous slaughter of Jews throughout the 14th century carried out by fanatical mobs, stirred up by exaggerated accounts of crimes against Christians. It is understandable that many followers of the Mosaic law sought baptism solely to avoid death or persecution, while internally they preserved hatred for the religion of their dominators. Many, however, sincerely embraced the evangelical doctrine because of the marvelous preaching of St. Vincent Ferrer, protector in Valencia of those unjustly persecuted, or because of the books written at that time in favor of the Christian faith, even by several converted Jews.
The instinct for religious unity, justly manifested in the second half of the 15th century as the Catholic conquest of the southern part of the peninsula was completed, aroused animosity against the marrani, i.e., the false New Converts: incredible was the antagonism existing between old and new Christians. To this state of mind must largely be attributed the origin of the Spanish Inquisition, established in 1482 at the request of the Catholic Monarchs by a bull of Sixtus IV, by virtue of which so many capital sentences were passed against the hypocritical judgments.
The people retained a deep aversion to Christians descended from ancient Jews, so that in the statutes granting noble titles or admission to confraternities, proof of purity of blood was always required, with the aim of excluding from every privilege the descendants of Jews. This antipathy toward the marrani persisted until the 18th century; and even today on the island of Majorca it has not entirely disappeared.