Its principal target was the conversos, descendants of Spanish Jews who had been forced to convert to Christianity some three generations earlier. Since thousands of them confessed to charges of practicing Judaism in secret, historians have long understood the Inquisition as an attempt to suppress the Jews of Spain. In this magisterial reexamination of the origins of the Inquisition, Netanyahu argues for a different view: that the conversos were in fact almost all genuine Christians who were persecuted for political ends. The Inquisition's attacks not only on the conversos' religious beliefs but also on their "impure blood" gave birth to an anti-Semitism based on race that would have terrible consequences for centuries to come.This book has become essential reading and an indispensable reference book for both the interested layman and the scholar of history and religion.

    This Cri de Merlin still echoes in our ears down the ages and across borders and generations, typifying the fascination which the figure of Merlin still exerts in Western culture.Although Merlin and the Arthurian legends are chiefly British and Celtic in basis, such is his importance that the stories have had a great influence across the English, French and German traditions as well as in the Celtic languages.In Merlin through the Ages, noted experts Bob Stewart and John Matthews have brought together an astonishingly wide range of accounts and depictions of Merlin, from the very earliest records, through the medieval and Victorian re-interpretations to the modern depictions in stories and electronic media. The figure of Merlin remains a strong and influential one throughout, from the ancient Celtic myths to the allegorical characterization as Obi Wan Kenobi in the 'Star Wars' movies.Though the editors present such a valuable and wide-ranging array of texts, this is not primarily a scholarly collection. Instead, it is an overview of the Merlin literature for the general reader as well as for the historian, researcher, Arthurian enthusiast and modern seeker after an older knowledge.Whatever the starting point of any interest in Merlin, be it in his archetypal human wildness, his role of wiseman, as seer, prophet or shaman, this book is surely destined to become the

    In this book, the author discusses the history and development of Italian record keeping, providing reproductions of typical records and a complete translation and thorough explanation of each. Among the many other topics covered in this book are the significance of Italian surnames and the relevance of Italian noble families in the search for Italian ancestors.