Essay Database

Before considering whether or not Marranos, Renaissance Jews, and Court Jews were harbingers of Jewish modernity, the boundaries of Jewish modernity itself should be defined. Jewish modernity began in the seventeenth century where, "according to nearly all views today, many of the elements that become constitutive of later Jewish life made their appearance to any degree (Myer)." Each of the groups mentioned appeared after the Spanish Inquisition in the fourteenth century, and were thrown into …

…allowed to Christians (Carsten). Jewish modernity had a long and grueling journey to where it is today. Though no one group was responsible for the change, Marranos, Renaissance Jews, and Court Jews all helped. Marranos were able to protest against rabbinical Judaism due to their objectivity to Judaism. Renaissance Jews helped bring the Jewish population closer to mainstream Europe through education. Court Jews were able to secure freedoms that were previously unknown to the Jews.