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The Handless Maiden: Moriscos and the Politics of Religion in Early Modern Spain
In 1502, a decade of increasing tension between Muslims and Christians in Spain culminated in a royal decree that Muslims in Castile wanting to remain had to convert to Christianity. Mary Elizabeth Perry uses this event as the starting point for a remarkable exploration of how Moriscos, converted Muslims and their descendants, responded to their increasing disempowerment in sixteenth- and early-seventeenth-century Spain. Stepping beyond traditional histories that have emphasized armed conflict from the view of victors, The Handless Maiden focuses on Morisco women. Perry argues that these women's lives offer vital new insights on the experiences of Moriscos in general, and on how the politics of religion both empowers and oppresses.
Drawing on archival documents, legends, and literature, Perry shows that the Moriscas carried out active resistance to cultural oppression through everyday rituals and acts. For example, they taught their children Arabic language and Islamic prayers, dietary practices, and the observation of Islamic holy days. Thus the home, not the battlefield, became the major forum for Morisco-Christian interaction. Moriscas' experiences further reveal how the Morisco presence provided a vital counter-identity for a centralizing state in early modern Spain. For readers of the twenty-first century, The Handless Maiden raises urgent questions of how we choose to use difference and historical memory.
Drawing on archival documents, legends, and literature, Perry shows that the Moriscas carried out active resistance to cultural oppression through everyday rituals and acts. For example, they taught their children Arabic language and Islamic prayers, dietary practices, and the observation of Islamic holy days. Thus the home, not the battlefield, became the major forum for Morisco-Christian interaction. Moriscas' experiences further reveal how the Morisco presence provided a vital counter-identity for a centralizing state in early modern Spain. For readers of the twenty-first century, The Handless Maiden raises urgent questions of how we choose to use difference and historical memory.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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April 5, 2014
Perry, Mary Elizabeth. The Handless Maiden: Moriscos and the Politics of Religion in Early Modern Spain, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.
Elizabeth Perry in her concise revisionist history The Handless Maiden analyzes the story of the assimilation and resistance of the Moriscos under the fledgling state of Spain in sixteenth century. Criticizing the previous scholarship for relegating the role of Morisco women in the process of the Morisco resistance against the encroachments of the Spanish monarch and the institution of Inquisition, Perry makes every effort to restore agency to the Moriscas. The author invokes forces of patriarchy and state repression as two reasons behind the misguided scholarship of our time. In order to avoid similar pitfalls, she takes a different approach. First, she recognizes the diversity of the Morisco population of the sixteenth century Spain. Secondly, she regards the forcible conversion of the Moriscos in the context of state formation, a phenomenon that ruffled a lot of feathers among both the Moriscos as New Christians and the Old Christians. The assimilation project was a complex one that requires fine-tuning on the part of the investigator.
Perry preambles her book with a statement that qualifies the methodology she applies in the book: “What follows is a story of Christians wrestling with their consciences while developing political power, and of Moriscos refusing to remain victims, finding impressive strength even in their defeat” (2). The Moriscos and the Spanish state both used religion as a source of inspiration for forging their identities in a critical time when the Catholic world was undergoing transformation in the face of Protestant reforms. The Spanish monarchy viewed the Moriscos as a counteridentity that served as a unifying factor for the Spanish nation. The Moriscos, on the other side, also used their religion as a source of resistance. They drew on their religious myths and rituals as way to offset the heavy-handed repressive measures of their new rulers. Morisco women played a significant part in transforming these symbols into mechanisms for resisting complete assimilation.
Following the fall of the last Muslim stronghold in Granada in 1492 under Isabel and Ferdinand, the Muslim populations of the Spanish states were promised freedom to practice their religion in return for their submission to the new sovereign. The promise was, however, violated, and the Muslim populations came under increased pressure from the Church authorities to convert. As a result, the Muslims revolted against the new repressive laws. The revolt took three years to subdue. Subsequently, forcible conversion was decreed by the monarch. All Muslims faced the option of conversion or migration from Spain. However, the New Christians or Moriscos as they came to be known refused to accept their fate passively as the process of religious conversion was extended to include effacement of all indicators of Morisco culture.
Throughout sixteenth century as the state and religious authorities stepped efforts to fully integrate their New Christian population, the Moriscos drew on their past historical and mythological stories and the remnants of their Muslim architecture to put up resistance. Carcayona, the Handless Maiden, a religious character in Morisco mythology, figures prominently as a source of inspiration for resistance. Carcayona defies the passive role imposed on women by submission only to Allah and his authority as the only legitimate source of power. Crippled by the ruthless suppression of the state and the Inquisitional practices of the Old Christians, the Morisco women assumed an active role as they turned the refuge of their homes into centers of resistance. Their veils, perceived as sign of submission to patriarchy, became symbols of a resilient culture that defied forced assimilation. Inside their homes, the Morisco women taught their children Arabic, cooked meals according to the religious rulings, and forged networks that helped their religion, culture, and identity to pass on to the new generations. Their participation in the battles they were forced to fight along with their men, they shatter the silence that historical scholarship has imposed on them. Perry uses the large number of inquisitorial trials of Moriscas as an indication that they were far from passive subjects.
The process of Morisco conversion was a long and complicated one that prompted disparate responses from the monarchy and the Christian theologians. It took a century for the Moriscos to be expelled from Iberia following their forced conversion. Perry walks us through the debates over the Morisco issue. “During the sixteenth century Muslim differences became Morisco deviance as Christians focused on Morisco bodies as the site of their cultural practices” (47). Using Madalena’s case of bathing, Perry explains that Moriscos’ bodies turned into a site of pollution and their cultural differences into a deviation that threatened the social order. While the Moriscos used their “embodied knowledge,” featured in their habits and practices such as bathing and circumcision as means of resistance, the Christian authorities regarded them as emblematic of their loyalty to Islam and signs of Morisco intransigence. In other words, the Morisco difference was sexualized in order to highlight the difference of the enemy as the Other.
The tragedy of the Moriscos’ relocation and eventual expulsion occupies the second half of the book. The excessive repression of the Moriscos led to another revolt in 1570 which prompted a decree from the monarch for their dispersion. They were housed separately within Old Christians. Morisco children were sent to schools under the Jesuits’ supervision. By this time, however, the Morisco question had turned into the hottest topic, especially as they were suspected of spies for the Turks who were conquering some of the Spanish outposts in the Mediterranean region. The debate over the expulsion of Moriscos was tied to the politics of the Spanish monarch and its relation to the nobility who used the Moriscos as their servants and farmers. When the decree was eventually issued under Philip III, 300,000 were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula after their property was confiscated. The decree also mandated that Morisco children under seven must be placed in the care of Old Christians. The story does not end here as many Moriscos tried to make their way back into Spain or took to the mountains as bandits. Some of the Moriscos were allowed to remain. Having lost their network, they nevertheless continued their clandestine resistance, as later inquisitorial documents suggest.
Perry’s book uses primary documents to pen a new narrative of the Moriscos in which Moriscas figure prominently as the carriers of the Muslim legacy in the Iberian Peninsula. She challenges the previous scholarship by refusing to study the Morisco question in a dichotomized world of us versus them. Instead, she problematizes the history of the Morisco experience by acknowledging the diversity of opinion, culture, and responses among the Old Christians and the Moriscos. She successfully contextualizes the Morisco experience by giving attention to their inspirational sources. Yet she fails to put the Spanish monarch’s pragmatic sanctions in the context of the Catholic reformation.
Elizabeth Perry in her concise revisionist history The Handless Maiden analyzes the story of the assimilation and resistance of the Moriscos under the fledgling state of Spain in sixteenth century. Criticizing the previous scholarship for relegating the role of Morisco women in the process of the Morisco resistance against the encroachments of the Spanish monarch and the institution of Inquisition, Perry makes every effort to restore agency to the Moriscas. The author invokes forces of patriarchy and state repression as two reasons behind the misguided scholarship of our time. In order to avoid similar pitfalls, she takes a different approach. First, she recognizes the diversity of the Morisco population of the sixteenth century Spain. Secondly, she regards the forcible conversion of the Moriscos in the context of state formation, a phenomenon that ruffled a lot of feathers among both the Moriscos as New Christians and the Old Christians. The assimilation project was a complex one that requires fine-tuning on the part of the investigator.
Perry preambles her book with a statement that qualifies the methodology she applies in the book: “What follows is a story of Christians wrestling with their consciences while developing political power, and of Moriscos refusing to remain victims, finding impressive strength even in their defeat” (2). The Moriscos and the Spanish state both used religion as a source of inspiration for forging their identities in a critical time when the Catholic world was undergoing transformation in the face of Protestant reforms. The Spanish monarchy viewed the Moriscos as a counteridentity that served as a unifying factor for the Spanish nation. The Moriscos, on the other side, also used their religion as a source of resistance. They drew on their religious myths and rituals as way to offset the heavy-handed repressive measures of their new rulers. Morisco women played a significant part in transforming these symbols into mechanisms for resisting complete assimilation.
Following the fall of the last Muslim stronghold in Granada in 1492 under Isabel and Ferdinand, the Muslim populations of the Spanish states were promised freedom to practice their religion in return for their submission to the new sovereign. The promise was, however, violated, and the Muslim populations came under increased pressure from the Church authorities to convert. As a result, the Muslims revolted against the new repressive laws. The revolt took three years to subdue. Subsequently, forcible conversion was decreed by the monarch. All Muslims faced the option of conversion or migration from Spain. However, the New Christians or Moriscos as they came to be known refused to accept their fate passively as the process of religious conversion was extended to include effacement of all indicators of Morisco culture.
Throughout sixteenth century as the state and religious authorities stepped efforts to fully integrate their New Christian population, the Moriscos drew on their past historical and mythological stories and the remnants of their Muslim architecture to put up resistance. Carcayona, the Handless Maiden, a religious character in Morisco mythology, figures prominently as a source of inspiration for resistance. Carcayona defies the passive role imposed on women by submission only to Allah and his authority as the only legitimate source of power. Crippled by the ruthless suppression of the state and the Inquisitional practices of the Old Christians, the Morisco women assumed an active role as they turned the refuge of their homes into centers of resistance. Their veils, perceived as sign of submission to patriarchy, became symbols of a resilient culture that defied forced assimilation. Inside their homes, the Morisco women taught their children Arabic, cooked meals according to the religious rulings, and forged networks that helped their religion, culture, and identity to pass on to the new generations. Their participation in the battles they were forced to fight along with their men, they shatter the silence that historical scholarship has imposed on them. Perry uses the large number of inquisitorial trials of Moriscas as an indication that they were far from passive subjects.
The process of Morisco conversion was a long and complicated one that prompted disparate responses from the monarchy and the Christian theologians. It took a century for the Moriscos to be expelled from Iberia following their forced conversion. Perry walks us through the debates over the Morisco issue. “During the sixteenth century Muslim differences became Morisco deviance as Christians focused on Morisco bodies as the site of their cultural practices” (47). Using Madalena’s case of bathing, Perry explains that Moriscos’ bodies turned into a site of pollution and their cultural differences into a deviation that threatened the social order. While the Moriscos used their “embodied knowledge,” featured in their habits and practices such as bathing and circumcision as means of resistance, the Christian authorities regarded them as emblematic of their loyalty to Islam and signs of Morisco intransigence. In other words, the Morisco difference was sexualized in order to highlight the difference of the enemy as the Other.
The tragedy of the Moriscos’ relocation and eventual expulsion occupies the second half of the book. The excessive repression of the Moriscos led to another revolt in 1570 which prompted a decree from the monarch for their dispersion. They were housed separately within Old Christians. Morisco children were sent to schools under the Jesuits’ supervision. By this time, however, the Morisco question had turned into the hottest topic, especially as they were suspected of spies for the Turks who were conquering some of the Spanish outposts in the Mediterranean region. The debate over the expulsion of Moriscos was tied to the politics of the Spanish monarch and its relation to the nobility who used the Moriscos as their servants and farmers. When the decree was eventually issued under Philip III, 300,000 were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula after their property was confiscated. The decree also mandated that Morisco children under seven must be placed in the care of Old Christians. The story does not end here as many Moriscos tried to make their way back into Spain or took to the mountains as bandits. Some of the Moriscos were allowed to remain. Having lost their network, they nevertheless continued their clandestine resistance, as later inquisitorial documents suggest.
Perry’s book uses primary documents to pen a new narrative of the Moriscos in which Moriscas figure prominently as the carriers of the Muslim legacy in the Iberian Peninsula. She challenges the previous scholarship by refusing to study the Morisco question in a dichotomized world of us versus them. Instead, she problematizes the history of the Morisco experience by acknowledging the diversity of opinion, culture, and responses among the Old Christians and the Moriscos. She successfully contextualizes the Morisco experience by giving attention to their inspirational sources. Yet she fails to put the Spanish monarch’s pragmatic sanctions in the context of the Catholic reformation.
February 16, 2020
It had been a few years since I read this, so I did a close re-read to prepare for teaching my Iberia class this week. I admire the depth of Perry's research and the way that she shows how an academic history can be written with beautiful style as well as clarity.
April 21, 2024
I read this book for my history class, and I found it to be a really interesting read. I am ashamed to say that I did not have a lot of knowledge about Moriscos going into the book, but I learned a lot, and I am thoroughly grateful for that. The book outlines the lives of Morisco women under Spanish Catholic rule, particularly the intersection of gender and religion in their lives.
When Spain outlawed the practice of Islam, they gave practicing Muslims two choices: convert to Christianity or leave. Some chose to leave, and some chose to remain in Spain, where they were labeled under the suspicious term "Morisco." People who were identified as Moriscos were constantly watched-- Catholics were suspicious that they had not truly converted and were practicing their religion in secret.
Dress and bathing habits were significant points of interest. Morisco women tended to wear clothing that distinguished them from other Europeans. Women often wore loose and baggy clothing in accordance with the weather, like trousers and veils, and they often went barefoot. These habits were in direct opposition with what most Europeans thought was modest and Christian, making them suspicious that they were faking their conversion. In the account of Madalena, we learn that bathing that was ritualistic and public also fell under suspicion, especially due to the fact that she washed her private parts.
The story of the "Handless Maiden" shows us the intersection between gender and religion. In the story, Carcayona disregards common expectations of her gender, disagreeing with her father, running away, takes care of herself and her child by herself in the wilderness, and doesn't immediately submit to the king. This inadherence is justified due to her obedience and faith in Allah. From how this story was received and celebrated, we know that religion tended to supersede gender in medieval and pre-modern times.
Later chapters of the book tend to focus on women's participation in warfare. It has been commonly understood that women do not have a common place with men in war, but this book disagrees. When attacked, women fought to defend themselves and their children. They joined their husbands in rebellion, fled to the mountains with their families, and supported rebels in private.
I learned a lot from this book, and I adored the stories and illustrations-- they helped clarify what the text could not. However, the way the book was written impeded my reading in later chapters. The way the chapters were set up made it difficult to understand what was important and what was less important, so the text ended up feeling a little long-winded. The book also jumped around from time to time without really explaining what was going on, so it was hard to consolidate all the information in my head. However, I did enjoy reading this book, and I am glad I read it.
When Spain outlawed the practice of Islam, they gave practicing Muslims two choices: convert to Christianity or leave. Some chose to leave, and some chose to remain in Spain, where they were labeled under the suspicious term "Morisco." People who were identified as Moriscos were constantly watched-- Catholics were suspicious that they had not truly converted and were practicing their religion in secret.
Dress and bathing habits were significant points of interest. Morisco women tended to wear clothing that distinguished them from other Europeans. Women often wore loose and baggy clothing in accordance with the weather, like trousers and veils, and they often went barefoot. These habits were in direct opposition with what most Europeans thought was modest and Christian, making them suspicious that they were faking their conversion. In the account of Madalena, we learn that bathing that was ritualistic and public also fell under suspicion, especially due to the fact that she washed her private parts.
The story of the "Handless Maiden" shows us the intersection between gender and religion. In the story, Carcayona disregards common expectations of her gender, disagreeing with her father, running away, takes care of herself and her child by herself in the wilderness, and doesn't immediately submit to the king. This inadherence is justified due to her obedience and faith in Allah. From how this story was received and celebrated, we know that religion tended to supersede gender in medieval and pre-modern times.
Later chapters of the book tend to focus on women's participation in warfare. It has been commonly understood that women do not have a common place with men in war, but this book disagrees. When attacked, women fought to defend themselves and their children. They joined their husbands in rebellion, fled to the mountains with their families, and supported rebels in private.
I learned a lot from this book, and I adored the stories and illustrations-- they helped clarify what the text could not. However, the way the book was written impeded my reading in later chapters. The way the chapters were set up made it difficult to understand what was important and what was less important, so the text ended up feeling a little long-winded. The book also jumped around from time to time without really explaining what was going on, so it was hard to consolidate all the information in my head. However, I did enjoy reading this book, and I am glad I read it.
July 22, 2022
In her monograph The Handless Maiden, Mary Elizabeth Perry examines the lives of Moriscos, Spanish Muslims who were forcefully converted to Christianity in early modern Spain. With a focus on the lives of Muslim women, Perry offers new insights into the effects of persecution and oppression on minority groups and religion, frequently supplementing her history with corollary tales of Spanish women. The book’s title originates from the story of Carcayona, the Muslim legend of the Handless Maiden. Perry uses the tale as a metaphor for the experiences of Moriscos under Christian rule. Prejudiced attitudes have disfigured the history of Moriscos, and thus the author seeks fill the void in the literature on early modern Spain, portraying them “from their own viewpoint” (5).
Because of Perry’s emphasis on Spanish and Islamic stories as analogous metaphors which empowered the Moriscos in times of tribulation, she opens her study with a discussion on the preservation of Morisco memories. Art, both in the form of carvings and architecture, crystalized Morisco tales and culture of the past in early modern Spain despite the descending cloud of combative Christianity over the peninsula. Along with these physical manifestations of culture, Morisco bodies became the keystones of Morisco identity. Cultural identifiers such as clothing, dancing, and food aided in maintaining identity, as well as institutions such as marriage and death which involved the body. The resulting self-knowledge empowered Moriscos to resist Christian influences, but the emphasis on the body conversely led to the sexualization of Moriscos by Spanish Christians. Lastly, the home served as the haven of Morisco culture. It was where families congregated, meals were eaten, and prayers were recited. Yet the extended erosion of Morisco culture led to the politicization of the home. This resulted in the use of schools to transmit Christian ideas as well as the encouragement of Moriscos to report apostatic household members.
The significance of women in early modern Spain is perhaps most clearly illustrated in warfare. War often facilitates change, and Perry examines the evolving gender roles. Morisco women traveled with male soldiers and were even active in battle. While not necessarily facilitating quick and efficient travel, they fueled the men’s determination but augmented the intrinsic tragedy of war; yet this was emblematic of the changing gender roles of the period. The Morisco rebellion was quelled, however, and Phillip II order their expulsion from Granada in 1570. This dispersion not only created a depopulation crisis in Spain, but completely uprooted any cultural seeds planted by the Moriscos. Perry, however, shows that the crucible of expulsion strengthened their resolve to preserve their culture. For the remaining Moriscos in Iberia, their relationship with Christians was consistently turbulent, but moral reservations delayed any severe Christian action until 1608, when the Morisco expulsion was ordered. The closing chapter of Perry’s study examines the legacy of the Morisco expulsion, particularly with regard to Morisco children. For Perry, Morisco children embodied the conflicted identity of “Christianized” Muslims and the pain of broken bonds between parents and children.
Perry’s book is a riveting and fresh perspective on the role of Islamic women in early modern Spain, illuminating their experiences through a multitude of mediums. As Christians gained political power, they increasingly faced ethical dilemmas. Conversely, as the political influence of Moriscos waned, they found outlets to solidify their identity and preserve their culture. Perry argues that oppression and persecution of the religious minority did not merely victimize them, but rather empowered them to find ways to practice and embrace their culture. She views these experiences through a fascinating lens: cultural tales of Moriscos, which symbolize the trials and tribulations they faced. These stories, Perry claims, offered motivation and solace. While I am skeptical of the extent to which these stories were known and understood in the manner Perry writes of them in the sixteenth century, they certainly enhance our understanding of the lives of Moriscos through a modern-day analysis.
The study is primarily a social history. Believing that racist and sexist attitudes have inappropriately mutated the history of Morisco women, Perry is seeking to rectify their history. Thus, she attempts to show the immense impact a minority group can have on society and the impact of religion on identity and culture. She is fairly explicit about both her intentions as well as her central arguments in her introduction, titled “From the Shadows.” Her book elucidates a group that has been frequently marginalized in the historical canon and her liberal use of personal anecdotes offers an intimate portrait of the Moriscos.
Perry uses a variety of primary sources from Spanish archives, including the Archive of Simancas for Castilian documents. Many of these sources include tribunal and court proceedings from the Inquisition, which self-evidently wield a Christian bias. Perry is careful in her use of them, however, recognizing any intrinsic and inseparable bias and adjusting her analysis accordingly. She uses a myriad of secondary sources as well, from scholarly writings on Spanish history to studies of women in the military. Furthermore, Perry’s footnotes are extensive, and even include Spanish quotes to account for any translation errors as well as discussions on semantics.
The Handless Maiden is an invaluable oeuvre on early modern Spain. Any reader or scholar with interests in religious history, the history of women and gender, or Spanish history will find their library incomplete without it. The book is methodically organized in a manner that is both digestible and informative and offers a glimpse into the lives of a group that has been traditionally marginalized. Perry’s writing style is straightforward and clear, and she is meticulous in her use of language. Her use of Morisco tales is uniquely brilliant and she is successful in her illumination of the lives and social impact of Moriscos in early modern Spain.
Because of Perry’s emphasis on Spanish and Islamic stories as analogous metaphors which empowered the Moriscos in times of tribulation, she opens her study with a discussion on the preservation of Morisco memories. Art, both in the form of carvings and architecture, crystalized Morisco tales and culture of the past in early modern Spain despite the descending cloud of combative Christianity over the peninsula. Along with these physical manifestations of culture, Morisco bodies became the keystones of Morisco identity. Cultural identifiers such as clothing, dancing, and food aided in maintaining identity, as well as institutions such as marriage and death which involved the body. The resulting self-knowledge empowered Moriscos to resist Christian influences, but the emphasis on the body conversely led to the sexualization of Moriscos by Spanish Christians. Lastly, the home served as the haven of Morisco culture. It was where families congregated, meals were eaten, and prayers were recited. Yet the extended erosion of Morisco culture led to the politicization of the home. This resulted in the use of schools to transmit Christian ideas as well as the encouragement of Moriscos to report apostatic household members.
The significance of women in early modern Spain is perhaps most clearly illustrated in warfare. War often facilitates change, and Perry examines the evolving gender roles. Morisco women traveled with male soldiers and were even active in battle. While not necessarily facilitating quick and efficient travel, they fueled the men’s determination but augmented the intrinsic tragedy of war; yet this was emblematic of the changing gender roles of the period. The Morisco rebellion was quelled, however, and Phillip II order their expulsion from Granada in 1570. This dispersion not only created a depopulation crisis in Spain, but completely uprooted any cultural seeds planted by the Moriscos. Perry, however, shows that the crucible of expulsion strengthened their resolve to preserve their culture. For the remaining Moriscos in Iberia, their relationship with Christians was consistently turbulent, but moral reservations delayed any severe Christian action until 1608, when the Morisco expulsion was ordered. The closing chapter of Perry’s study examines the legacy of the Morisco expulsion, particularly with regard to Morisco children. For Perry, Morisco children embodied the conflicted identity of “Christianized” Muslims and the pain of broken bonds between parents and children.
Perry’s book is a riveting and fresh perspective on the role of Islamic women in early modern Spain, illuminating their experiences through a multitude of mediums. As Christians gained political power, they increasingly faced ethical dilemmas. Conversely, as the political influence of Moriscos waned, they found outlets to solidify their identity and preserve their culture. Perry argues that oppression and persecution of the religious minority did not merely victimize them, but rather empowered them to find ways to practice and embrace their culture. She views these experiences through a fascinating lens: cultural tales of Moriscos, which symbolize the trials and tribulations they faced. These stories, Perry claims, offered motivation and solace. While I am skeptical of the extent to which these stories were known and understood in the manner Perry writes of them in the sixteenth century, they certainly enhance our understanding of the lives of Moriscos through a modern-day analysis.
The study is primarily a social history. Believing that racist and sexist attitudes have inappropriately mutated the history of Morisco women, Perry is seeking to rectify their history. Thus, she attempts to show the immense impact a minority group can have on society and the impact of religion on identity and culture. She is fairly explicit about both her intentions as well as her central arguments in her introduction, titled “From the Shadows.” Her book elucidates a group that has been frequently marginalized in the historical canon and her liberal use of personal anecdotes offers an intimate portrait of the Moriscos.
Perry uses a variety of primary sources from Spanish archives, including the Archive of Simancas for Castilian documents. Many of these sources include tribunal and court proceedings from the Inquisition, which self-evidently wield a Christian bias. Perry is careful in her use of them, however, recognizing any intrinsic and inseparable bias and adjusting her analysis accordingly. She uses a myriad of secondary sources as well, from scholarly writings on Spanish history to studies of women in the military. Furthermore, Perry’s footnotes are extensive, and even include Spanish quotes to account for any translation errors as well as discussions on semantics.
The Handless Maiden is an invaluable oeuvre on early modern Spain. Any reader or scholar with interests in religious history, the history of women and gender, or Spanish history will find their library incomplete without it. The book is methodically organized in a manner that is both digestible and informative and offers a glimpse into the lives of a group that has been traditionally marginalized. Perry’s writing style is straightforward and clear, and she is meticulous in her use of language. Her use of Morisco tales is uniquely brilliant and she is successful in her illumination of the lives and social impact of Moriscos in early modern Spain.
October 2, 2020
A phenomenal anthropological account of the Muslims and Moriscos in the Iberian Peninsula
February 24, 2022
Post colonial book about the Moriscos. Not bad, just personally not very interested in it.
September 17, 2009
As an American of Spanish descent, I was researching history while doing my genealogy. This book spoke of suffering of 5 woman during the Spanish Inquisition. But one thing did stand out, Betsy's version of the "Legend of Carcayona," how it told a story of conversion, loyalty and paying for faith.
Her writing of the accounts of these woman and what the endured cold help us all learn from the past. Not only would I recommend this to history students but to psychology and criminal science students as well. She has found insight to social issues that plague us today.
Her writing of the accounts of these woman and what the endured cold help us all learn from the past. Not only would I recommend this to history students but to psychology and criminal science students as well. She has found insight to social issues that plague us today.
February 11, 2014
Aside from feeling like I was reading a text book that I probably would have whined about reading had it been an assignment, I thoroughly enjoyed this (and it helped that I read it of my own volition). Short and informative, my first foray into the history of the Moriscos. A few points where I got annoyed that she used technical terms frequently before explaining them (example: auto de fe), she did eventually explain these things. Footnotes were often as informative as the text, except many were in Spanish so I suppose I should brush up.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews