Seminar with Brian Catlos at the University of Konstanz (25.10.2023)

Were the mudéjares (free Muslim subjects) of the medieval Crown of Aragon an exploited and vulnerable subaltern or a confidently integrated minority community? In this seminar we will do a close reading of two processos (administrative/judicial inquiries) from the first decade of the 1300s, which demonstrate the wide-ranging experience of Muslim subjects. In one, a town’s magistrate and council is investigated for allegedly executing by hanging an itinerant Muslim potter accused of theft and attempted murder. In the other, a Muslim community violently resists the Crown’s efforts to impose an irregular tax on them. In both cases the Muslim communities in question were apparently socially integrated with the Christian majority. What they reveal is that the lived experience of subject Muslims was deeply informed by local conditions – and that when factors mitigated towards conveniencia (“Convenience”), these communities enjoyed considerable security, whereas when these conditions were not present, they were vulnerable to extrajudicial violence.

The readings will be distributed a week before the seminar. Please sign up for attending the seminar at jovo.miladinovic@uni-konstanz.de

Seminar will take place at the University of Konstanz on October 25, 2023, 9-12 AM, in room M 0630.