Convivencia: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Medieval Spain

The coexistence or convivencia of Jews, Muslims and Christians on Iberian soil from 711 to 1492 produced a remarkable cross-fertilization of ideas, as revealed by this splendidly illustrated catalog of an exhibition at the Jewish Museum in New York City. One provocative essayist contends that Arabs and Jews, through exchanges in astronomy, philosophy and mathematics, ``introduced a new epistemology to the Latin West.'' Another contributor traces how Arabic poetry helped to inspire the first Hebrew secular poetry since biblical times. The Mudejar architectural style, developed by Muslims under Christian rule, was grafted onto Sephardic Jewish synagogues and Christian churches. Other essayists discuss Hebrew illuminated manuscripts, articles of daily use, and stereotypes of Muslims and Jews in Christian literature. Scores of plates (36 in color) accompany an accessible text. Mann is a scholar at the Jewish Museum, Dodds a City University of New York art historian, Glick a Boston University history professor. (Nov.)