Hailed as early Christian texts as important as the Dead Sea Scrolls, yet condemned by the Vatican as Islamic heresies, the Lead books of Granada, written on discs of lead and unearthed on a Granadan hillside, weave a mysterious tale of duplicity and daring set in the religious crucible of sixteenth-century Spain. This book evaluates the cultural status and importance of these polyvalent, ambiguous artefacts which embody many of the dualities and paradoxes inherent in the racial and religious dilemmas of Early Modern Spain. Using the words of key individuals, and set against the background of conflict between Spanish Christians and Moriscos in the late fifteen-hundreds, The Lead Books of Granada tells a story of resilient resistance and creative ingenuity in the face of impossibly powerful negative forces, a resistance embodied by a small group of courageous, idealistic men who lived a double life in Granada just before the expulsion of the Moriscos.
Timeline Acknowledgements Preface 1. A Mystery Unfolds 2. Books of Spells or Sacred Revelations? 3. History, Religion, Culture: Conspiracy in Context 4. Prime Suspect: Alonso del Castillo 5. Miguel de Luna: Hoaxer, Heretic or Hero? 6. 'As Precious as the Ark of the Covenant' 7. Unification in Opposition: The Strategy Of Ambivalence 8. Opposing Factions 9. Acts of Rebellion 10. Fact, Fiction, Myth: The Afterlife of the Lead Books 11. The Lead Books Today Appendix 1. Titles of the Lead Books Appendix 2. Summaries of the Content of the Lead Books Appendix 3. Translation of the Lead Book entitled Libro de la Historia de la Verdad del Evangelio Appendix 4. A Translator at Work Appendix 5. 'Al monte santo de Granada', Sonnet by Luis de Gongora Select Bibliography Index
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