| Commentary: |
Snow 2007rn"Montoya seems unaware that much of this material has been previously reviewed by Bagby [1968, 1970, 1971, and 1973] and, perhaps because of this blind eye, offers a different — and healthier — perspective on Alfonso's treatment of Moors and Jews. The author makes the critical distinction that most of the narratives dealing with Jews come from written, second-hand sources and are part of a European cultural tradition. On the contrary, those dealing with the Moors often reflect local events of the present and recent past and, consequently, may be more true-to-life in certain ways.rnThere are two kinds of Moors in the CSM: those living in the Peninsula and those which made incursions into Spain from Africa. Montoya senses that Jews fare less well than Moors in the Cantigas, for the reasons given, plus owing to the fact that they notably more difficult to convert. What is harder to accept is the assertion that the image of the Jew, which is largely negative, reflects popular opinion as well as Alfonso's. Since there is no discussion of the ways in which Alfonso re-works the traditional sources for the tales about Jews, this claim ought not be taken too seriously." |
