Lead Books of Sacromonte

The Lead Books from Sacromonte ( Sacromonte span PLOMOS or Libros Plúmbeos ) are lead sheets syncretic contents which in the late 16th century and early 17th century in the Sacromonte district (then called Monte Valparaíso ) of Granada were found. In addition, a few years earlier found parchment is subsumed under the lead books. In the German literature of the lead tablet is mentioned.

Recovery of the lead books

During demolition of the Torre Turpiana, the old minaret of the main mosque of Granada, in its place the new cathedral to be built, a first find was made on March 18, 1588. In a box of bones, a parchment was in the Arabic, Latin and Spanish. A few years after the discovery of the parchment the actual lead books on the mountain in the Valparaíso later than Santas Cuevas ( Holy Cave ) designated grave caves were found. Overall, it is one of eighteen documents today.

Content

The parchments and books reflect the Lead Gelehrsamkeiteit their Muslim author. In addition to the knowledge of Arabic, Greek and Latin - and of course the Spanish as their language - they show up as well versed in the Christian legends of the Iberian Peninsula and familiar with Catholic customs such as the cult of relics. Accompanied by " relics ", for example, the collected into a handkerchief "Tears of the Virgin Mary " and relics of saints, they include, among others a representation of the martyrdom of the city's patron saint and patron saint of Granada, Saint Caecilius of Illiberis. In addition, " predict " the writings of the arrival of the Prophet Muhammad and Martin Luther as well as their own discovery, which they want to please the Bishop of Granada.

Author question

As a candidate for the authorship of the documents are called by various researchers, the Moorish scholars Alonso del Castillo and Miguel de Luna. Both worked for the Inquisition and had worked as a translator during the Moriskenaufstands. Alonso del Castillo came only a few months before the discovery of the first document to Granada back, after several years cataloging the Arabic writings in the Escorial and also served King Philip II as a translator for his correspondence with the Moroccan sultans. Julio Caro Baroja The historian writes those texts that testify to a high level of education of its author, Alonso del Castillo and to those that can be a somewhat lower level of education of its author suspect Miguel de Luna.

Importance

Before the lead books were condemned in 1682 by the Vatican as a forgery, they were in Spain as Fifth Gospel, the mountain was renamed in Valparaíso Sacro Monte and it was about the Santas Cuevas a great abbey, the Abadia del Sacromonte. In 2000, the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger gave back the lead books of the Church of Granada. They are an important testimony of the struggle of the Moors to their recognition and their whereabouts in a climate of persecution and exclusion, which they sought to achieve through a reconciliation of Christianity and Islam. Because of this strategy and multilingualism of the documents now established names Moriscos of Granada upper class are seen as the originator of the lead plates. The fiction of an Arabic-language Christian missionary of Spain made ​​from the Cristianos nuevos ( New Christians ), whose Christianity on the part of Cristianos Viejo's ( Old Christians ) were called into question, potentially even older Old Christians as the Old Christians Castilian itself In addition to its socio- historical significance, they are interesting sources for speech scientists from various disciplines such as Hispanic, the Arabic and the language contact research.

Miscellaneous

The Spanish writer Ildefonso Falcone was in his novel The Pillars of Faith ( orig.: La Mano de Fátima, Barcelona 2009) the author of the books lead a name and a story.